After Thermopylae After Thermopylae

After Thermopylae

The Oath of Plataea and the End of the Graeco-Persian Wars

    • 4,5 • 2 valoraciones
    • $17.99
    • $17.99

Descripción editorial

The Battle of Plataea in 479 BCE is one of world history's unjustly neglected events. It decisively ended the threat of a Persian conquest of Greece. It involved tens of thousands of combatants, including the largest number of Greeks ever brought together in a common cause. For the Spartans, the driving force behind the Greek victory, the battle was sweet vengeance for their defeat at Thermopylae the year before. Why has this pivotal battle been so overlooked?

In After Thermopylae, Paul Cartledge masterfully reopens one of the great puzzles of ancient Greece to discover, as much as possible, what happened on the field of battle and, just as important, what happened to its memory. Part of the answer to these questions, Cartledge argues, can be found in a little-known oath reputedly sworn by the leaders of Athens, Sparta, and several other Greek city-states prior to the battle-the Oath of Plataea. Through an analysis of this oath, Cartledge provides a wealth of insight into ancient Greek culture. He shows, for example, that when the Athenians and Spartans were not fighting the Persians they were fighting themselves, including a propaganda war for control of the memory of Greece's defeat of the Persians. This helps explain why today we readily remember the Athenian-led victories at Marathon and Salamis but not Sparta's victory at Plataea. Indeed, the Oath illuminates Greek anxieties over historical memory and over the Athens-Sparta rivalry, which would erupt fifty years after Plataea in the Peloponnesian War. In addition, because the Oath was ultimately a religious document, Cartledge also uses it to highlight the profound role of religion and myth in ancient Greek life. With compelling and eye-opening detective work, After Thermopylae provides a long-overdue history of the Battle of Plataea and a rich portrait of the Greek ethos during one of the most critical periods in ancient history.

GÉNERO
History
PUBLICADO
2013
9 de mayo
IDIOMA
EN
Inglés
EXTENSIÓN
240
Páginas
EDITORIAL
Oxford University Press
VENDEDOR
The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Oxford trading as Oxford University Press
TAMAÑO
8,2
MB

Más libros como este

Ancient Greece: A Very Short Introduction Ancient Greece: A Very Short Introduction
2009
Thebes Thebes
2020
The Greeks The Greeks
2021
Athens Burning Athens Burning
2017
Ancient Greek Civilization Ancient Greek Civilization
2016
The Spartan Way The Spartan Way
2013

Más libros de Paul Cartledge

The Histories The Histories
2014
Ancient Greece: A Very Short Introduction Ancient Greece: A Very Short Introduction
2009
Thermopylae Thermopylae
2006
Democracy Democracy
2016
The Spartans The Spartans
2003
Thebes Thebes
2020