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.