The Ancient Athenian Navy: The History and Legacy of Greece’s Dominant Naval Force in Antiquity
Written by Charles River Editors
Narrated by Scott Clem
5/5
()
About this audiobook
“Forward, sons of the Greeks,
Liberate the fatherland,
Liberate your children, your women,
The altars of the gods of your fathers,
And the graves of your ancestors:
Now is the fight for everything.” – The Greek battle hymn sung before the Battle of Salamis according to Aeschylus
Dominated to this day by the sprawling white marble complex of the Acropolis, Athens is a city which is immensely and rightly proud of its past. For a period of roughly three centuries, the polis of Athens stood, if not in a position of unchallenged supremacy among the cities of Hellas, then at the very least among its three most important polities. Its fledgling empire, though small by the standards later set by Alexander or the Romans, or even by those of its ancient enemy Persia, nonetheless encompassed cities as far afield as Asia Minor and Southern Italy, a remarkable fact considering such expansion was achieved by the inhabitants of a single city and its immediate surroundings, rather than by an entire nation.
Yet despite a martial tradition that, if taken as a whole, was second to none save the Spartans, Athens is chiefly remembered for two reasons: its political system, which would in time form the nucleus of all Western democratic systems of government, and the remarkable number of outstanding individuals which, during the Golden Age of Athens, lived and flourished in the enlightened city-state. The Ancient Athenians formed the backbone of the West’s entire culture, from the arts to philosophy and everything in between.
In virtually all fields of human endeavor Athens was so much at the forefront of dynamism and innovation that the products of its most brilliant minds remain not only influential but entirely relevant to this day, and the flowering of Greek civilization was made possible in part by an increase of trade between the cities and with other civilizations. Trade became a major occupation on account of the scarcity of agricultural land in the largely mountainous regions of the Balkan peninsula. The polis of Athens, in particular, assumed economic dominance in the Aegean in from the 6th century BCE. The consequent increase in wealth, resources and population made a cultural renaissance possible. Commerce, in turn, led to the rise of an affluent aristocratic class which had the leisure to devote itself to learning, philosophy, and art. It also led to an industrial class of freemen who were artists and craftsmen.
However, none of it would’ve been possible without military forces undergirding Athens’ might, and for much of its history, the Athenian navy was the single strongest force in the Mediterranean, having defeated the overwhelming might of Persia in pitched battle upon the open sea numerous times. The Athenian army itself, though subordinate to its naval power – a sop to the fact that it was trade and empire-building that had made Athens rich – was nothing to be sneered at, as it succeeded in meting out a humiliating defeat to Darius’s Persians at Marathon. Nonetheless, the Spartan military is remembered for being the preeminent land force, while Athens constructed its empire and enforced its will through pioneering ship technology and tactics. In the process, the Athenians heavily influenced how naval warfare would be conducted in the ancient world for centuries.
The Ancient Athenian Navy: The History and Legacy of Greece’s Dominant Naval Force in Antiquity chronicles how the navy helped Athens flourish, and why it ruled the Mediterranean in the Classical Era. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Athenian navy like never before.
