Forschungen zur Alten Geschichte

The German historian Eduard Meyer’s two-volume work on ancient history was first published in 1892-1899. More than any other historian of his time Meyer (1855-1930) insisted on considering world history as a whole, even in the classical period, rather than adopting the traditional subdivision into Roman, Greek and Oriental categories. He was also convinced that a combination of philological and historical approaches was needed for an accurate interpretation of history. In Volume 2 (1899) Meyer focuses almost entirely on Greek history of the fifth century BCE, except for some discussion of the governments of the Persian and Spartan kings. Meyer traces the biography of the statesman Cimon, accounts for the history of Attica and evaluates the historical value of Thucydides’ work. A remarkable feature of this volume is Meyer’s almost constant dialogue with the findings and publications of other scholars working within the field.