The Greek Wars: The Failure of Persia [Hardcover]

George Cawkwell (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0198148712 | ISBN-13: 978-0198148715 | Publication Date: June 16, 2005

The Greek Wars treats of the whole course of Persian relations with the Greeks from the coming of Cyrus in the 540s down to Alexander the Great's defeat of Darius III in 331 BC. Cawkwell discusses from a Persian perspective major questions such as why Xerxes' invasion of Greece failed, and how important a part the Great King played in Greek affairs in the fourth century. Cawkwell's views are at many points original: in particular, his explanation of how and why the Persian invasion of Greece failed challenges the prevailing orthodoxy, as does his view of the importance of Persia in Greek affairs for the two decades after the King's Peace. Persia, he concludes, was destroyed by Macedonian military might but moral decline had no part in it; the Macedonians who had subjected Greece were too good an army, but their victory was not easy.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A thorough reassessment of traditionally held beliefs about Greek-Persian relations...This work joins the serious works on Achaemenid history that scholars must consult Matthew Walters, Journal of the American Oriental Society For Achaemenid specialists from a classical background, non-Greek material has an exotic allure - and a greater potential for producing genuinely new evidence. But critical understanding of the comparatively familiar can be just as challenging, and Cawkwell is a master of that art. Christopher Tuplin, Journal of Hellenic Studies ...[a] remarkable book, the work of a choice and master historian ... It is a book to be savoured. not read through fastat one go. The Classical Review a new book by one of the great figures of Greek history of the last half-century ... is not only highly readable but also provides bracing insights to any number of questions in Greek-Persian relations Thomas Harrison, Green and Rome ...detailed and wide ranging Tom Holland, Times Literary Supplement The Greek Wars is the fruit of many decades' study - and it shows. Tom Holland, Times Literary Supplement ...revisionist history at its very best...the most insightful and comprehensive analysis to date of Greek and Persian interaction John Marincola, Classical Journal

About the Author

George Cawkwell is Emeritus Fellow, University College, Oxford.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 316 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (June 16, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198148712
• ISBN-13: 978-0198148715
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,908,240 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible, February 23, 2009

By 

Kirialax (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Greek Wars: The Failure of Persia (Paperback)

This book should be the standard text on the Greco-Persian wars for years to come. Cawkwell has constructed a masterpiece by drawing on ancient sources and modern research with a very critical eye. His research is meticulously cited and approached from many angles, examining everything from logistics to the shape of the hulls of Phoenician warships. It is nothing short of a masterpiece of careful historical research.

Still, I have a couple of caveats. This book is not for the layman. Half of the book is appendices dealing with technical aspects of the war, and probably very boring for someone looking for a scholarly narrative of the period. Also, Cawkwell constructs his ideas over the course of long paragraphs, often with a twist at the end, so it is very important that this book is read with your full attention.

This book is full of solid research and should be the standard work in the field for many years to come. However, it is highly technical and written for other scholars. If you're looking for an advanced piece of work, get this. Otherwise, you're best off looking somewhere else.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Nearly Unreadable, February 25, 2008

By 

Navigator (Los Gatos, California) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Greek Wars: The Failure of Persia (Paperback)

This isn't so much a book with footnotes as a compilation of footnotes in book form. The style of writing is dry, choppy and disjointed to the point of unreadability, and the author fills most of the pages with interminable rehashings of the primary texts without constructing any kind of overall structure. Useful for the dedicated historian of this particular period (perhaps); painful and uninformative for the non-specialist.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From the Persian Perspective, May 29, 2007

By 

David V. Ready (Watertown, New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Greek Wars: The Failure of Persia (Paperback)

Exceptionally vibrant look at history from the Persian perspective with a a rather scientific account of why the Persians failed to subjugate Greece and, later, why they were unable to stem the tide of Macedonian expansion.