The Gates of Athens: Book One in the Athenian series

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I also liked how the first novel offered insight into the democracy in Athens, whereas this one learns you more about Sparta. You can feel the differences between both realms that will bring them to the other side of the battlefield in the future (I believe the Peloponnesian War will be the topic of the next book in this series?). The almost complete absence of female characters resulted in a sense of unbalance. I could never establish what life in Athens at the time was like for anyone other than military men. There were no ordinary characters or females playing any significant roll; Xanthippus’ wife, Agariste, is mentioned only in passing, for example. And near irresistible to historical fiction writers. But if anyone is looking for non-stop bloodshed, they won't find it here. What Iggulden does in The Lion Shield/The Gates of Athens is weave the fighting into the wider politics of the period, focused primarily through the city-state of Athens. Xanthippus and Themistocles provide the main two POVs, their conflict and/or comradeship the means though which Athenian 'democracy' and its limitations is explored. This choice allows the reader to see more than just men at war, giving flashes of life in the home, agora, and assembly. The silver mines of Laurion contributed significantly to the development of Athens in the 5th century BC, when the Athenians learned to prospect, treat, and refine the ore and used the proceeds to build a massive fleet, at the instigation of Themistocles. [8] The Gates of Athens tells the story of ancient Athens from Marathon to Thermopylae through four of the city’s most influential political and military figures. Its democracy is threatened not just by the military might of the Persian empire, but by the machinations of its own citizens.

Te midden van de zeeslag van Salamis tegen de Perzen ziet het er niet goed uit voor de Grieken. Athene is in vlammen opgegaan en de inwoners schuilen op het eiland Salamis. Het is aan Themistocles om iets uit zijn mouw te toveren. Om de Perzen uit heel Griekenland te verdrijven zullen Themistocles, Aristides en Xantippus de hulp van Sparta moeten inroepen en daar ontbreekt leiding na de dood van Leonidas. Panathenaic Stadium, south of the Ilissos, in the district Agrai, where the athletic portion of the Panathenaic Games were held. Ten years later, Athens has betrayed its favourite son. When the Persians return, when they cross the Hellespont to take revenge on the Greeks, will Xanthippus come home to save his people? Conn Igguilden has written an exciting account of the battles of Marathon and Thermopylae. I was there! With Xanthippus and his hoplites, I fought against the Persian Immortals on the beach at Marathon. I stood with Leonidas, holding the pass at Thermopylae against the Persian forces before succumbing. I fought with Xanthippus again, this time on a trireme against a huge Persian fleet. Igguilden’s research into these events and life in Athens at the time is meticulous. I’d urge anyone with teenagers struggling to learn ancient Greek history to give them this to read as it brings it alive in a way that a textbook never will. The historical note at the end explains the liberties with the facts but they’re few.The Gates of Athens" by Conn Iggulden is a great retelling of the Greek conflict with the Persian Emprire. Starting with Darius' attempt in 490 BC at Marathon, the story then delves into the politics of Athens and Greece in general. I send this shaft as my vow,” Xerxes heard his father murmur. “God, let me punish the Athenians as they deserve.” Speaking of slaves, their perspective is missing entirely from this book. So is the perspective of women, metics, and generally everyone else who isn't part of the Athenian or Spartan elite. You could make the argument that that is not what the book is about so it's okay, but I'd disagree. The author made the conscious decision to focus on 'great men,' leaving out any criticism of rampant Greek misogyny, the intense slavery, the superiority complex Greeks had regarding non-Greeks, etc. etc. Instead he blatantly and uncritically copies the self-serving Greek narrative about the wars, which in my opinion makes him no better than those he copied, with all their misogyny and classism. Athens, and in fact ancient Greece as a whole, had serious issues and this book whitewashes them, and that is simply not okay. It does, however, mean there are constraints on how much time the author can spend on the battle scenes. Equally, the attempt to bring in all the big names, from Darius to Xerxes to Leonidas, means there is an inevitable limitation to how well we can know them. But if you want to have first person accounts of all the significant events, that's the only way you can do it. Both the time and geographical period of the Greco-Persian Wars are too spread out, with changing players. The Battle of Marathon in 490 BCE was part of the first invasion led by Darius, with Thermypolae and the naval Battle of Artemisium in 480 BCE as the openers of the second invasion under Xerxes. Those coming into the book expecting a long time spent at Thermopylae may be disappointed. It was certainly given less time than I expected but nevertheless it remained impactful. How could it not, when we are all so familiar with various fictional retellings of that legendary battle. And perhaps that's why Iggulden left it largely alone. What he focuses on instead is the sea. For me, it was a welcome and effective decision, feeling fresh and pretty damn thrilling. I can't wait to see what he does with Salamis. Las puertas de Atenas" es el inicio de una serie histórica escrita por el conocido autor de la la Saga La guerra de las dos rosas.

