A little more than a year ago, I read the Iliad for the first time as an adult, for no other reason than my own entertainment. I was at once bitten by the ancient Greek bug and set out to obtain the classical education I somehow missed in high school and college. I pursued this by taking a few Teaching Company audio courses, reading primary sources of the ancients -- Homer, Herodotus, Thucydides -- as well as the best popular and scholarly books I could find to elucidate the various eras of ancient Greek civilization. One of the latter certainly is Tom Holland's Persian Fire.
I came to Persian Fire with a decent background in the overall theme, and I read Herodotus in tandem with it through much of the book, but Holland's treatment enhanced everything I had absorbed prior because he approached the subject with a regional theme. It would be difficult to comprehend the foreign policy of the United States in the latter half of the 20th century without a fairly comprehensive background in the history of the Soviet Union; yet most historians of early fifth century Greece provide scant attention to the foe that most defined their political culture, the Persians they referred to sometimes pejoratively as "the Mede." Holland's work is superior from the get-go because he takes the regional approach most period treatments gloss over.
For those who want to delve right in to the Greco-Persian conflict, patience is in order as Holland sets the stage with an extremely well written background history not only of chief Hellenic city-states Athens and Sparta, but most importantly the origins of Persian rule -- and all of that takes us -- sometimes breathlessly with the gusto of a great author in love with his subject -- to an account of Mediterranean geo-politics on the eve of the conflict. I got more of the sense of the ancient world at the time from Holland than any other single work I had read previously.
Unlike many contemporary historians of the ancient world like Kagan, Holland deliberately avoids trying to fit the themes and the conflicts of 2500 years ago into today's foreign policies, but -- remarkably so -- he does manage to interpret the actions of the key players into the sometimes Machiavellian power politics characteristic of states throughout recorded history. No other work I have encountered brings marble figures like Themistocles and Aristides to flesh-and-blood life, warts and all, the way Holland does in this book.
A great read, in every way. Lots of material and not a boring spot in the story. I'll probably re-read it again someday. If you have any interest at all in the ancient Greek world, don't miss this one!
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Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West
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Wonderful History Book
A wonderful history book. Slow reading but full of information and helps you understand a part of this world's history. The Babylonians and the Persians which gave rise to much of this world's happenings today. If you enjoy history and traveling. This will enlarge your world and open new chapters in your life that are closed.
Top reviews from other countries
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- W37iReviewed in the United Kingdom on August 13, 2017
Persian Fire, Fury and Failure
How did a relatively small band of Greeks halt the expansion of the mighty Persian empire and, subsequently, change the history of the western world forever?Persian Fire, Fury and FailureW37i
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 13, 2017
This is the question to ponder on whilst you read this fascinating work.
Firstly, a quick note on the author, Holland has a brilliant knack for disseminating the classical past in an engaging way. From his descriptions of the brutal schooling of the Spartans, the fiercest warriors of Greece, to his portrayals of the political manipulation of Themistocles in the Athenian ecclesia – his beautiful prose makes for swift reading of complex procedures. Speaking as a history student, the past is not always as straightforward as we would like it to be. However, writers like Holland showcase classical history at its best by exercising scepticism alongside true representations of the myths, as they were supposed to be told, to give wonderfully coherent accounts.
For the first half of the book, Holland focuses on the origins of the Persian Empire, Athens and Sparta to assign a context to the battle for the west. Initially, Holland portrays the Medes as an insignificant, nomadic tribe on the fringes of established civilisation and then traces their rise to pre-eminence to the point of Eastern domination. The Persian story, both mystical and cynical, places the Great King in a semi-divine light with the purpose of annihilating the Lie in the name of Ahura Mazda, the omnipotent Persian god, and therefore gives the Great King an ideological, and undoubtedly pragmatic, motive for expansion. This background proves vital in setting the scene for the resulting conflicts and for luring the reader away from simplistic Greek perceptions of the Persians as effeminate, “trousered barbarians”.
The chapters on the development of Athens and Sparta demonstrate to the reader that the war was not just a matter of the Greeks versus the Persians. Classical Greece was, in fact, a very diverse place and the polis (city-state) next door could be a completely alien world; as a result, ‘Greekness’ was not fixed or defined. Holland reinforces this point with exemplary style as he handles the narrative of the precarious beginnings of Athenian democracy, whilst stage-managing the multitude historical actors, with ease and contrasts this with the austere and rustic development of Sparta. It soon becomes apparent throughout Persian Fire that the war was, perhaps, more about vested interests and demagoguery than it was about liberty or Hellenistic fervour.
Holland is in his element when describing the intense battle scenes towards the end of the book. The author creates vivid pictures in the imagination of disciplined Spartans taking comfort in their witticisms in the face of imminent death at Thermopylae. In addition to this the grim portrayals of the battle at Marathon, as a small Greek force first locked swords – or triremes – with the Persian invader, make for fascinating reading. However, the anticipation for these moments and the rich context provided are what make them truly satisfying to read.
However, with the positives aside, the reader should be prepared to find this work a challenging read. The study is obviously very well researched and can leave the reader feeling a tad overwhelmed at times. Anglicised versions of Greek names are not the easiest to read for someone in the infancy of their interest in the Greek world. But, as with all great works, if the reader perseveres and grasps the rudiments of the narrative they will be rewarded and will, most likely, build their vocabulary alongside enjoying a sensational story of the clash between east and west.
Eloquent and erudite, articulate and assiduous; Holland brings the classical past to life with sober judgment and novelistic flair. I would recommend this novel to anyone with an interest in classical Greece, but be prepared to find it challenging due to the prodigious amount of detail provided.
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