From art and architecture to politics, philosophy, and mathematics, "western civilization" owes a great deal to the achievements of ancient Greece, but what do we really know about this long-gone civilization? How did geography influence the politics of the Greek city-states? What's the difference between an agora and an acropolis? This book takes readers several thousand years into the past, when independent city-states ruled the Mediterranean Sea, to find the answers. Full-color photographs and maps, accompanied by accessible text, introduce readers to the many contributions the ancient Greeks have made to our modern society.