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Original Essays | April 29, 2013
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More copies of this ISBNThis title in other editionsThermopylae: The Battle That Changed the Worldby Paul Cartledge
Review-A-Day"Cartledge does full justice to these events, which even the most pacific or unmilitary reader must find soul-shaking." Jasper Griffin, The New York Review of Books (read the entire New York Review of Books review) Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments: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, renowned classical historian Paul Cartledge looks anew this history-altering moment and, most impressively, shows how its repercussions have bearing on us even today. The invasion of Europe by Xerxes and his army redefined culture, kingdom, and class. The valiant efforts of a few thousand Greek warriors, facing a huge onrushing Persian army at the narrow pass at Thermopylae, changed the way generations to come would think about combat, courage, and death. The battle of Thermopylae was at its broadest a clash of civilizations; one that momentously helped shape the identity of classical Greece and hence the nature of our own cultural heritage. Review:"A masterful account....Cartledge spends some time celebrating Herodotus (whose account of the battle is the most thorough, though not always reliable) and even offers a few thrusts of the sharp auctorial spear at George W. Bush. A class in Western Civilization that both instructs and entertains." Kirkus Reviews
Review:"[A] beautifully written and stirring saga....When describing the actual military conflict, Cartledge's account has a special urgency and poignancy. An outstanding retelling of one of the seminal events in world history." Booklist
Review:"The real passion of Themopylae lies in the author's sudden discovery that his subject is exciting to other people again, as it was in Byzantine, Renaissance and Imperial British days." The Wall Street Journal
Synopsis:From the author of Alexander the Great and The Spartans comes a thrilling new account of the world's most famous battle, of self-sacrifice, and ultimate victory against the odds. Photos throughout.
About the AuthorPaul Cartledge, professor of Greek history at the University of Cambridge, is the author of The Spartans, Alexander the Great, and The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization.
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History and Social Science » Military » Ancient and Medieval
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