Richard Neer’s latest book, Greek Art and Archaeology: A New History, c. 2500–c. 150 BCE, takes a refreshingly contemporary approach to the study of ancient Greek material culture. As the title suggests, the textbook surveys over two millennia of Greek history, from the Bronze Age to the Hellenistic period. While the purview is hardly unique, Neer aims to present a “new history” of the discipline through his broad, inclusive understanding of the Greek world and the significance of its artistic production. The strengths of this volume lie in its highly practical format, nuanced treatment of the material, and interdisciplinary approach, all of which make it a valuable and welcome addition to the classroom.

The format of the book is highly deliberate and effective. Appropriately structured for his primary audience—the undergraduate student in the college classroom—he has helpfully divided the book into fourteen chronological chapters to suit a standard semester schedule and offers suggestions for abbreviating the text for the quarter system. Each chapter is divided into distinct thematic sections that address specific monuments, styles, materials, and/or key issues. This straightforward organization, along with his clear writing style and plentiful illustrations, brings the Greek world into focus for readers even with little or no previous knowledge of the field. Numerous helpful graphics, including timelines, summary charts, and comparative tables are included throughout the volume to synthesize the vast body of material presented and draw connections across time and space. More seasoned students already equipped with a fundamental knowledge of Greek culture and its art will benefit from Neer’s persistent attention to introducing points of academic debate, discussing relationships between ancient texts, historical events, and artistic production, and distinguishing popular myths from archaeological realities. These considerations offer a welcome platform for faculty to enrich class discussions without having to supplement the textbook with lengthy outside readings. If there is any drawback to the inclusion of so much supplementary information, it will be in selecting which of the numerous additions to draw to students’ attention in the limited span of the semester.

The presentation of the selected monuments themselves is similarly comprehensive. As Neer makes clear in the introduction, the volume takes a liberal view of the Greek world and its artistic production, both materially and geographically. He offers current interpretations of the requisite “masterpieces,” but also includes many key objects beyond the standard repertoire. These are perhaps less initially attention grabbing because of their size, material, or aesthetic quality but no less important for communicating the Greek experience. Rejecting the traditional juxtaposition of a “central” Greek core with a peripheral sphere of influence in the wider Mediterranean and beyond, Neer introduces a rich narrative that acknowledges the complex relationships between the Greeks and their neighbors and the impact of those cultural connections on monuments both at home and abroad. This commitment to inclusivity and delving into multifaceted considerations of historical, political, social, religious, and economic constructs is simultaneously a great asset and a potential detriment to the volume as an introductory text. While Neer admirably signals difficulties in interpretation, raises topics of scholarly controversy, and points out weaknesses in available evidence in order to provoke critical thinking in the reader and signal the current state of the discipline, the true beginning student may become overwhelmed with the sheer volume of information and sometimes (inevitably) unresolved conclusions.

While introducing the objects and placing them within their appropriate contexts is obviously a priority of any textbook and is done particularly successfully here, one of the major contributions of this volume is its pedagogical approach that aims to introduce readers with diverse academic backgrounds and professional goals to ways of considering objects methodically and productively. Three guiding questions help to cultivate these highly valuable, transferable skills that serve the student reader well in the art history classroom and beyond.

The first step—“what do we see?”—encourages the development of visual acumen through formal analysis and trains students to begin by looking closely at the object itself. The text aids readers in acquiring the appropriate vocabulary to articulate and communicate their visual experience by featuring key words and phrases in bold typeface throughout the volume. This approach is widely applicable and lends itself as readily to monumental stone architecture as it does to clay figurines, ceramic vessels, and fragmentary wall paintings.

The second inquiry—“how do we know?”—asks readers to think critically about sources and their reliability. Greek Art and Archaeology differs from many others of its kind by highlighting divergences of opinion among scholars and identifying points of controversy within the field, sometimes at the risk of maintaining a cohesive narrative. Neer advocates for the importance of healthy skepticism, persistent questioning of evidence, and making informed decisions after independently reviewing the available information. This perspective enables readers to develop confidence in their own judgments, an invaluable skill in any field. He does not hesitate to raise questions against traditionally accepted forms of evidence, to alert students to discrepancies between various sources, or to offer multiple possibilities for interpreting objects and justifying shifts in styles and techniques. While some readers will no doubt find this flexible viewpoint frustrating, many more will be stimulated by the open dialogue and dynamism it permits for analyzing works of art.

The final question—“why should we care?”—is critical to the interdisciplinary nature of Neer’s “new history” and a key component of the volume. This consideration leads readers to move beyond the “I like what I like” mentality that is all too common among beginning art history students and toward a more sophisticated articulation of the significance of objects in defined, historical terms. More importantly, it allows Neer to argue for the importance of thinking holistically about works of art as primary documents that reveal the Greek mindset at a single historical moment, in a particular style employed at that time, for a unique audience in a certain place for a specific use. In so doing, he is able to situate artistic innovations in relation to broader developments in the ancient Greek world. He encourages readers to interpret objects and monuments through multiple lenses. Works of art and architecture are situated both in relation to one another and alongside contemporary developments in other creative fields, particularly literature and drama, and even more widely in light of historical milestones, political events, economic circumstances, religious rituals, and other relevant factors.

For instance, in a discussion of the development of red-figure vase painting, he not only considers the “internal” factors that may have led to the transition from black-figure techniques but also the “external” impact of the contemporary political situation in Athens with the emergence of the democracy. He first leads the reader to examine the limitations of black-figure (e.g., the restricted format of the silhouette) and the new compositional possibilities that red-figure afforded, which revolutionized the conception of pictorial space in two dimensions. Then he deftly prompts students to consider the ways in which the self-referential inscriptions and “portraits” painted by the Pioneers capture a fleeting historical moment defined by a new confidence in artistic potential and excitement over their newfound, elevated social status in the early years of the democracy. Neither before nor afterwards, he explains, would this kind of expression have been possible. This example offers a narrow glimpse into the sweeping, inclusive, and thoroughly modern approach Neer uses in this volume.

While Neer unquestionably gives due attention to straightforward discussions of discipline-specific vocabulary, explanations of technique, and assessments of artistic and technological achievements, it is no small point that his text challenges students to think of art as a vibrant testimony to the landscape of the ancient Greek world. Readers are left with a vision of art history and archaeology as lively, engaging disciplines ripe with possibilities for new discoveries and reinterpretations of known monuments. Neer’s assessment of the vital role of material culture in antiquity and its potential for recovering the past through its study today does indeed set the stage for a “new history,” and it will be used and appreciated widely for its expansive and current viewpoint.