The art and architecture of Greece and Rome lie at the heart of the classical tradition of the western world and their legacy is so familiar as to have become commonplace. In this beautifully illustrated volume, with over 400 colour and black and white pictures, the story of classical art is attractively told by five leading scholars. Their aim has been to demonstrate how the arts served very different societies and patrons - tyrannies, democracies, empires; the roles and objectives of the artists; the way in which the classical style was disseminated far beyond the borders of the Greek and Roman world; but especially the splendour and quality of the arts themselves. This book is intended for students of the art and archaeology of ancient Greece and Rome; those with an interest in the civilization of the classical world.