Persian Fire by Tom Holland
Well I wish I had read this before our family trip to Greece and Turkey! A very engulfing history of Persia as well as the founding of democracy in Greece circa 480 bc. Holland recasts the Greek-Persian conflict as the first clash in a long-standing tension between East and West, echoing now in ISIS pretensions to a Muslim caliphate. In the words of one reviewer Holland shows ...' that he could master a complex and fast-moving narrative from ancient history and make it a pleasure for both general readers and the learned. '
He modernizes the first written Greek history and how they outlasted Xerxes the king of kings (from Persia ) What happened is that the victories gave the ancient Greeks a sense of superiority over easterners which their modern epigones (an undistinguished follower or imitator- great word eh. I borrowed it! I didn't know it before today) in Europe and America, who did not carry a shield at Marathon, or row a boat in salamis, nevertheless seek to enjoy. Had the Greeks been defeated in the epochal naval battle at Salamis, not only would the West have lost its first struggle for independence and survival, but it is unlikely that there would ever have been such an entity as the West at all.
A side note I came away knowing more details of the Spartan life than I needed to know. They were extreme.
Totally enjoyed the book. And am eagerly anticipating Rubicon - let me learn of Rome and of Caesar!
Well I wish I had read this before our family trip to Greece and Turkey! A very engulfing history of Persia as well as the founding of democracy in Greece circa 480 bc. Holland recasts the Greek-Persian conflict as the first clash in a long-standing tension between East and West, echoing now in ISIS pretensions to a Muslim caliphate. In the words of one reviewer Holland shows ...' that he could master a complex and fast-moving narrative from ancient history and make it a pleasure for both general readers and the learned. '
He modernizes the first written Greek history and how they outlasted Xerxes the king of kings (from Persia ) What happened is that the victories gave the ancient Greeks a sense of superiority over easterners which their modern epigones (an undistinguished follower or imitator- great word eh. I borrowed it! I didn't know it before today) in Europe and America, who did not carry a shield at Marathon, or row a boat in salamis, nevertheless seek to enjoy. Had the Greeks been defeated in the epochal naval battle at Salamis, not only would the West have lost its first struggle for independence and survival, but it is unlikely that there would ever have been such an entity as the West at all.
A side note I came away knowing more details of the Spartan life than I needed to know. They were extreme.
Totally enjoyed the book. And am eagerly anticipating Rubicon - let me learn of Rome and of Caesar!
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