This encyclopedia is derived from the more broadly focused "Encyclopedia of Greece and the Hellenic Tradition", the highly praised two-volume work. Newly edited by Nigel Wilson, this single-volume reference provides a comprehensive and authoritative guide to the political, cultural, and social life of the people and to the places, ideas, periods, and events that defined Ancient Greece. The A-to-Z "Encyclopedia" covers themes in social history, cultural history, political and military history, science, medicine, philosophy, economic history, and explains the importance of geography in the life of the ancients. Overview articles also discuss regions, ethnic groups, and religious history. Detailing the lives and contributions of hundreds of significant persons, entries on individuals cover orators, poets, scholars, prose writers, rulers, politicians, warriors, lawgivers, philosophers, scientists, mathematicians, historians, biographers, and artists. Examining every aspect of the culture from antiquity to the founding of Constantinople in the early Byzantine era, this thoroughly cross-referenced and fully indexed work is written by an international group of scholars and is accessible to both the student and general reader.