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Idk if this is what you are looking for, but in my Greek Civ class last semester we read Herodotus’ “The Histories.”

In my Greco-Roman art history course, we were required to read Mary Beard’s SPQR. [this is about Roman history, I just now noticed you said you were mainly interested in Greek history]

I personally really enjoy Marcus Aurelius’ “Meditations.”

I hope this is a good start. I’ll edit this post later to add anything else I can think of that may be helpful!

This book may be of help:
https://www.amazon.com/Classics-Very-Short-Introduction-Introductions/dp/0192853139/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=0192853139&qid=1557268251&s=gateway&sr=8-1#customerReviews

Ama Dios (9 AoL Consciousness Books Combined) FREE this weekend. Enjoy exploring all the books and please leave a review or two! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NL6WBFR

Amazon Links to the 9 AoL books

https://www.amazon.com/Natasa-Pantovic/e/B00TUA1528

Ama Alchemy of Love Historical Fiction https://www.amazon.com/Ma-Ms-Natasa-Nuit-Pantovic/dp/9995754193

Mindful Eating https://www.amazon.com/Mindful-Eating-Exercises-Delicious-Mindfulness/dp/9995754029

Conscious Parenting https://www.amazon.com/Conscious-Parenting-Mindful-Mindfulness-Training/dp/9995754045

Conscious Creativity https://www.amazon.com/Conscious-Creativity-Mindfulness-Meditations-Training/dp/9995754118

Art of 4 Elements https://www.amazon.com/Art-Elements-Discover-Mindfulness-Training/dp/9995754002

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Mindful Being https://www.amazon.com/Mindful-Being-towards-Mindfulness-Training/dp/9995754037

Spiritual Symbols https://www.amazon.com/Spiritual-Symbols-Meanings-mindfulness-training/dp/9995754126

Tree of Life https://www.amazon.com/Tree-Life-Spiritual-Mindfulness-Training/dp/9995754134

Just wanted to piggyback off of this. Guys like Thucydides, Xenophon, Herodotus and later Plutarch are all incredibly valuable as primary sources, and can even be pleasurable to read. But as u/WeAreElectricity has pointed out, their writings are often crammed with stuff that's dry and boring, even by the standards of ancient historians and biographers. You're definitely much better off reading books by modern scholars who've gone through the work of sifting through the material.

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If you're looking for a straight up textbook, there's Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History, which is a fairly common textbook these days. If you're looking for something a bit more "lively" but less thorough, check out Edith Hall's Introducing the Ancient Greeks. The book covers the history of ancient Greece from the period of the Mycenaeans (ca. 1500-1200 BCE) to the rise of Christianity in the first and second centuries CE, and does so in a pleasantly engaging way. Personally, this is the book I would read if I were just starting out trying to learn more about the Greeks.

Here’s a slightly different idea: a WORD history book. I absolutely love this book, and have bought several copies for my history minded friends and family.

The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language https://www.amazon.com/dp/0425260798/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_.J1.zbZAF72P4

Egypt I think there are newer editions available.

Babylon

Ancient Israel

And if you are feeling exceptionally adventuresome I would highly recommend Herodotus

I've had Davies since high school and he's never failed me as a jumping off point into different periods and civilizations.



Also, Hansen is quite good at describing Hoplite warfare with an uncanny knack for the soldeir's perspective.

Everitt is great for looking at the fall of the Roman republic from Cicero's perspective. He also has a good book on Pompey but I have yet to read it.

These are the first 3 books I pulled off my shelf next to my desk, there are more but Ancient history is pretty broad (and two of my books arguably are classical rather than ancient), I'm not going to make an exhaustive list though, because well, that would be exhausting.

I like Charles Freeman. He's the author of several books, including Egypt, Greece and Rome, which is a general over-view of all three. The lengthiest sections are Greece and Rome, subjects he knows well. This was written as a semi-textbook. https://smile.amazon.com/Egypt-Greece-Rome-Civilizations-Mediterranean/dp/0199651922/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1472868757&sr=8-2&keywords=charles+freeman

Thank you! I also bought another book about Alexander (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385500998/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1), your suggestion will be good to cover what Phillip did to set up the millitary for Alexander.

Found! https://www.amazon.ca/Letters-Younger-Pliny/dp/0140441271/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1517681712&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=pliny+the+younger+Betty+Raddice. Awesome. I will check this out!

http://www.amazon.ca/Roman-Society-Donald-Dudley/dp/0140136843

great primer.

The Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East

Atlas of the Ancient Near East: From Prehistoric Times to the Roman Imperial Period

Cultural Atlas of Ancient Egypt

The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Egypt

The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Greece

The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Rome

The Ancient World Mapping Center is a free online resource.

How about this:

http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-History-Stearns-Provost-Professor/dp/0395652375/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

My favourite.

I've been listening to Fall of the Roman Empire by Peter Heather. He goes into detail on the multiple factors of why it fell and focuses on the human element of it through personal accounts of the time, and how modern historians understand it.

Here is the link to the paperback version:

The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians https://www.amazon.com/dp/0195325419/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Ps2pDbWPZ9QQS