A political and cultural history of ancient Greece and Rome. Topics include the formation and culture of the Greek polis (city state), the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars in Greek history, Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic world, the Roman Republic, Augustus and later Roman emperors, the development and decline of Rome as a "world power," and the place of religion in defining political and cultural identities. Special attention is given to the ways in which the histories of the Greek and Roman worlds were shaped by their interactions with one another and with the "barbarians" beyond their frontiers.