Thomas Martin's book is an attempt to take a fresh look at the history of ancient Greece, inspired by numerous questions from students and readers. The focus is on the archaic and classical eras, when democracy arose and took shape, a previously unprecedented regime of power; when the Greeks settled throughout the Mediterranean and, having mastered the achievements of the peoples of the Middle East, created their own unique culture. The historian considers the political and social structure of Sparta and Athens as two different directions in the development of the Greek polis, showing how their clash in the Peloponnesian War predetermined the crisis of the city-states that soon followed and led to the fact that Greece lost its independence.