Athens

Defending the Pass at the Battle of Thermopylae

What nation of Asia, did not Xerxes lead against Hellas? —Herodotus

On the Doricus, the vast Thracian plain and beach on the Aegean coast, rose a stronghold. Read more

Athens

Byzantine Spies in the Byzantine–Sassanid Wars

Byzantium, the successor state to ancient Rome, lasted over a thousand years. But it all could have been different because its first major enemy—Persia—was a fierce and determined competitor bent on the Empire’s demise. Read more

Athens

Famous Military Generals: Chabrias the Athenian

On a warm summer day in the year 378 BC, a large Spartan army stood baffled on the plain of Boeotia in central Greece. Read more

Athens

Misplaced Aggression: The Athenian Defeat at Syracuse

By the spring of 415 bc, a peace treaty between the warring city-states of Athens and Sparta had held firm for six years. Read more

Athens

To Field an Army: A Short History of the Draft

The call of a nation on its civilian population either to create a military force or to augment a standing army is virtually as old as civilization itself. Read more

Athens

The Athenian Soldier Versus the Spartan Hoplite

The wars fought by Sparta and Athens in the fifth century bc pitted one city-state with ancient Greece’s greatest army against one boasting her most powerful fleet. Read more

Athens

Zenobia’s Bloody War of Independence

The pages of history tend to dwell on the men who created empires. No matter how ephemeral may be the famed exploits of an Alexander, Caesar or Napoleon, historians have written volumes on their behalf. Read more

Athens

The Greco-Italian War: One of Benito Mussolini’s Biggest Failures

Twenty-four hours earlier, Grazzi had hosted a gala reception for Metaxas and Greece’s figurehead king, George II, at the Italian consulate following a performance of Giacomo Puccini’s opera, Madame Butterfly. Read more

Athens

Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address & Pericles’ Funeral Oration

At a time long ago, and in a place far away, a man stood up before his countrymen to console them if he could for the loss of their sons in battle for a righteous cause. Read more

Athens

The Battle of Thermopylae and the Battle of Salamis

In the summer of BC 481, a delegation from Athens arrived at Delphi in central Greece to consult with the oracle of Apollo. Read more

Athens

Does Germany Owe Greece War Reparations?

This week, Greece’s new Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras brought the issue of war reparations back into the political foreground during his first speech to parliament. Read more

Athens

Emperor Julian “The Apostate”

“[W]hen Emperor Julian had received the wound [in Persia], he filled his hand with blood, flung it into the air and cried, Thou hast won, O Galilean,” wrote Theodoret of Cyrus. Read more