Story of Civilization, by husband and wife Will and Ariel Durant, is an 11-volume set of books covering Western history for the general reader. The series was written over a span of more than five decades. It totals four million words across nearly 10,000 pages, with 2 further books in production at the time of the authors' deaths.[1] II. The Life of Greece (1939)Bust of Pericles in the Antikensammlung BerlinBust of Pericles in the Antikensammlung BerlinThis volume covers Ancient Greece and the Hellenistic Near East down to the Roman conquest. Aegean Prelude: 3500–1000 BCCreteBefore AgamemnonThe Heroic AgeThe Rise of Greece: 1000–480 BCSpartaAthensThe Great MigrationThe Greeks in the WestThe Gods of GreeceThe Common Culture of Early GreeceThe Struggle for Freedom"The realization of self-government was something new in the world; life without kings had not yet been dared by any great society. Out of this proud sense of independence, individual and collective, came a powerful stimulus to every enterprise of the Greeks; it was their liberty that inspired them to incredible accomplishments in arts and letters, in science and philosophy." (p. 233)The Golden Age: 480–399 BCPericles and the Democratic ExperimentWork and Wealth in AthensThe Morals and Manners of the AtheniansThe Art of Periclean GreeceThe Advancement of LearningThe Conflict of Philosophy and ReligionThe Literature of the Golden AgeThe Suicide of Greece"As surprising as anything else in this civilization is the fact that it was brilliant without the aid or stimulus of women." (p. 305)The Decline and Fall of Greek Freedom: 399–322 BCPhilipLetters and Arts in the Fourth CenturyThe Zenith of PhilosophyAlexander"The class war had turned democracy into a contest in legislative looting." (p. 554)The Hellenistic Dispersion: 322–146 BCGreece and MacedoniaHellenism and the OrientEgypt and the WestBooksThe Art of the DispersionThe Climax of Greek ScienceThe Surrender of PhilosophyThe Coming of Rome"We have tried to show that the essential cause of the Roman conquest of Greece was the disintegration of Greek civilization from within. No great nation is ever conquered until it has destroyed itself." (p. 659)Epilogue: Our Greek Heritage