Greek Inscriptions: Ancient Scripts

An accessible introduction to Greek inscriptions that reveals their importance to ancient Greek culture.

Ancient Greek inscriptions are crucially important in understanding the cultures of Greece and the Mediterranean in antiquity. They provide glimpses of the behavior of the people of the time, including clues about their mindsets and aspirations. These public records combine word and image in a multitude of ways and are rich in the insights they offer.

The inscriptions examined in this volume come from a range of objects on metal or stone that include laws, decrees, accounts and inventories, honorific texts, dedications to deities, and funerary epitaphs. They give a broad view of interstate relations, historical narratives, and the political administration of various city-states while also providing new perspectives on concepts such as democracy, citizenship, gender, ethnicity, religion, and the supernatural. Peter Liddel emphasizes the physical form of the texts alongside their importance in understanding ancient Greek culture. Accessible and insightful, Greek Inscriptions both highlights the significance and history of these artifacts and examines their reception in the modern world.

Peter Liddel is professor of Greek history and epigraphy at the University of Manchester.