The Greeks at War : From Athens to Alexander (Essential Histories Specials 05)

Inspiring generations of poets, novelists, scriptwriters and scholars, the rise and fall of the great Empires of the Classical world is an enthralling story of passion and conquest. The leaders, battles and military technologies that dominated the wars between Greece and Persia, and Alexander's conquests are all examined in detail in this book, and their historical significance is discussed. The appendix focuses on the modern treatment of Ancient Greece in film, including behind-the-scenes insights into the filming of battle scenes for Oliver Stone's epic movie, Alexander. This volume combines material previously published as Essential Histories 36, 27 and 26, with a new foreword by renowned historian and author Victor Davis Hanson, and new material on the Wars of the Successors. The authors examines the rise and fall of the great empires of the classical world. This volume contains material previously published in the "Essential Histories" series as well as a new chapter focusing on the modern treatment of ancient Greece in film and theatre. The enquiries of the Greek historian Herodotus into the wars between the Greeks and the Persians led him to conclude that their origins lay in the rise to power of the Persian Empire under the first of the Achaemenid kings, Kyros the Great. Greek and Persian wars 449-386 BC Peloponnesian war 431-404 BC Wars of Alexander the Great 336-323 BC.