Beard, Mary. The Parthenon. 2010. A cultural history of Athens’s most famous building, including the many controversies that surround it.

Bowden, Hugh. Mystery Cults of the Ancient World. 2010. Examines the main mystery religions of the ancient Mediterranean, using artistic and literary evidence.

Burkert, Walter. Greek Religion. 1987. The authoritative study of ancient religious beliefs, with much material from the sources.

Cartledge, Paul. The Spartans: The World of the Warrior Heroes of Ancient Greece. 2002. A readable general book on the history and legacy of Sparta.

Davidson, James. Courtesans and Fishcakes: The Consuming Passions of Classical Athens. 1999. A witty examination of sex, wine, food, and other objects of desire, based on plays, poems, speeches, and philosophical treatises.

Errington, R. Malcolm. A History of the Hellenistic World, 323–30 B.C. 2008. Easily the best coverage of the period: full, scholarly, and readable.

Freeman, Philip. Alexander the Great. 2010. Designed for general readers, this excellent biography portrays Alexander as both ruthless and cultured.

Hansen, Mogens Herman. Polis: An Introduction to the Ancient Greek City-State. 2006. The authoritative study of the polis.

Holland, Tom. Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West. 2007. Designed for general audiences, a dramatic retelling of conflict between the Greeks and the Persians.

Kagan, Donald. Pericles of Athens and the Birth of Democracy. 1991. A readable account of political changes in the era of Pericles.

Manning, J. G. The Last Pharaohs: Egypt Under the Ptolemies, 305–30 B.C. 2009. Examines the impact of the Ptolemies on Egyptian society and the way their state blended Greek and Egyptian elements.

Osborne, Robin. Greece in the Making, 1200–479 B.C. 2003. Traces the evolution of Greek communities from villages to cities and the development of their civic institutions.

Patterson, Cynthia B. The Family in Greek History. 2001. Treats public and private family relations.

Roochnik, David. Retrieving the Ancients: An Introduction to Greek Philosophy. 2004. A sophisticated and well-written narrative of ancient Greek thought designed for students.