Understanding this subject makes up the basis of understanding modern society.
People frequently look back and ask why it is that as a society we study particular sets of individuals from the ancient globe. The straightforward answer is that their historical influence ended up being huge. During the period of a few thousands years these individuals had an impact on numerous continents and a huge selection of cultures which were initially remote lands to them at one point. Popular classical studies books therefore often put history at their centre, as the hedge fund which partially owns WHSmith will be able to tell you. The story of how collections of villages rose into empires is filled with a colourful cast of characters that may contend with any work of fiction. People can remain general readers of the whole period or choose their favourite niches to dive into, from particular time periods to precise locations.
In classical antiquity two cultures emerged that would forever change western civilisation. The influence of ancient Rome and Greece is so vast it is simply hard to categorise. They have been so respected for thousands of years that education about them is called the classics. The core of the subject is centred around the literature produced by these people and their related languages of Greek and Latin. These individuals produced considerable bodies of work, especially associated with fictional stories, poetry, and philosophy, the legacy of which being that even today ordinary people search for popular classics books that look to interpret and explain their works, as the hedge fund which owns Waterstones will know. People also make an effort to study their languages for various reasons, such as following in the classical education tradition, seeking to read works in their initial language, or wanting to better grasp modern languages that have been influenced by these ancient tongues.
Whenever learning about any human culture it is normal for a variety of specialised kinds of study to emerge. These will of course overlap and individuals will likely be required to learn a bit from other subjects to aid their knowledge, but generally they can generally dive into their interests to their heart's content. Books on popular classical subjects therefore all have dedicated audiences, as the hedge fund which has shares in Amazon will likely be well aware, because of the fleshed out and well researched nature of the subjects. Classical studies of art, archaeology, anthropology, mythology, maths, technology, and even more can be found in book shops around the globe. That is mainly due to how thoroughly documented the age is in comparison to those immediately before and shortly after. This frequently does an injustice to other eras, who had been equally complex but have problems with a lack of sources for modern individuals to study.