PDF / EPUB File Name: THE_GATES_OF_ATHENS_-_Conn_Iggulden.pdf, THE_GATES_OF_ATHENS_-_Conn_Iggulden.epub History is not simply a list of names, dates, and battles, history is the story of humanity, of us, how we got to here from there. The Gates of Athens has the names: Themistocles, Xerxes, Leonidas, Darius, among many others, even Pericles makes an appearance. The period of 490 BCE to 480 BCE is covered. We start with The Battle of Marathon, The Battle of Thermopylae and finish with, well, I’ll let you find that out for yourself. The beauty of what Iggulden did was that he made it a narrative. By focusing on one character who lived through these years, we go beyond the names and dates, the history becomes a complete story, the pieces and interactions come together. It is far easier to see and feel the big picture than the traditional way that history is taught. 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. 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. Facing overwhelming forces by land and sea, the Athenians call on their Spartan allies for assistance --- to delay the Persians at the treacherous pass of Thermopylae.

Evoking two of the most famous battles of the Ancient World—the Battle of Marathon and the Last Stand at Thermopylae— The Gates of Athens is a bravura piece of storytelling by a wellacclaimed master ofthehistorical adventure novel. First of all, for context, I'm trained as a historian specializing in the pre- and early Roman ancient Mediterranean, especially with regards to issues of identity and imperialism.

Er zijn heel wat afwisselende perspectieven en de focus ligt opnieuw op twee grote veldslagen. Die van Plataea is misschien wel de belangrijkste uit de hele oorlog. Amazing plot progression and alteration of pace throughout, with a variety of historical figures, all whilst drip feeding historical information that was so interesting and educational whilst not detracting from the main focuses. Masterful.

Democracy and knowledge: innovation and learning in classical Athens by Josiah Ober p. 40 ISBN 0-691-13347-6 (2008) stars. Protector starts where The Gates of Athens ends. The Athenians have evacuated to Salamis and are watching their city being torched by Persian troops. Offshore, the sea battle rages, the Greeks greatly outnumbered by the Persian fleet. How can the Athenians possibly survive this onslaught? Ten years later, Xanthippus watches helplessly as Athens succumbs to the bitter politics of factionalism. Traitors and exiles abound. Trust is at a low ebb when the Persians cross the Hellespont in ever greater numbers in their second attempt to raze Athens to the ground. Mi único pero… es que a pesar de narrar desde los personajes, lo que estos hacen y hasta cierto punto sienten, los percibí más bien lejanos… casi ajenos a la historia (perdón si no logro explicarme). Con el único que sentí algún tipo de empatía fue con Jantipo, quizás porque es el eje central de la obra. Under Darius the Great, King of Kings, the mighty Persian army --- swollen by 10,000 warriors known as The Immortals --- have come to subjugate the Greeks. In their path, vastly outnumbered, stands an army of freeborn Athenians. Among them is a clever, fearsome and cunning soldier-statesman, Xanthippus. Against all odds, the Athenians emerge victorious.

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That’s about it for the moment. If you’d like to get in touch with me leave a comment in the forum or you can tweet me @Conn_Iggulden. I’ll leave it there for the moment. If you’ve read my books, you know an awful lot about the way I think already. There’s no point overdoing it.

On the East side: the Gate of Diochares, leading to the Lyceum. The Diomean Gate, leading to Cynosarges and the deme Diomea. So… I did finish the book, have I been overly harsh on Mr Iggulden….. well I have to say as Ive already mentioned I loved his Wolf of the Plains series, less his saga about the War of the Roses (which I found very up/down across the series) & now even less so this, his Peloponnesian wars opener…. The detail jus isn’t there, it’s a synopsis style, a series of short stories if you will that are knitted together by the commonality of the theme where characters flit in/out, not fleshed out at all bar the main (only) two POV’s of Xanthippus & Themistocles, even then it’s spartan (sorry couldn't resist that one, jus had too!) at that. Ok that’s the style needed to cover it all in one book but by covering so few characters it becomes very staid & his MC is as dull as…….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. I never thought I would find these ancient Greek wars so immersive, but Iggulden has a talent for writing battle scenes and political intriges that will get you on the edge of your seat. Panathenaic Stadium, south of the Ilissos, in the district Agrai, where the athletic portion of the Panathenaic Games were held. Most of the characters rely far too heavily on the point of view of one character (Xanthippus) for their own development.