More audiobooks from Charles River Editors
The East India Company: The History of the British Empire's Most Famous Mercantile Company Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gnosticism: The History and Legacy of the Mysterious Ancient Religion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rape of Nanking: The History and Legacy of the Notorious Massacre during the Second Sino-Japanese War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mossad: The History and Legacy of Israel’s National Intelligence Agency Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Nineveh: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Assyrian Capital Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ur: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Sumerian Capital Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Project MK-Ultra: The History of the CIA’s Controversial Human Experimentation Program Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Arnold Rothstein and Meyer Lansky: The Lives and Legacies of the Gangsters Who Reformed Organized Crime in America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLegends of the West: Deadwood, South Dakota Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Cambrian Period: The History and Legacy of the Start of Complex Life on Earth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mysteries of the South: Ghosts, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena in Dixie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5J. Robert Oppenheimer: The Life and Legacy of the Father of the Atomic Bomb Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mysterious Midwest: Mysteries, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena in America's Heartland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Life and Trial of Lizzie Borden: The History of 19th Century America's Most Famous Murder Case Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Madame de Pompadour: The Life and Legacy of French King Louis XV’s Chief Mistress Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Denisovans: The History of the Extinct Archaic Humans Who Spread Across Asia during the Paleolithic Era Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of the Dead: The History and Legacy of Ancient Egypt’s Famous Funerary Texts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Medieval England: The History of England from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of the Tudor Dynasty Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Fermi Paradox: The History and Legacy of the Famous Debate over the Existence of Aliens Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related to The Ancient Athenian Navy
Related audiobooks
The Etruscans and the First Romans: The History and Legacy of the Civilizations that Fought for Control of Italy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Foreign Invaders of Ancient Egypt: The History of the Hyksos, Sea Peoples, Nubians, Babylonians, and Assyrians Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Athenian Agora and Roman Forum: The Beating Hearts of the Ancient World’s Most Famous Cities Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Kingdom of Pontus: The History of the Ancient Anatolian Kingdom Before It Was Conquered by Rome Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAthens: A History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Battle of the Granicus River: The History of Alexander the Great’s First Major Battle against the Achaemenid Persian Empire Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStories from Xenophon—Excerpts Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Athens: City of Wisdom Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Battle of Kadesh: The History of the Most Important Battle Between the Egyptians and Hittites Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAnatolia and the Bronze Age: The History of the Earliest Kingdoms and Cities that Dominated the Region Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTyre & Carthage: The History of the Phoenician Cities that Dominated the Mediterranean for Centuries Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSparta: Rise Of The Warrior City-State: 4-In-1 History Of Spartan Warriors, Kings, Queens & Politics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGreece Against Rome: The Fall of the Hellenistic Kingdoms 250–31 BC Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Artaxiad Dynasty: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Armenian Kingdom that Fought the Romans Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSeapower States: Maritime Culture, Continental Empires, and the Conflict That Made the Modern World Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The History and Legacy of Asia Minor’s Most Important Ancient Civilizations Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKing Xerxes I: The Life and Legacy of the Achaemenid Persian Empire’s Most Notorious Ruler Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Battle of Issus: The History of Alexander the Great’s Most Famous Victory against the Achaemenid Persian Empire Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNew Rome: The Empire in the East Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHamilcar Barca: The Life and Legacy of the Legendary Carthaginian General Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Princes of the Renaissance Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Parthian Empire: The History and Culture of One of Ancient Rome's Most Famous Enemies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Concise History of Turkey: The History and Legacy of Turkey from Antiquity to Today Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In the Path of Conquest: Resistance to Alexander the Great Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Ancient History For You
Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mary Magdalene: Women, the Church, and the Great Deception Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Meditations Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Chariots of the Gods Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Killing Jesus: A History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Epic of Gilgamesh Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Greek Mythology: An Elaborate Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Harems, Sagas, Rituals and Beliefs of Greek Myths Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ten Caesars: Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire - Volume I Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of An Empire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When God Had a Wife: The Fall and Rise of the Sacred Feminine in the Judeo-Christian Tradition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/51177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed: Revised and Updated Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bullies and Saints: An Honest Look at the Good and Evil of Christian History Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Underworld: The Mysterious Origins of Civilization Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alexander the Great Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fires of Vesuvius: Pompeii Lost and Found Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Babylon: Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Be: Life Lessons from the Early Greeks Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5History Is Wrong Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Plutarch's Lives: Volume 1 of 2 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ancient Greece 101: Greek History, Myth, and Civilization Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Past Mistakes: How We Misinterpret History and Why it Matters Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Emperor's Handbook: A New Translation of The Meditations Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Quetzalcoatl: The History and Legacy of the Feathered Serpent God in Mesoamerican Mythology Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Egyptian Mythology: A Concise Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Sagas, Rituals and Beliefs of Egyptian Myths Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Histories Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Eternal City: A History of Rome Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for The Ancient Athenian Navy
1 rating0 reviews