Das Buch gibt einen tiefen Einblick in die Geschichte des Alten Griechenland. Es behandelt etablierte Themen wie Tyrannei oder politische Reformen ebenso wie Genderfragen und ethnische Gesichtspunkte. Darüber hinaus berücksichtigt es auch Einflüsse nicht-griechischer Kulturen.

Kurt A. Raaflaub is David Herlihy University Professor and Professor of Classics and History, Royce Family Professor in Teaching Excellence (2005-8) and Director of the Program in Ancient Studies at Brown University. His recent publications include The Discovery of Freedom in Ancient Greece (2004), Social Struggles in Archaic Rome (Blackwell, 2005) and War and Peace in the Ancient World (Blackwell, 2006).

Hans van Wees is Professor of Ancient History at University College London. His publications include Status Warriors: War, Violence and Society in Homer and History (1992) and Greek Warfare: Myths and Realities (2004), and he has co-edited four volumes on archaic Greece, war and violence, and Herodotus.