This is the first of eight volumes on the history of Greece, first published in 1835. The volumes were aimed at two audiences: those people who wanted more than a superficial knowledge of the subject, but did not have the time or means to study the original sources, and those who had access to the ancient authors, but required a guide or interpreter. The first volume considers the geographical outlines of Greece, the earliest inhabitants and foreign settlers, the Hellenic nation and the Heroes and their age. It also details the government, religion and art of the Greeks in the Heroic Age, the return of the Heracleids, the legislation of Lycurgus and the Messenian Wars, and affairs of Sparta down to the sixth century BCE. The final chapter is on national institutions and forms of government. This book will be of interest to researchers and students of ancient history.