An Island Polity: The Archaeology of Exploitation in Melos

The Greek island of Melos in the Cyclades has been inhabited for at least five thousand years. Two periods of its history are well documented: the late Bronze Age, when it supported an important urban centre at Phylakopi and the late fifth century BC, when as an independent city-state it briefly defied and was then destroyed by the expansionist power of Athens. The case of Melos is thus relevant to the understanding of the processes of early state-formation and of the integration of small-scale societies into larger political units. As the contributors to this volume show, a small island provides a very suitable area - clearly defined, self-contained - in which to examine the processes of social, cultural and economic change and the forces - sometimes gradual and almost imperceptible in their effect, sometimes sudden and dramatic - by which changes are initiated.

Author: Colin Renfrew
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 08/01/2009
Pages: 376
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.86lbs
Size: 11.00h x 8.25w x 0.78d
ISBN: 9780521103909

This title is not returnable