Greek Perspectives on the Achaemenid Empire: Persia Through the Looking Glass

How did the Greek view of Persia and Persians change so radically in the archaic and classical Greek sources that they turned from noble warriors into peacock-loving cross-dressers with murderous mothers? This book looks at the development of a range of responses to the Achaemenids and their Empire. Through a study of ancient texts and material evidence from the archaic and classical periods, Janett Morgan investigates the historical, political and social factors that inspired and manipulated different identities for Persia and the Persians within Greece.

Key Features:

• an interdisciplinary approach to investigating cultural contact and cultural exchange to explore the Greek response to Persia
• offers unique insights into the role of Greek social elites and political communities in creating different representations of the Achaemenid Persians and their EmpireKeywords


Author: Janett Morgan
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Published: 03/07/2016
Pages: 392
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.70lbs
Size: 9.40h x 6.50w x 1.20d
ISBN: 9780748647231


About the Author


Janett Morgan is an interdisciplinary ancient Greek historian. Her research focuses on material culture and its representation in ancient texts, investigating the ways in which individuals, groups and communities in Greece and Achaemenid Iran used architecture and artefacts to create religious, social and political identities and to express differences. She is the author of The Classical Greek House (Bristol Phoenix Press, 2010).