The Rise of Athens

The Story of the World's Greatest Civilization

By: Anthony Everitt

Narrated by: Michael Page

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. 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.

©2016 Anthony Everitt (P)2016 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

enjoyed the listen

plenty of interesting info, good level of detail, not a dry "read". thought provoking on the topic of sic transit gloria mundi.

Very Accessible History of Ancient Greece

This is an extremely accessible account of classical Greek history focusing on Athens, Sparta and the Persian Empire. Everitt manages to give plenty of detail while keeping a relatively fast moving narrative. He moves from the ancient history up to Alexander hitting all the major points of the wars with Persia and the Peloponnesian War. At times the details become overwhelming—that’s to be expected in a long volume like this—but if you’re looking to understand ancient Greek history this is an exceptional volume. The part I found most informative was the very insightful discussion of how the nobility in Athens tried to use democracy to maintain their grip on power.

Thorough, Entertaining, and a Bit Sad

Everett does a masterful job of encapsulating the pertinent history of Athens (and very much Sparta and the Persian Empire as well). His limited editorial commentary is usually for the purpose of humor and he is very good at it. His analysis of the impact of Athens and the larger Hellenic world on history is astute. It was excellent and I enjoyed it very much. It makes me sad that I cannot see this remarkable polis at its Fifth Century BCE height.

Ancient Greece

About the Athens play, I opener and how the world adopted they are method specially when it comes to the Americans, can’t wait to learn more about Greece history

Incisive Synopsis of the Ascendancy of Ancient Gre

Excellent, thorough and cohesive modern synopsis that filled in many gaps for this passionate student of ancient Greece. Narration was impeccable.