Search results for ""Author Debra Hamel""

A pivotal skirmish involving nearly three hundred Athenian and Spartan ships toward the end of the Peloponnesian War, the Battle of Arginusae was at the time the largest naval battle ever fought between warring Greeks. It was a crucial win for the Athenians, since losing the battle would have led to their total defeat by Sparta and, perhaps, the slaughter and enslavement of their entire population. Paradoxically, the win at Arginusae resulted in one of the worst disasters to befall the Athenians during the brutal twenty-seven-year war. Due to a combination of factors-incompetent leadership, the weariness of the sailors, a sudden storm-the commanders on the scene failed to rescue the crews of twenty-five Athenian ships that had been disabled during the battle. Thousands of men, many of them injured, were left clinging to the wreckage of their ships awaiting help that never came. When the Athenians back home heard what had happened, they deposed the eight generals who had been in command during the battle. Two of these leaders went into exile; the six who returned to Athens were tried and eventually executed. The Battle of Arginusae describes the violent battle and its horrible aftermath. Debra Hamel introduces readers to Athens and Sparta, the two thriving superpowers of the fifth century B.C. She provides a summary of the events that caused the long war and discusses the tactical intricacies of Greek naval warfare. Recreating the claustrophobic, unhygienic conditions in which the ships' crews operated, Hamel unfolds the process that turned this naval victory into one of the most infamous chapters in the city-state's history. Aimed at classics students and general readers, the book also provides an in-depth examination of the fraught relationship between Athens' military commanders and its vaunted sovereign democracy.

Read more less

Debra Hamel's book is a lively introduction to "The History of the Persian Wars", Herodotus' account of Persia's expansion under four kings - Cyrus, Cambyses, Darius, and Xerxes - and its eventual collision with the city - states of Greece. "The History" can be a long slog for modern readers, but it is full of salacious tales about sex, violent death, divine prophecies, and cannibals. Following the structure of the original work, Hamel leads the reader through a colorful tour of the central stories that compose "The History". She highlights the more interesting and important parts of the story while providing readers who are new to "Herodotus" with the background information necessary to appreciate the author's wide-ranging subject matter. At once academic and cheeky, the experience of this book is like "Reading Herodotus" while simultaneously consulting a history of Greece and a scholarly commentary on the text.

Read more less

Debra Hamel's book is a lively introduction to "The History of the Persian Wars", Herodotus' account of Persia's expansion under four kings-Cyrus, Cambyses, Darius, and Xerxes - and its eventual collision with the city - states of Greece. "The History" can be a long slog for modern readers, but it is full of salacious tales about sex, violent death, divine prophecies, and cannibals. Following the structure of the original work, Hamel leads the reader through a colorful tour of the central stories that compose The History. She highlights the more interesting and important parts of the story while providing readers who are new to "Herodotus" with the background information necessary to appreciate the author's wide-ranging subject matter. At once academic and cheeky, the experience of this book is like "Reading Herodotus" while simultaneously consulting a history of Greece and a scholarly commentary on the text.

Read more less

A pivotal skirmish involving nearly three hundred Athenian and Spartan ships toward the end of the Peloponnesian War, the Battle of Arginusae was at the time the largest naval battle ever fought between warring Greeks. It was a crucial win for the Athenians, since losing the battle would have led to their total defeat by Sparta and, perhaps, the slaughter and enslavement of their entire population. Paradoxically, the win at Arginusae resulted in one of the worst disasters to befall the Athenians during the brutal twenty-seven-year war. Due to a combination of factors-incompetent leadership, the weariness of the sailors, a sudden storm-the commanders on the scene failed to rescue the crews of twenty-five Athenian ships that had been disabled during the battle. Thousands of men, many of them injured, were left clinging to the wreckage of their ships awaiting help that never came. When the Athenians back home heard what had happened, they deposed the eight generals who had been in command during the battle. Two of these leaders went into exile; the six who returned to Athens were tried and eventually executed. The Battle of Arginusae describes the violent battle and its horrible aftermath. Debra Hamel introduces readers to Athens and Sparta, the two thriving superpowers of the fifth century B.C. She provides a summary of the events that caused the long war and discusses the tactical intricacies of Greek naval warfare. Recreating the claustrophobic, unhygienic conditions in which the ships' crews operated, Hamel unfolds the process that turned this naval victory into one of the most infamous chapters in the city-state's history. Aimed at classics students and general readers, the book also provides an in-depth examination of the fraught relationship between Athens' military commanders and its vaunted sovereign democracy.

Read more less

Neaira grew up in a Corinthian brothel in the fourth century B.C., became a high-priced courtesan and a sex slave, then settled into a thirty-year relationship with Stephanos of Athens. But next she found herself in court, charged with transgressing Athens’s marriage laws. This book reconstructs the amazing facts of Neaira’s life and trial, illuminating the social, legal, and cultural worlds of ancient Greece.“Hamel’s treatment of this complicated story is outstanding . . . for its comprehensive [yet remarkably concise] presentation of the social and historical context of fourth-century Athens.”—Ingrid D. Rowland, New Republic“[Trying Neaira] is an extraordinary tale, with more than an echo of Arthur Golden’s Memoirs of a Geisha.”—Tom Holland, Daily Telegraph00“A marvelous account of a fascinating series of events in the life of a Greek woman of the fourth century B.C. Hamel tells the tale with clarity and verve and, along the way, she teaches the reader a vast amount about Athenian society in the most interesting and entertaining way.”—Donald Kagan, Yale University“Charmingly written (and) nicely illustrated. . . . Hamel’s account is engaging, accessible to nonexperts, and useful for courses on Athenian society.”—Choice“As told by Debra Hamel, this true-life story offers an extraordinary window on a civilization that wasn’t half so rarefied in its interests or affections as we tend to assume.”—The Scotsman

Read more less