The Fall Of Athems - Selections From The Hellenica Of Xenophon - Books I And II

The Fall of Athens – Selections from The Hellenica of Xenophon, Books I and II (1970) by Theodore Horn – Macmillan – Good Condition

Athens had enjoyed democracy, empire, naval supremacy, philosophy, drama and the general confidence of a civilisation that had spent rather a long time being told how impressive it was. Unfortunately, Sparta had other ideas.

The Fall of Athens – Selections from The Hellenica of Xenophon, Books I and II, edited by Theodore Horn, takes the reader into the closing years of the Peloponnesian War and the collapse of Athenian power at the end of the fifth century BC. It is history written by Xenophon, a man who had the considerable advantage of living rather closer to the events than most modern historians and the occasional disadvantage of having opinions about them.

Xenophon’s Hellenica begins roughly where Thucydides abruptly leaves off, continuing the story of the war between Athens and Sparta through its final, increasingly uncomfortable stages. Athens, once dominant across the Aegean, is gradually squeezed by military defeats, political instability, financial exhaustion and the unfortunate discovery that empires become considerably less enjoyable when everybody else starts fighting back.

There are naval battles, shifting alliances, political intrigues and generals making decisions which probably seemed perfectly reasonable before the casualty figures arrived. The decisive Spartan victory at Aegospotami leaves Athens without the fleet on which its power had depended, and from there matters deteriorate with impressive efficiency.

By 404 BC, Athens is blockaded, starving and forced to surrender. Its famous Long Walls are pulled down, its empire collapses and a Spartan-backed oligarchy — the Thirty Tyrants — takes control. For a city that had spent decades presenting itself as the great champion of democracy, this represented something of an awkward end-of-season review.

Yet, as so often in Greek history, defeat does not mean everybody calmly accepts the new arrangements. The rule of the Thirty proves brutal and short-lived, resistance develops, and democracy eventually returns. Ancient Greek politics rarely seems to have included a prolonged period during which everyone simply agreed to leave things alone.

This 1970 Macmillan edition, prepared by Theodore Horn, offers selections from the first two books of Xenophon’s Hellenica, making it especially useful for students of Greek history and classical civilisation. It belongs to that admirable period of educational publishing when nobody felt the need to disguise serious ancient history behind cheerful graphics or titles such as Sparta: Ten Amazing Facts You Won’t Believe.

Instead, you get Xenophon.

And Xenophon expects you to pay attention.

The book offers a fascinating contemporary account of one of the great reversals of the ancient world: the moment when Athens moved from imperial superpower to defeated city, demonstrating once again that military dominance is wonderfully permanent right up until the moment it isn’t.

This copy is in Good condition, meaning it has survived more than half a century rather better than the Athenian Empire managed its final few years. It may show the normal signs of age and previous ownership associated with a vintage educational book, but remains a sound copy for reading, study, collecting or quietly reminding yourself that political crises are by no means a modern invention.

There is no ISBN, presumably because books of this vintage were still allowed to circulate without being assigned a numerical identity long enough to resemble an international telephone number.

Ideal for students of Ancient Greece, collectors of classical texts, readers interested in the Peloponnesian War, admirers of Xenophon, former Classics pupils seeking either nostalgia or revenge, and anyone who enjoys watching a major geopolitical power discover that history has suddenly decided to move on without it.

Sold by Crappy Old Books — where fallen empires, defeated democracies and slightly elderly Macmillan textbooks are all treated with equal dignity, provided they still have their pages.

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