Thebes

The Forgotten City of Ancient Greece

De: Paul Cartledge

Narrado por: David Timson

The riveting, definitive account of the ancient Greek city of Thebes, by the acclaimed author of The Spartans.

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 of the ancient Greeks' achievements - whether politically or culturally - and thus to the wider politico-cultural traditions of western Europe, the Americas, and indeed the world.

From its role as an ancient political power, to its destruction at the hands of Alexander the Great as punishment for a failed revolt, to its eventual restoration by Alexander's successor, Cartledge deftly chronicles the rise and fall of the ancient city. He recounts the history with deep clarity and mastery for the subject and makes clear both the differences and the interconnections between the Thebes of myth and the Thebes of history. Written in clear prose and illustrated with images, Thebes is a gripping listen for students of ancient history and those looking to experience the real city behind the myths of Cadmus, Hercules, and Oedipus.

©2020 Paul Cartledge (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

lovely book on forgotten Thebes!

loved it and very happy with narration, I recommend to those Greek history lovers. You will not regret it!

Good work, but has a lot of holes

I enjoyed the reading and gleaned a lot of information I had missed in my study of Thebes. However, skipping the Theban hegemony almost completely was incredibly disappointing.

terrific study of a city list in time

I never knew all this and it turned out to be a remarkable study not only of Thebes but of classical Greece. I half-knew a lot of this stuff but he tied it all together.

Not an Easy Listen

I can’t put my finger on it, but I felt at times like this narrator might as well have been speaking a different language. Good narrations just seem to ‘download’ the information in the text automatically to my brain, whereas with this release, I kept having to remind myself to pay attention. Little things like a pause between ‘athenian’ and ‘domination’ would get my brain focused on the first word, like broad aspects of athenian culture, geography, etc., and then I would have to reroute my thoughts toward ‘domination’, and then that small slice of time playing catch-up would result in losing whatever information came next. It would just be easier to string ‘athenian domination’ together. This is just one example, but similar things kept happening to the point where I realized that I’d just have to read this text the old fashioned way.

Snobbish ending

I found the majority of the book enjoyable and informative, and the narration is great. But the way the author chose to address modern adaptations of Ancient Greek plays was bizarre and pedantic. He seems to be irritated by historically inaccurate takes on the stories, or modernizations. The criticism always falls flat and comes across as complaining, not adding anything worthwhile to the book. I’m mystified as to why this was even included, since it casts the author as a mediocre art critic and has no real bearing on the rest of the book. A very disappointing ending.