480 BCE. The Persian Attack on Athens and its Impact on the Study of Ancient Greece

In 480 BCE, during their invasion of Greece, the Persians began the destruction of Athens. How has this event shaped our understanding of Greek history? This interdisciplinary volume investigates the commemoration of the attack in Antiquity and how it became anchored in modern scholarship as a watershed dividing Archaic and Classical Greece. Drawing on ancient literature, material culture, including deposits in the Athenian Agora, and reception history, the book explores if and how the destruction of Athens stimulated cultural innovation. By investigating the significance of 480 BCE as a historical anchor for the scholarship on ancient Greece, the volume reopens the discussion on the periodization of Archaic and Classical Greece.