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Athens

A History

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Athens

By: Bruce Clark
Narrated by: Mark Elstob
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About this listen

A sweeping history of Athens, telling the 3,000-year story of the birthplace of Western civilisation.

Even on the most smog-bound of days, the rocky outcrop on which the Acropolis stands is visible above the sprawling roofscape of the Greek capital. Athens presents one of the most recognisable and symbolically freighted panoramas of any of the world's cities: the pillars and pediments of the Parthenon - the temple dedicated to Athena, goddess of wisdom, that crowns the Acropolis - dominate a city whose name is synonymous for many with civilization itself.

It is hard not to feel the hand of history in such a place. The birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy and theatre, Athens' importance cannot be understated. Few cities have enjoyed a history so rich in artistic creativity and the making of ideas, or one so curiously patterned by alternating cycles of turbulence and quietness. From the legal reforms of the lawmaker Solon in the sixth century BCE to the travails of early 21st-century Athens, as it struggles with the legacy of the economic crises of the 2000s, Clark brings the city's history to life, evoking its cultural richness and political resonance in this epic, kaleidoscopic history.

©2021 Bruce Clark (P)2022 Head of Zeus Civilisation Greece City 21st Century

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Flawed

Yet another book on Ancient Greece/Athens that spares little time on anything before 796BCE despite the abundance of archaeological evidence that adequately fills in gaps and makes the overall history of Athens/Attica more interesting.

Then, of course the absolute non existence of women with the exception of the man/woman Athena. Nothing posited about why such a ‘democratic’ society could exclude one half of its population and still be ‘democratic’. Not even a posited idea did the author put forward. Silence.

Not recommended for a good board history of the place and time.

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