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I wonder if anyone can recommend a good book for me to read about the political situation in Greece (namely Athens) before Philip formed the League of Corinth. In particular what happened to their democratic rule after the Peloponnesian Wars leading up to them city states being so unstable making it easy for Philip to move in and conquor them. I'm writing a part of my novel now regarding Phokion and the garrison at Munychia and want a bit of reference to the past political climate in Athens. Thanks in advance, ruthaki

Hi Ruth,You could try Simon Hornblower's book (I think it's "The Greek World, 490-323BC"). It's a Routledge book, if I recall correctly. It's brief but intensive - should tell you all you need to know!ATBMarcus

Marcus, thanks so much. That's excellent.

John Buckler, Aegean Greece in the Fourth Century BC. Leiden: Brill, 2003 is very good and extensive. See the review in BMCR: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2005/200 ... tmlregards,
abm

Gee Alexander, could you have picked a more expensive book to recommend? $200 on Amazon and even more expensive if used! And the worse part is that it looks so darn interesting - especially the part on Philip and Alexander. One more book that I can't afford to read...:-)Amyntoros

My pleasure, as always, Ruth.I've always found JR Ellis, "Philip II and MAcedonian Imperialism" to be good on the Athenian situation, too ... but only really for the Philippian period, so not as good for the early 4th century. The Hornblower book is very good, though - covers it all! (It's *very* intense, though - be warned!)ATBMarcus

Thanks again. $200 for a book? Out of my budget, I'm afraid (I'm just a poor penniless writer). Anyway, the others I can have my friend who works at the University library look for. Sometimes she gets them 'on loan' and I can have them for a week or two to browse through before I decide whether to buy or not.

I know $200 for a book is ridiculous, but it's the most recent one and actually the standard at present, so if you live a near a University libabry with a good budget, you should find it there.regards,abm

I know Alexander, I was just teasing! I'm afraid that my local university isn't likely to buy this book, nor the central lending library. Perhaps there have been too many new books over the years for their respective budgets. Neither library owns Heckel's Marshals, and even Maria Brosius' Women in Ancient Persia has never been purchased. (I've been lucky with ancient sources though.)Amyntoros

Make sure you get the latest edition.HM