88 of 96 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Linking Athenian democracy and hegemony to its navy, June 16, 2009
This review is from: Lords of the Sea: The Epic Story of the Athenian Navy and the Birth of Democracy (Hardcover)
A concise narrative of Athens.
This is a rather detailed history of Athens focusing on its navy. The author convincingly demonstrates a very close correlation between Naval power and both democracy and imperialism in ancient Athens. The writing style is clear, engaging, and very accessible. However, the book suffers from a narrative format that involves a lot a rehashing of topics and history.
The author's thesis is that because the class of men who manned the Athenian navy were lower in status than the hoplites or horsemen who formed the backbone of the army, as the navy increased in power so did the democratic element in relation to the "oligarchic" element in Athenian society. This was reinforced by the fact that maintaining a navy involved a great deal of expenditure flowing in large part into the pockets of the working glass artisans and laborers thus increasing their lot. However, these expenses forced Athens into a program of imperial expansion which could not be sustained. The author backs all of this up with ample evidence from a number of primary sources including some quite creative use of Athenian drama. There is very little to fault in his historical method save perhaps one or two factual errors -and even those are debatable (for example calling Athena's Aegis her breastplate when this probably refers to a cloak/shield like object she carried).
While this is an excellent book it has two flaws. The first is that its narrative format leads to a long series of admirals, battles, and dates. After a while, once it become apparent that the author has effectively proved his thesis, the whole thing becomes a little tedious, especially if you are even roughly familiar with the history. If you have not read Herodotus or Thucydides then you may ignore the following criticism: The other problem is that long stretches of the book are just retelling of one or two ancient sources. I cannot blame him for this because often that is all we have to go on. However, one might as well read the original sources at that point.
Despite these flaws, this is a closely reasoned and well supported piece of narrative history that I can wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who has not already studied the subject in great depth (those will find little new). I would also suggest Kagan's Peloponnesian War; any of the earlier works by Victor Davis Hansen; and of course the primary sources the Author relied on so much Herodotus and Thucydides.
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43 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classical Greek History from a Different Viewpoint, June 14, 2009
This review is from: Lords of the Sea: The Epic Story of the Athenian Navy and the Birth of Democracy (Hardcover)
John Hale's "Lords of the Sea" illuminates the history of Classical Greece from a direction far removed from the usual approach. His book describes Athens from the early fifth through late fourth century BCE from a nautical perspective, detailing the naval wars and battles of Athens against her enemies, including the Persian Empire, Sparta, and Macedonia. And Hale finds that there is an intimate connection between Athens' navy and her particular brand of radical democracy. With land warfare, the battlefields were dominated by the heavily armed hoplites; tradition required the hoplites to supply their own arms and armor, so a substantial level of prosperity was necessary to serve in that role. But the rowers of the Athenian triremes needed no armor or arms; indeed, not only were that not responsible for paying for their equipment, but they actually received pay for their service, opening naval service to even the poorest citizen and greatly increasing their role in public life. It would not be an oversimplification of Hale's central thesis that Athenian democracy and Athenian naval dominance were the two sides of a single coin.
While the illustrations of triremes are interesting in themselves, the numerous maps of the war zones and individual battles are vital for following Hale's detailed text. "Lords of the Sea" deserves a place on the bookshelf of anyone interested in the history of Classical Greece.
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40 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Athenian prosperity and empire started with a great generation and ended with hubris, July 6, 2009
This review is from: Lords of the Sea: The Epic Story of the Athenian Navy and the Birth of Democracy (Hardcover)
The author, John Hale, a prominent archaeologist and historian, has achieved his monumental life's work with Lords of the Sea. Hale's work is bound to become a classic. I strongly recommend the audio version.
Epic historical accounts tend to be most enthralling in audio format. Even the visual documentary medium, probably the most powerful medium, cannot accomplish what audio can in a case such as this.
The reader is David Drummond. No reader prepares more thoroughly than Drummond; his understanding comes close to that of the author.
The story of the Athenian navy and how it created the Athenian Golden Age is filled with timeless instruction and meaning because human nature has not changed since then. Hale explains how the Athenians had their own "Great Generation" and how their brilliance, problem-solving skills and dash created widely distributed prosperity.
