Themistocles: The Rise and Fall of Athenss Naval Mastermind [Hardcover]

A portrait of the Athenian politician and general Themistocles, tracing his political development, his victory at the Battle of Salamis, and his exile in Persia

Excellent. . . . A superb introduction to the life of Themistocles and the foundations of democracy.David Gibbins,Wall Street Journal

Themistocles (524459 BC) came of age just as a newly democratic and empowered Athens was emerging. He would become an instrumental political and military figure, fighting in the Battle of Marathon; persuading Athenians to expand their fleet; and engineering the Athenians defeat of the Persians at the Battle of Salamis. However, as Michael Scott demonstrates in this biography, Themistocles failed as much as he succeeded.

Scott offers a fully human picture of Themistocles, a man who could be both decisive and heroic as well as uncertain and unprepared. He was loved and hated in Athens, his plans and ideas ignored as often as they were respected. Eventually he was exiled as a traitor, ultimately settling in Persia as an adviser to Artaxerxes, the son of Xerxes, his foe at Salamis. And yet, in the aftermath of his death, he emerged as one of Greeces historical heroes.

In this portrait of a man Thucydides deemed one of the most illustrious Greeks of his time, Scott reveals one mans struggle to navigate the turbulent world of Athenian politics, and the crucial role of historians and biographers in shaping, and distorting, the image of Themistocles that has come down to us through the centuries.

Excellent. . . . Accessible but bedded in authoritative scholarship. . . . Scotts book deserves to be widely read as a superb introduction to the life of Themistocles and the foundations of democracy.David Gibbins,Wall Street Journal

An illuminating biography, bringing to life the early classical world in stunning detail.Max Sligh,New Criterion

Scotts book investigates the turbulent tl³a