It is surprising that there is still a lot to be learned about a people seemingly well studied - the ancient Greeks. But, as often happens, if those being studied no longer exist and there is no direct evidence about them, many myths and half-truths arise. Today, archeology is amending some of the legends. After all, there was even a time when the Greeks were almost forgotten... In the second century BC. e. Hellas was conquered by the Romans. But, as Horace wrote: “Enslaved Greece charmed her cruel enslaver.” Greek thought soon prevailed in Roman education, and Greek vocabulary in the Latin language. In 395 AD e. The Roman Empire split into two halves - eastern and western. Greece moved to the eastern, Byzantine part, and, in fact, more than fourteen centuries of the rule of Constantinople began here. But by that time the ancient culture was practically dying, and the final blow was dealt to it by the rapidly spreading Christianity. The new religion, having become official in Byzantium, banned the worship of Hellenic gods, and Greek temples were closed. The new rulers even canceled the Olympic Games dedicated to Zeus - the games were revived only 16 centuries later. And Greece plunged into deep hibernation. Although the Byzantine world escaped most of the troubles that the barbarians brought to the territory of modern Western Europe, Hellas nevertheless suffered very seriously. It gradually turned into a backwater of the empire, its abandoned temples decayed and collapsed. The Hellenes again attracted attention only with a new wave of interest in historical knowledge - although this interest does not always benefit history or surviving monuments. CONTENTS: PART I. A NEW DISCOVERY OF THE LAND OF GIANTS 7Images of an awakened past 33PART II. THE DARKNESS OF ANCIENT DISPERSES 43Public and private life 69PART III. ATHENS: ANCIENT "EIGHTH WONDER OF THE WORLD" 83 Treasures of the Deep Sea 111 PART IV. REALIZING THE DREAM OF A "GREEK WORLD" 121Golden Award 149Bibliography 161Index 165