Vendor
	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Sebastian Ritscher
Original language
English
Categories
Politics & government

THE RISE OF ATHENS

Anthony Everitt

The Story of the World’s Greatest Civilization

In this riveting volume, Everitt turns his keen critical eye to the modest city-state that would become the birthplace of democracy. The mystery of Athens is simple: how did a tiny community of 200,000 souls manage to give birth to towering geniuses across the range of human endeavor, create one of greatest civilizations in history, and lay the foundations of our own contemporary intellectual universe?

With the city itself as his protagonist, Everitt attempts to answer this question by charting the characteristics, flaws and unique brilliance of this ambitious city-civilization. Filled with adventure and astounding reversals of fortune, THE RISE OF ATHENS celebrates the city-state that created the world's first democratic experiment—from the democratic revolution that marked its beginning, moving on to the city's political and cultural heyday, and concluding with its decline into a pleasant 'university town.'

An authoritative voice and a unparalleled storyteller, Everitt combines erudite, thoughtful history while bringing the reader into the colorful, dramatic, and exciting world of Ancient Greece.

Anthony Everitt, visiting professor in the visual and performing arts at Nottingham Trent University, has written extensively on European culture and is the author of CICERO, AUGUSTUS, HADRIAN & THE TRIUMPH OF ROME and THE RISE OF ROME. He has served as secretary general of the Arts Council for Great Britain. Everitt lives near Colchester, England's first recorded town, founded by the Romans.

Available products
Book Published 2016-12-06 by Random House
Book Published 2016-12-06 by Random House

Comments

UK: Amberley ; China: CITIC

A thick, lively popular history that tells a complex story without dumbing it down or devoting more than a modest effort to distinguishing fact from myth. All ancient histories begin with prehistory, and veteran British historian Everitt describes the Homeric age before 1000 B.C.E. as Greeks themselves viewed it, an ingenious approach that emphasizes the many differences between ancient cultures and modern societies…Highly readable.

The author of Cicero (2002) and Augustus (2006) turns his gimlet eye to ancient Athens in this comprehensive look at the influential city-state.… Drawing on Herodotus and other primary sources, Everitt relishes recounting the great battles that defined Athenian glory and exploring the intricacies of its government, combining impressive scholarship with involving narration in this invaluable history of a foundational civilization.

Everitt combines a classical education with practical expertise...He writes fluidly.

Everitt has created another engaging, readable, and informative narrative about classical antiquity…Readers will also discover (or rediscover) the wonder of the Parthenon, the flowering of Athenian direct democracy, and the sophisticated philosophy of Plato, as well as Greek words such as polis and ecclesia. Everitt has a gift for making ancient history accessible. Highly recommended.

[A] skillful, deft, articulate, and often humorous expositor.