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From Democrats to Kings
The Brutal Dawn of a New World from the Downfall of Athens to the Rise of Alexander the Great
- Author: Michael Scott
- Category: Non-fiction Narrative
- Publisher: Icon (UK) / Overlook Press (USA)
- Pub date: 1 October 2009
- Length: 320 pages
About From Democrats to Kings
Accessible and punchy ... a wide readership cannot fail to be entertained as well as instructed about a world that is both familiar and alien, modern as well as ancient
- Professor Paul Cartledge, A.G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture, University of Cambridge
It’s admirable of Michael Scott to shine a light on the forgotten 4th century, and he’s engaging about the culture that bloomed as Athens faded
- Harry Mount, DAILY MAIL
Athens, 404 BC. The democratic city-state has been ravaged by a long and bloody war with neighbouring Sparta. The search for scapegoats begins and Athens, liberty’s beacon in the ancient world, turns its sword on its own way of life. Defining moments of Greek history, culture, politics, religion and identity are debated ferociously in Athenian public spaces, back streets and battlefields.
Meanwhile, the mastership of Greece is left open for the taking. Who can rise to the challenge? Cities such as Sparta and Theves make their play. Powerful tyrants seek to push themselves onto the world stage. The ruler of the mighty Persian empire seeks to expand kis kingdom. Rules are abandoned as friend becomes enemy and enemy friend in ever more turbulent rounds of diplomacy, war and backstabbing.
By 323 BC, less than 100 years after Athens’ downfall, Athens and the rest of Greece, not to mention a large part of the known world, has come under the control of anmd absolute monarch, a master of self-publicity and a model for despots for millenia to come: Megas Alexandros, Alexander the Great.
About the Author
Michael Scott is currently Moses and Mary Finley Fellow in Ancient History at Darwin College, Cambridge, where he studies the ancient Greek and Roman worlds as well as teaching undergraduates and working with schools around the country. Since 2007, he has been a regular guest lecturer aboard cruise tours of ancient Greece, has run the route of the original Marathon in Athens, and has been an on-screen historical consultant for several documentaries about the ancient world for the History Channel.