The German archaeologist Ernst Curtius (1814-1896) published this seminal work in three volumes between 1857 and 1867. It quickly became a bestseller and was republished in numerous German editions. The work was translated into English by the eminent British historian Adolphus William Ward (1837-1924) who divided it into five volumes, published between 1868 and 1873. Volume 1 of Ward's translation contains two books. Book 1 covers the state of Greece in the period before the so-called Dorian migrations, and Book 2 the development of Attica and the Peloponnese up until the Persian wars. Curtius' History was a pioneering work of nineteenth-century classical scholarship. For many generations it provided an indispensable guide through the complex history of the ancient Greek world, and it continues to inspire researchers today.