Skip to search
Skip to main content
Catalog
Help
Feedback
Your Account
Library Account
Bookmarks
(
0
)
Search History
Search in
Keyword
Title (keyword)
Author (keyword)
Subject (keyword)
Title starts with
Subject (browse)
Author (browse)
Author (sorted by title)
Call number (browse)
search for
Search
Advanced Search
Bookmarks
(
0
)
Princeton University Library Catalog
Start over
Cite
Send
to
SMS
Email
EndNote
RefWorks
RIS
Printer
Bookmark
The rise of Athens : the story of the world's greatest civilization / Anthony Everitt.
Author
Everitt, Anthony
[Browse]
Format
Book
Language
English
Εdition
First edition.
Published/Created
New York : Random House, [2016]
Description
xxxiii, 540 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : color illustrations, maps ; 25 cm
Availability
Copies in the Library
Location
Call Number
Status
Location Service
Notes
Firestone Library - Classics Collection
DF285 .E94 2016
Browse related items
Request
Details
Subject(s)
Athens (Greece)
—
History
[Browse]
Library of Congress genre(s)
History
[Browse]
Summary note
"A magisterial account of how a tiny city-state in ancient Greece became history's most influential civilization, from the bestselling author of acclaimed biographies of Cicero, Augustus, and Hadrian"-- Amazon.com.
The achievements of Athens have left a profound impact on Western culture. The Athenians invented the first real democracy (albeit one that included only adult males) and, in doing so, transformed the very notion of government. They established the concept of philosophy, raising issues with which today's thinkers still wrestle, and shaped the arts of tragedy and comedy, architecture and sculpture, as well as the study of history. Just how did a tiny community of some two hundred thousand souls manage to give birth to towering geniuses across the range of human endeavor and lay the foundations of our contemporary intellectual universe? With Athens itself as his protagonist, Anthony attempts to answer this question. Filled with tales of adventure and astounding reversals of fortune, this book celebrates the city-state that transformed the world--from the democratic revolution that marked its beginning, through the city's political and cultural golden age, to its decline into the ancient equivalent of a modern-day university town. Everitt also fills his history with unforgettable portraits of the talented, tricky, ambitious, and unscrupulous Athenians who fueled the city's rise: Themistocles, the brilliant naval strategist who led the Greeks to a decisive victory over their Persian enemies; Pericles, arguably the greatest Athenian statesman of them all; and the wily Alcibiades, who changed his political allegiance several times during the course of the Peloponnesian War--and died in a hail of assassins' arrows. Here also are riveting you-are-there accounts of the milestone battles that defined the Hellenic world: Thermopylae, Marathon, and Salamis among them. Everitt combines erudite, thoughtful historical analysis with stirring narrative set pieces that capture the colorful, dramatic, and exciting world of ancient Greece. Although the history of Athens is less well known than that of other world empires, the city-state's allure would inspire Alexander the Great, the Romans, and even America's own Founding Fathers. It's fair to say that the Athenians made possible the world in which we live today.--Adapted from dust jacket.
Bibliographic references
Includes bibliographical references (pages 477-522) and index.
Contents
National hero
A state of war
The Persian mule
The shaking-off
Friend of the poor
Charioteers of the soul
Inventing democracy
Eastern raiders
Fox as hedgehog
Invasion
"The acts of idiots"
"O divine Salamis"
League of Nations
The falling out
The kindly ones
"Crowned with violets"
The prisoners on the island
The man who knew nothing
Downfall
The end of democracy?
Sparta's turn
Chaeronea : "fatal to liberty"
Afterword : "a God-forsaken hole".
Show 20 more Contents items
ISBN
9780812994582
0812994582
0812984986 (pbk.)
9780812984989 (pbk.)
LCCN
2016014843
OCLC
944933724
Other standard number
40026669468
Statement on language in description
Princeton University Library aims to describe library materials in a manner that is respectful to the individuals and communities who create, use, and are represented in the collections we manage.
Read more...
Other views
Staff view
Ask a Question
Suggest a Correction
Report Harmful Language
Supplementary Information