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    Lords of the Sea: The Epic Story of the Athenian Navy and the Birth of Democracy
    Lords of the Sea: The Epic Story of the Athenian Navy and the Birth of Democracy
    Lords of the Sea: The Epic Story of the Athenian Navy and the Birth of Democracy
    Audiobook13 hours

    Lords of the Sea: The Epic Story of the Athenian Navy and the Birth of Democracy

    Written by John R. Hale

    Narrated by David Drummond

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    The navy created by the people of Athens in ancient Greece was one of the finest fighting forces in the history of the world and the model for all other national navies to come. The Athenian navy built a civilization, empowered the world's first democracy, and led a band of ordinary citizens on a voyage of discovery that altered the course of history. Its defeat of the Persian fleet at Salamis in 480 B.C.E. launched the Athenian Golden Age and preserved Greek freedom and culture for centuries.

    With Lords of the Sea, renowned archaeologist and historian John R. Hale presents, for the first time, the definitive history of the epic battles, the indomitable ships, and the men-from extraordinary leaders to seductive rogues-who established Athens's supremacy. With a scholar's insight and a storyteller's flair, Hale takes us on an illustrated tour of the heroes, their turbulent careers, and their far-flung expeditions and brings back to life a forgotten maritime empire and its majestic legacy.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateJun 1, 2009
    ISBN9781400181889
    Lords of the Sea: The Epic Story of the Athenian Navy and the Birth of Democracy

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    Reviews for Lords of the Sea

    4.5/5

    83 ratings8 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I first saw John Hale on the great courses, this one in particular was the art of public speaking. I decided to follow his career from then on, and I wasn't disappointed. I enjoyed the book, there is a point towards the end where the history feels like it's being moved along, and I don't get a feel for the life of a sailor on the trireme. I don't learn the day to day or how it felt to travel to Sicily. That's something I've developed an appreciation for as I served as marine infantryman and then returning to the service as an army infantryman. the aspect of the fighting man. All in all a great read. my gripes weren't the points of the story he was trying to convey, and probably nothing would of satisfied me a 100% but he came close. Thank you Mr. Hale for your time and energy to make this book.
    • 5/5
      Fast moving with enough detail to intrigue but not so much that it drags. Explains how the development of the navy and naval strategies led to the Athenian dominance of the ancient world. Fast paced, skillful narrative.
    • 4/5
      A great read following wily Greeks and more specifically Athenians, as they battle with triremes against, Spartans, Persians whoever, and they win more than they lose.
    • 4/5

      Fascinating book by someone who has studied the Athenian navy for forty years according to the preface. And yet, the book is very accessible vs being written for other scholars.

      This covers the history of Athens and to a lesser extent Sparta from the time of King Leonidas and the 300 Spartans vs Persian thousands at the battle of Thermopylae until the reign of Alexander the Great.

      I knew democracy was born in Greece at Athens. But I didn't realize democracy was a product of war and was maintained by warfare for generations. Once the Athenian navy was powerful enough to overawe their neighbors peace was maintained for long periods of time. Then they would stop supporting the navy to the same degree and as their power waned so did peace. Interesting analysis of naval power and the creation of democracy and the effects on Athenian society.

      It's always interesting to learn about cultures that are so incredibly different then our own. We tend to think other cultures are more like us than not in many ways. And that is just not the way things have always been. But we look back in history sometimes we find that we, rather than the people of the past, are alien.
    • 5/5
      My first thought before I even started this book is, "why bother?" I already read Donald Kagan's phenomenal history of The Peloponnesian War, who is this guy and what can he possibly add? Well, it turns out Mr. Hale is not only a former student of Kagan, but he's the guy who twisted Kagan's arm to distill his 4-volume scholarly epic into the excellent book aimed at a broader audience. When that deal went down. Hale was contracted to write a sort of companion book that focused entirely on the Athenian Navy. The story of the Athenian navy starts with the Persian wars. Athens at the time had a middling hoplite army that was less effective than Sparta and no better than the rest of the Greek city states. The decision to focus entirely on maritime supremacy launched a veritable golden age that peaked even after a stunning defeat in the Peloponnesian War. It wasn't until Alexander the Great humbled all of Greece that Athenian power ceased to be a dominate factor in the Aegean. For nearly 200 years prior to this, however, Athens won stunning victories against horrific odds, celebrated (and then sometimes ostracized) many generals; and experienced ebbs and flows within their novel democracy that led to the demise of some generals and the great teacher/philosopher Socrates. This latter bit is important when considering the military history of Greece during this time -- knowing the outcome of the battles is not nearly enough, the context changed so rapidly that the same general (like Alcibiades) might find himself fighting on different sides during the course of his career. This book is an excellent companion to Kagan's book, and although it is more Athenian-centric, it also has a broader scope, covering events before and after the Peloponnesian War. My only complaints are minor -- I think I would have liked a little more biography with some of the Spartan, Persian, Theban, and other adversaries...Hale drops a lot of names that are somewhat familiar to me but only because I've heard about them in passing in other such books. I did learn more about trireme battle strategy and many of the Athenian generals though, this book certainly was not a rehash of what I already know (and if that needs to be qualified, I started with Thucydides 35 years ago in an Ancient Greek History class and have been reading on this subject ever since).
    • 4/5
      With "characters" like Sophocles, Socrates, Aristotle, Thucydides, Plato, Alexander the Great and many others, Hale takes what could be a dry history book and makes it a fascinating page turner. It also served as a reminder to me that the world has always been a crazy place.
    • 4/5
      John Hale's book is actually a history of the rise and fall of classical Athens framed by the story of the Athenian Navy. Hale tells this history clearly and well in a scant 300 pages, pretty impressive given that his story includes Thermopylae, Salamis, the building of the Long Walls, the Peloponnesian War, the story of Atlantis and Plato's aim in creating it, the death of Socrates, and more.
    • 4/5
      My readings in Ancient history are extremely limited but I had no trouble following this and staying absorbed. It's all new to me so I actually sort of loved the book, the author brought the period to life. Many famous people, battles and events a placed into a continuity of time that is easy to follow. Hale writes in a way that is accessible, he employes narrative techniques to great effect without sacrificing history, it helps the events are so dramatic. The Athenian navy at first seemed a bit gimmicky to hang a book from but it turns out to be appropriate, it really was the central feature of Athens rise to power, and Democracy. I look forward to reading more about the period, probably starting with Kegan's book on the Peloponnesian War.