Product Description

A stirring history of the world's first dominant navy and the towering empire it built

The navy created by the people of Athens in ancient Greece was one of the finest fighting forces in the history of the world and the model for all other national navies to come. The Athenian navy built a civilization, empowered the world's first democracy, and led a band of ordinary citizens on a voyage of discovery that altered the course of history. Its defeat of the Persian fleet at Salamis in 480 BCE launched the Athenian Golden Age and preserved Greek freedom and culture for centuries. With Lords of the Sea, renowned archaeologist John Hale presents, for the first time, the definitive history of the epic battles, the indomitable ships, and the men-from extraordinary leaders to seductive rogues-who established Athens's supremacy. With a scholar's insight and a storyteller's flair, Hale takes us on an illustrated tour of the heroes and their turbulent careers and far-flung expeditions and brings back to light a forgotten maritime empire and its majestic legacy.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9981 in Books
• Published on: 2009-05-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 432 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780670020805
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Historian and archeologist Hale brings both skill sets to bear in this account of an Athens whose golden age and democratic institutions depended on its navy. Between 489 and 322 B.C., Athens built, ruled and lost an empire extending from the Aegean to the Black Sea. The sea permeated every sphere of Athenian life, and most well-known Athenians were identified with sea power: Thucydides and Sophocles commanded fleets. The fleets were based on triremes, reflecting a doctrine favoring the craft and cunning of the steersman and rowers over brute force. Those skills were a product of the commitment and cooperation of free men who played an increasing role in Athenian politics at the expense of those better off and higher born. In times of crisis, all free adult males were expected to board the triremes. Athens's rule of the sea came to an end when a cabal of aristocrats betrayed the fleet to the Macedonians. And that was possible only because the mysterious spiritual essence sustaining Athenian effort and sacrifice had been lost as well. (June)
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From Booklist
Hale has enjoyed a career as an archaeologist, including underwater searches for ancient warships. Here he examines the origins, growth, and campaigns of the great Athenian fleet, which helped make Athens the most powerful polis in Greece for most of the fifth century BC. After the defeat of the Persian army at Marathon in 490 BC., the Archon Themistocles urged his fellow citizens to build a large fleet to counter further Persian invasions. Financed by the windfall of silver from the nearby mines at Laurium, the Athenians soon constructed a fleet of over 300 triremes, the most advanced naval vessels in the eastern Mediterranean. Athenian naval supremacy held the Persians at bay and formed the basis for the Delian League, used by Athens to build a maritime empire. Hale follows the campaigns of the fleet through the Peloponnesian War and the supremacy of the Macedonians under Alexander the Great. His efforts to link Athenian naval growth to the growth of democratic institutions will be disputed by many historians. Still, this is a well-written, stirring chronicle. --Jay Freeman

Review
"Nobody knows more about the history of oared ships around the world than John Hale, and he combines with it a knowledge of and love for the ancient Athenians that helps explain their achievement. To provide a new angle from which to view and understand the experience of the Athenians of the Classical age is a remarkable feat, but Lords of the Sea accomplishes just that. The writing is utterly captivating and makes the reader feel he is back in ancient Athens among the great poets, historians, sculptors, architects, soldiers and sailors, all of whom were connected in important ways to the Athenian navy."
- Donald Kagan, author of The Peloponnesian War

"The dazzling moment of Golden Age Athens was built on democracy, silver, reason and power. It was arguably the most creative moment in history, when western architecture, philosophy, drama and politics were all given their fundamental form. Behind it all was the Athenian navy, its life and fortunes described here with exemplary clarity and a vivid engagement with the visceral realities of battle and the sea. John Hale combines fluent readability with up-to-date scholarship and a sense that in these pages you are witnessing not only a driving collective enterprise but the foundation-level struggles of our own world. This is tour de force of historical imagination."
- Adam Nicolson Author of the New York Times bestsellers God's Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible and Seize the Fire: Heroism, Duty, and Nelson's Battle of Trafalgar

"Hale's simple but vigorous sentences prick up your ears from the first page... one hopes to hear more from him."
-New York Times (Dwight Garner)

"Compulsively readable...history so brilliantly told that, like the Athenian democracy, it is truly for all people."
-Louisville Courier-Journal (David Jones)

"Absorbing reading for those interested in either Greek or naval history...well- documented, with numerous maps, a chronology and glossary."
-Charleston Post and Courier (Lisa Isringhausen)

"You'd have to be half asleep to not become hooked by the first few paragraphs of Hale's Lords of the Sea."
-Cleveland Plain Dealer (Jean Dubail)

Customer Reviews

Linking Athenian democracy and hegemony to its navy
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.

Classical Greek History from a Different Viewpoint
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.

Athenian prosperity and empire started with a great generation and ended with hubris
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.