ThedramaticstoryoftheriseandcollapseofEurope’sfirstgreaturbanexperimentThegrowthofcitiesaroundtheworldinthelasttwocenturiesisthegreatestepisodeinoururbanhistory,butitisnotthefirst.ThreethousandyearsagomostoftheMediterraneanbasinwasaworldofvillages;aworldwithoutmoneyorwriting,withouttemplesforthegodsorpalacesforthemighty.Overthecenturiesthatfollowed,however,citiesappearedinmanyplacesaroundtheInlandSea,builtbyGreeksandRomans,andalsobyEtruscansandPhoenicians,TartessiansandLycians,andmanyothers.Mostweretinybymodernstandards,buttheywerethebuildingblocksofallthestatesandempiresofantiquity.Thegreatest--AthensandCorinth,SyracuseandMarseilles,AlexandriaandEphesus,PersepolisandCarthage,RomeandByzantium--becamethepowerhousesofsuccessiveancientsocieties,notjustpoliticalcentersbutalsotheplaceswhereancientartandliteratureswerecreatedandaccumulated.Andthen,halfwaythroughthefirstmillennium,mostwitheredaway,leavingbehindruinsthathavefascinatedsomanywhocameafter.Basedonthemostrecenthistoricalandarchaeologicalevidence,TheLifeandDeathofAncientCitiesprovidesasweepingnarrativeofoneoftheworld’sfirstgreaturbanexperiments,fromBronzeAgeoriginstothedemiseofcitiesinlateantiquity.GregWoolfchroniclesthehistoryoftheancientMediterraneancity,againstthebackgroundofwiderpatternsofhumanevolution,andoftheunforgivingenvironmentinwhichtheywerebuilt.Richlyillustrated,thebookvividlybringstolifetheabandonedremainsofourancienturbanancestorsandservesasastarkreminderofthefragilityofeventhemightiestofcities.
