Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Athens and Sparta:
THIS! IS! Well, Athens and Sparta. Not just the one.
Quick synopsis:
The story of the ancient Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta.
Fact for Non-History People:
At its peak, Athens had a population of 250,000 – 300,000 people.
Fact for History Nerds:
Sparta had two hereditary kings simultaneously.
My Take on Athens and Sparta:
Let’s be honest, I am no ancient history nerd. Yes, I read a ton of history, but ancient history is my weak spot. There are so many unknowns and any author needs to do so much legwork to tell us what we do know because there is only so much to be sure about. In summary, yes I knew there were Peloponnesian Wars, but heck if I know who fought in them. Shoot, even autocorrect doesn’t know how to spell Peloponnesian.
Luckily, there is Adrian Goldsworthy. One of my exceptions to the ancient history rule is Goldsworthy since his Augustus is one of my favorites. When I saw he was taking on Athens and Sparta, it was a no-brainer.
Goldsworthy goes way, way back to explain how Athens and Sparta came to be. He then shows how they developed and, of course, their battles with some certain Persian leaders. You might not remember where the name Thermopylae is from, but you probably remember the movie 300. It is, like most Hollywood movies, wildly inaccurate. However, it serves as a great hook to get you into this book. Come for Thermopylae, stay for the Peloponnesian Wars.
Goldsworthy talks in the preface about how he kept this streamlined and didn’t get into the weeds when it wasn’t necessary. Hilariously, the book is still over 500 pages. The author isn’t lying, it’s just a lot of ground to cover! Pick this one up, but just make sure you set aside a lot of reading time.
(This book was provided as an advanced reader copy by Basic Books.)
Verdict:
I don’t like ancient history and even I loved it. Buy it here!
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