Hale's treatment of the Persians and the Greco-Persian wars is fair and shows how the Greeks understood that the Persians were determined and skilled in the pursuit of empire. Further, the famous Golden Age really only lasted for 19 years, from the end of the Persian Wars in 448 BC to the death of Pericles in 429 BC. That's because the short-lived Golden Age was succeeded by the Peloponnesian War.
There were three prerequisite conditions for Athens to achieve empire status.
One was economic and involved silver. The city-state of Athens collectively owned the most productive set of silver mines of their day at a place called Laurium. These mines famously funded the building of their warships, called triremes. Lords of the Sea makes the important point is that a world-class navy is capital intensive and must be funded by national treasure. Further, a navy requires continuous operation, practice and maintenance in peace times and is therefore extremely costly at all times. The least costly time was winter when triremes were dry-docked in boat sheds, gear tended to and hundreds of security personnel provided physical security.
Athenian silver made fleet construction possible, and the navy provided thousands of highly sought-after jobs offering decent pay, adventure and status. One had to prove Athenian citizenship before a special board for the privilege to be a sailor. Considering the dangers, physical hardships and perianal hematoma experienced by the sailors, it seems remarkable today that these positions were so highly sought-after.
The second prerequisite condition had to do with Athenian character, being both thinkers and men of action (it was a male dominated culture). Pericles was quoted as saying, "We cultivate refinement without extravagance and knowledge without effeminacy." They loved innovation and were quick to commit physical and intellectual energy to projects, especially when in the service of their country. This was important because triremes were the most technically advanced product that one could attempt to manufacture.
The third prerequisite condition was the perennial threat the Persians provided to Athens in particular that galvanized the citizenry to put such resources into a navy. Athenians knew they could not build walls to stop the Persians. Logically, they faced eventual conquest and destruction or they could cooperatively try to stop the Persians in the sea.
Lords of the Sea describes the benefits and challenges of being a naval empire. Alliances were made to bring in tribute to finance a navy. Every violent dispute all over the Mediterranean and Black Sea beckoned the Athenians to pick a side, provide protection and collect tribute in the form of silver, additional triremes or other goods. Foreign policy became complex as the empire quickly expanded.
But mastery of the sea provided innumerable benefits, including prized fish such as bluefin tuna, wheat from areas bordering the Black Sea, African ivory, spices from the east and all sorts of crafted and luxury items. The naval complex produced economic stimulus that spawned all sorts of service jobs and a strong economy.
Domestic policy became more complex. Athenians actually engaged the first ever urban planners for service throughout the empire. Care was taken to ensure that each house built along a downward sloping hill would have its own unobstructed view of the sea. In some places, grid street systems were implemented.
Of course, hubris emerged as it always does when prosperity arrives in such measure and speed. The cost in lives and treasure of the Peloponnesian War signaled an end to the short-lived Golden Age. Athenians promoted democracy wherever they could, often choosing to garrison troops in diverse cities, only to later withdraw the troops and have cities return to oligarchic rule. They over-extended themselves and created resentment among their allies when they acted unilaterally.
Finally, the Athenians elected less experienced leaders based on charisma and populist appeal, and these leaders took a much more aggressive approach to war, thereby abandoning the thoughtful diplomacy of earlier leaders. Eventually the tribute dried up, they actually declined victory in the Peloponnesian War when Sparta sued for peace and ending up losing the war and empire. The world's first democracy ended in disaster in large part because elections produced irresponsible leaders that were gifted with little other than swagger.
The fact that all this happened in the 5th century BC makes this work particularly instructive. Throughout the story the listener is amazed at how hard it has always been to rise above in this world. The only lucky break the Athenians got was the silver mines at Laurium. The story is one of constant battles with a 19-year period of prosperity, peace, great happiness and the flourishing of the arts. We know this as the Golden Age but it might accurately be called the Golden 19 Years.
Throughout Lords of the Sea are lessons and meanings relevant to our time. Of course, differences are easy to spot. Nobody today would think oar rowing aboard a trireme was a good job, and the getting of such a job would not be dependent on proof of citizenship. But the mistakes the first democracy rushed into bear some resemblance to mistakes made in recent times. We remain vulnerable to hubris.
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