Astonishing, convincing and compelling, with ferocious battles that bring the Ancient World of Greece alive' 5***** Reader ReviewThe city of Athens ( Ancient Greek: Ἀθῆναι, Athênai [a.tʰɛ̂ː.nai̯]; Modern Greek: Αθήναι, Athine [a.ˈθi.ne̞] or, more commonly and in singular, Αθήνα, Athina [a.'θi.na]) during the classical period of ancient Greece (480–323 BC) [1] was the major urban centre of the notable polis ( city-state) of the same name, located in Attica, Greece, leading the Delian League in the Peloponnesian War against Sparta and the Peloponnesian League. Athenian democracy was established in 508 BC under Cleisthenes following the tyranny of Isagoras. This system remained remarkably stable, and with a few brief interruptions remained in place for 180 years, until 322 BC (aftermath of Lamian War). The peak of Athenian hegemony was achieved in the 440s to 430s BC, known as the Age of Pericles. The City, properly so called, divided into The Upper City or Acropolis, and The Lower City, surrounded with walls by Themistocles.

Xerxes, Themistocles, Xanthippus, Aristides, Pausanias … names I remember from studying ancient Greek history last century. Names that Mr Iggulden brings to life in this novel, the second in his Athenian series. While I have not yet read the first book in this series (I missed it, somehow) it is possible to read this as a standalone.

No deshonraré mi espada ni mi escudo y no abandonaré la formación. Defenderé todo lo que es sagrado y devolveré la tierra más fértil de lo que la encontré”. The summary talks about politics & intrigue but it’s nowhere near the comparison of say a Richard Harris novel with his series on Cicero…. It’s all rather staid rather than a retelling of legends of Athenian democracy…. No flourish at all… A Persian king stands at last on Greek soil. His Immortals have come to raze the cities of the west. The Athenians are hopelessly outnumbered. The gods are silent. All they have is the shield line. Xanthippus takes a breath. If they cannot stand, all Greece will fall. Main articles: Age of Pericles, Ancient Greek philosophy, Athenian festivals, and Greek theatre The Karyatides statues of the Erechtheion on its Acropolis.

In addition the Long Walls consisted of two parallel walls leading to Piraeus, 40 stadia long (4.5 miles, 7km), running parallel to each other, with a narrow passage between them and, furthermore, a wall to Phalerum on the east, 35 stadia long (4 miles, 6.5km). There were therefore three long walls in all; but the name Long Walls seems to have been confined to the two leading to the Piraeus, while the one leading to Phalerum was called the Phalerian Wall. The entire circuit of the walls was 174.5 stadia (nearly 22 miles, 35km), of which 43 stadia (5.5 miles, 9km) belonged to the city, 75 stadia (9.5 miles, 15km) to the long walls, and 56.5 stadia (7 miles, 11km) to Piraeus, Munichia, and Phalerum. In het eerste deel leerde ik de democratie van Athene beter kennen en ik heb het gevoel dat we in dit boek vooral veel ontdekken over de Sparten. En de onderlinge relatie tussen beiden rijken, die nog recht tegenover elkaar zullen komen te staan. The book starts off with a prologue that is set around Sardis, in Lydia, which is part of the Persian Empire, and it figures the High King, Darius, and his son and heir, Xerxes. In this book we follow for the main part the resourceful leader of Athens of that time being, Themistocles, the one with his cunning and dare will be victorious against the Persians at salamis, where at first he'll be celebrated as a hero but later on will be treated as an outcast, with close associates by the name of, Xanthippus, Aristides and Cimon also important during this Battle, also in attendance are Agariste, wife of Xanthippus, and their children, Ariphron, Eleni, and a young man to remember, Pericles, while Epikleos is always by Xanthippus's side as a faithful friend. What will follow is a terrific novel where events leading to and eventually ending with this war between Athens and Persia are wonderfully written with great dialogue and human interaction, but where big brutal battle actions are somewhat less pictured, but in my opinion this series is at least an equal in comaprison with Christian Cameron's "The Long War" series, featuring Arimnestos of Plataea, and thus for me this author has his own interpretation and compelling fashion in telling his great tale.The Outer Kerameikos, northwest of the city, was the finest suburb of Athens; here were buried the Athenians who had fallen in war, and at the further end of it was the Academy, six stadia from the city. Well, I did not plan to read this for quite a while, at least until I quashed some other books that I need to read soon. But, The Gates of Athens had different plans. It was just too good. Too good to not read the sequel as soon as I could. It was one of my favourite reads of 2021, so of course I had to dive into the sequel.