Paul Cartledge
Author
Language
English
Description
In 480 BC, a huge Persian army, led by the inimitable King Xerxes, entered the mountain pass of Thermopylae as it marched on Greece, intending to conquer the land with little difficulty. But the Greeks-led by King Leonidas and a small army of Spartans-took the battle to the Persians at Thermopylae, and halted their advance-almost. It is one of history's most acclaimed battles, one of civilization's greatest last stands. And in Thermopylae,...
Author
Language
English
Formats
Description
" Among the extensive writing available about the history of ancient Greece, there is precious little about the city-state of Thebes. At one point the most powerful city in ancient Greece, Thebes has been long overshadowed by its better-known rivals, Athens and Sparta. In Thebes: The Forgotten City of Ancient Greece, acclaimed classicist and historian Paul Cartledge brings the city vividly to life and argues that it is central to our understanding...
4) The Spartans: the world of the warrior-heroes of ancient Greece, from utopia to crisis and collapse
Author
Language
English
Formats
Description
The Spartans of ancient Greece were a powerful and unique people, a society of warrior-heroes who exemplified the heroic virtues of self-sacrifice, community endeavor, and achievement against all odds. Paul Cartledge engagingly examines the rise and fall of this singular society.
Author
Language
English
Description
Sparta has often been described as the original Utopia-a remarkably evolved society whose warrior heroes were forbidden any other trade, profession, or business. As a people, the Spartans were the living exemplars of such core values as duty, discipline, the nobility of arms in a cause worth dying for, sacrificing the individual for the greater good of the community (illustrated by their role in the battle of Thermopylae), and the triumph over seemingly...
Author
Language
English
Description
Alexander's legacy has had a major impact on military tacticians, scholars, statesmen, adventurers, authors, and filmmakers. Cartledge brilliantly evokes Alexander's remarkable political and military accomplishments, cutting through the myths to show why he was such a great leader. He explores our endless fascination with Alexander and gives us insight into his charismatic leadership, his capacity for brutality, and his sophisticated grasp of international...
7) The Spartans
Author
Language
English
Description
The Spartans is a compelling narrative that explores the culture and civilization of the most famous "warrior people": the Spartans of ancient Greece, by the world's leading expert in the field. Sparta has often been described as the original Utopia--a remarkably evolved society whose warrior heroes were forbidden any other trade, profession, or business. As a people, the Spartans were the living exemplars of such core values as duty, discipline,...
Author
Series
Very short introductions ; 286
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Pub. Date
[2011]
Language
English
Description
"Uses the history of eleven major Greek cities to illuminate the most important and informative aspects of Greek culture. The role of such renowned cities as Athens (birthplace of democracy) and Sparta, but he also examines Argos, Thebes, Syracuse in Sicily, and Alexandria in Egypt, as well as lesser known locales such as Miletus (home of the West's first intellectual, Thales) and Massalia (Marseilles today), where the Greeks introduced the wine grape...
Author
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Pub. Date
[2016]
Language
English
Description
"Ancient Greece first coined the concept of "democracy," yet almost every major ancient Greek thinker--from Plato and Aristotle onwards--were ambivalent or even hostile to democracy in any form. The explanation is quite simple: the elite perceived majority power as tantamount to a dictatorship of the proletariat. In ancient Greece there can be traced not only the rudiments of modern democratic society but the entire Western tradition of anti-democratic...
