A sweeping narrative history of Athens, telling the
three-thousand-year story of the birthplace of Western civilization.
Even on the most smog-bound of days, the rocky outcrop on which the
Acropolis stands is visible above the sprawling roof-scape of the Greek
capital. Athens presents one of the most recognizable and symbolically
potent panoramas of any of the world's cities: the pillars and pediments
of the Parthenon - the temple dedicated to Athena, goddess of wisdom,
that crowns the Acropolis - dominate a city whose name is synonymous for
many with civilization itself.
It is hard not to feel the hand of history in such a place. The
birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy and theatre, Athens'
importance cannot be understated. Few cities have enjoyed a history so
rich in artistic creativity and the making of ideas; or one so curiously
patterned by alternating cycles of turbulence and quietness.
From the legal reforms of the lawmaker Solon in the sixth century BCE to
the travails of early twenty-first century Athens, as it struggles with
the legacy of the economic crises of the 2000s, Clark brings the city's
history to life, evoking its cultural richness and political resonance
in this epic, kaleidoscopic history.
