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This chapter provides the methodological context for the research of this book. Using the discipline of geography, it examines insularity within the context of the Aegean Sea. Although islands can be seen as moving between integration and isolation, isolation was a relatively unknown phenomenon for the lives of the insular Greeks. It then proceeds to show that the definition of an ‘island’ in ancient Greek thought was not a straightforward process: islands were not simply ‘pieces of land surrounded by water’ but an ideological construction, which put emphasis on their small size (therefore Sphacteria is an island but Sicily is not). It then investigates the importance of connectivity in the history of the Aegean islands, achieved because of the patterns of navigation, the winds and currents of the Aegean. Island interaction is beautifully illustrated in Callimachus' image of the islands dancing around Delos.

Success in war, including gains in territory and population, left big problems for Greece of reconstruction, economic recovery, refugee settlement, exploitation of the New Lands. The influx of Muslims from Macedonia to Asia Minor led Turkey to respond by dumping Christians from the Asia Minor littoral at Salonika and on the Aegean coast. This seriously further upset Greece's relations with Turkey. The linked problems of Northern Epirus/Albania and the Aegean islands was resolved painfully for Greece by the Great Powers, which obliged Greece to withdraw from Albania. The islands remained in Greek hands, but still claimed by Turkey. In the face of this, a naval arms race developed between Turkey and Greece, both making procurements designed to secure superiority in the Aegean. Thus a series of problems were building up for Venizelos. Direct negotiations with Turkey did not succeed. War seemed probable. Venizelos was travelling to Brussels for direct talks with the Grand Vizier on the range of issues, including a possible exchange of Christian and Muslim populations, when the Grand Duke was assassinated in Sarajevo, and Venizelos felt obliged to return to Athens to deal with the serious issues raised by the July crisis and the outbreak of the Great War.

This book is about the prehistoric archaeology of Europe—the lives and deaths of peoples and cultures—about how we became human; the rise of hunters; the birth and growth of society; the emergence of art; the beginnings of agriculture, villages, towns and cities, wars and conquest, peace and trade—the plans and ideas, achievements and failures, of our ancestors across hundreds of thousands of years. It is a story of humanity on planet Earth. It’s also about the study of the past—how archaeologists have dug into the ground, uncovered the remaining traces of these ancient peoples, and begun to make sense of that past through painstaking detective work. This book is about prehistoric societies from the Stone Age into the Iron Age. The story of European prehistory is one of spectacular growth and change. It begins more than a million years ago with the first inhabitants. The endpoint of this journey through the continent’s past is marked by the emergence of the literate societies of classical Greece and Rome. Because of a long history of archaeological research and the richness of the prehistoric remains, we know more about the past of Europe than almost anywhere else. The prehistory of Europe is, in fact, one model of the evolution of society, from small groups of early human ancestors to bands of huntergatherers, through the arrival of the first farmers to the emergence of hierarchical societies and powerful states in the Bronze and Iron Ages. The chapters of our story are the major ages of prehistoric time (Stone, Bronze, and Iron). The content involves the places, events, and changes of those ages from ancient to more recent times. The focus of the chapters is on exceptional archaeological sites that provide the background for much of this story. Before we can begin, however, it is essential to review the larger context in which these developments took place. This chapter is concerned with the time and space setting of the archaeology of Europe.

This chapter outlines the issues for decision in December 1912-early 1913, at the peace conferences for which Sir Edward Grey had offered London as venue. These were, for Venizelos 1) the future of Salonika, 2) the fate of the Aegean islands, still claimed by Turkey, and 3) Albania/Northern Epirus. The chapter describes the division of the negotiations into two, one between the Balkan allies and Turkey, the second a conference of ambassadors to deal with other issues including the Aegean islands and Albania/Northern Epirus. Streit, Skouloudis, Metaxas and Danglis took part in the London talks, but Venizelos would not include Ion Dragoumis, who opposed Venizelos's conciliatory policy towards Bulgaria and hopes of a Balkan federation.

The chapter starts with an assessment of the balance of forces. Greece had local superiority over the Ottoman forces, as did Serbia and Bulgaria in their respective theatres. The Turkish armies were weakened by events in Yemen, by the war against Italy, and most of all by the need to fight on three or more fronts. The Greek army under Crown Prince Constantine moved forward northward encountering little resistance at first. Aegean islands were liberated by the Greek fleet, which also blocked the Turkish fleet in the Dardanelles, preventing them from resupplying their forces in Macedonia and Thrace. Tension developed between Venizelos and Constantine over the direction and speed of the Greek advance, when it became clear that the Bulgarians aimed to occupy Salonika. The city was the key for Venizelos, who urged Constantine to greater speed. The Greek army entered the city first, with the Bulgarians close behind, a recipe for continuing tension between the two allies, threatening inter-allied war.