Athens
A History, From Ancient Ideal To Modern City
by Robin Waterfield
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"Beginning with the classical period, when it reached its pinnacle of power and cultural genius, Athens: A History is peopled with fascinating individuals. Athens' remarkable ascent had been inspired by the ideals embodied in the ancient Olympic games, but the city deliberately turned its back on those ideals, in Athens' stunning rise and rapid fall lies a timeless tragedy of excessive pride brought low. Contrasting its noble ideals and arrogant actions, Waterfield finds in Athens' story a moral for all time - and vital lessons for the current era." "From its heyday in the fifth century B.C., Athens: A History traces the city's transformations under the yoke of foreign empires - Macedonian, Roman, Byzantine, Frankish and Ottoman - and its revival as the capital of the newly independent nation of Greece. Today, it is a burgeoning European city, host of the 2004 Olympics and heir to a momentous historical and cultural legacy. From Pericles and Socrates to Lord Byron and Baron de Coubertin - founder of the modern Olympic games - this is a powerful, evocative history of a city whose glorious past continues to inspire the present."--BOOK JACKET.
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Subjects
History, Classics, Athens, Antiquity, Hellenic Studies, Greek Culture, Ancient World, Cities, GreecePlaces
Athens (Greece)| Edition | Availability |
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Athens: A History, From ancient Ideal to Modern City
November 8, 2005, Basic Books
in English
0465090648 9780465090648
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Athens: A History, From Ancient Ideal To Modern City
March 30, 2004, Basic Books
in English
046509063X 9780465090631
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Athens: A History, From Ancient Ideal To Modern City
2004, Basic Books
in English
- 1st ed.
046509063X 9780465090631
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Book Details
Edition Notes
Includes bibliographical references and index.
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First Sentence
"ONCE EVERY FOUR YEARS, FROM THE TRADITIONAL, THOUGH PROBABLY not authentic, starting date of 776 BCE, men from all over the Greek world, from Spain to the north African coast to the Black Sea, converged on Olympia."
Work Description
In this engaging and readable narrative, noted classicist and author Robin Waterfield traces the life and history of the city of Athens, with an emphasis on the classical period when, in the space of a century, Athens reached the pinnacle of its power and fell due to arrogance and shortsighted self-interest. Focusing on Athens' social and cultural history, as well as on the powerful and fascinating individuals who left their mark on the city, Waterfield explains Athens' rise and fall, and shows us how-through centuries of war, occupation, and destruction-Athens emerged as a burgeoning modern European city. For over two millennia, the memory of the city's glorious past has ensured that Athens remains synonymous with democracy, civilization, and culture.
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| April 28, 2010 | Edited by Open Library Bot | Linked existing covers to the work. |
| December 9, 2009 | Created by WorkBot | add works page |