The Rise of Athens
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
Filled with tales of adventure and astounding reversals of fortune, The Rise of Athens celebrates the city-state that transformed the world—from the democratic revolution that mark...
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
Filled with tales of adventure and astounding reversals of fortune, The Rise of Athens 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.
Anthony Everitt constructs 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. An unparalleled storyteller, 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. In this peerless new work, Anthony Everitt breathes vivid life into this most ancient story.
Praise for Anthony Everitt’s The Rise of Rome
“Rome’s history abounds with remarkable figures. . . . Everitt writes for the informed and the uninformed general reader alike, in a brisk, conversational style, with a modern attitude of skepticism and realism.”—The Dallas Morning News
“[A] lively and readable account . . . Roman history has an uncanny ability to resonate with contemporary events.”—Maclean’s
“Elegant, swift and faultless as an introduction to his subject.”—The Spectator
“An engrossing history of a relentlessly pugnacious city’s 500-year rise to empire.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Fascinating history and a great read.”—Chicago Sun-Times
[英] 安东尼·艾福瑞特（Anthony Everitt）
历史作家，英国艺术协会秘书长，曾任英国诺丁汉特伦特大学客座教授。
童年时他曾读到三本古典文学的名作：《伊利亚特》、《奥德赛》和《会饮篇》。希腊人和罗马人的神话传说、英雄功绩，在孩子心中建立起了文明世界的初步印象，尽管存在悲剧与血腥，但自由的思想、道德的精神却引人入胜。
此后他为一系列名垂青史的古代伟人撰写传记：奥古斯都、西塞罗、哈德良和亚历山大。他也讲述罗马和希腊世界中文明的兴盛、帝国的崛起。
如他所崇敬的罗马史学家前辈一样，艾福瑞特不仅忠实地还原历史，也着重描绘古代英雄的魅力与美德，以及他们的独特性格，在一个恢宏的时代所注定带来的命运
他现在居住在英国科尔切斯特附近，那里曾是英国历史上首座由罗马人建立的小镇。