Lives of Greek Statesmen


Read by Pamela Nagami

In the darkest days of the Persian War when the armies of Xerxes were overrunning northern Greece, Athens faced destruction. The desperate Athenians consulted the oracle at Delphi, who answered, "For thus saith Zeus, that when all else within the land of Cecrops is wasted, the wooden wall alone shall not be taken." The British historian, George Cox agrees with many other authorities that the Greek statesman, Themistocles, bribed the oracle. Realizing that their survival depended upon a strong navy, he declared that the prophesy meant that the Persians would be defeated, not by fortifying Athens, but by "the fight at sea, for the fleet is your wooden wall." This book is a short history of the founding fathers of Athens, its lawgivers, tyrants, and generals: Solon, Peisistratos, Kleisthenes, Miltiades, Aristeides, and, above all, Themistocles. (Summary by Pamela Nagami, M.D.) (8 hr 52 min)

Chapters

Solon, Pt. 1 22:17 Read by Pamela Nagami
Solon, Pt. 2 24:51 Read by Pamela Nagami
Solon, Pt. 3 29:48 Read by Pamela Nagami
Peisistratos, Pt. 1 18:19 Read by Pamela Nagami
Peisistratos, Pt. 2 22:01 Read by Pamela Nagami
Peisistratos, Pt. 3 21:11 Read by Pamela Nagami
Kleisthenes, Pt. 1 13:56 Read by Pamela Nagami
Kleisthenes, Pt. 2 18:39 Read by Pamela Nagami
Polykrates 23:42 Read by Pamela Nagami
Aristagoras, Pt. 1 14:37 Read by Pamela Nagami
Aristagoras, Pt. 2 12:15 Read by Pamela Nagami
Miltiades, Pt. 1 19:32 Read by Pamela Nagami
Miltiades, Pt. 2 18:19 Read by Pamela Nagami
Miltiades, Pt. 3 18:59 Read by Pamela Nagami
Aristeides, Pt. 1 16:05 Read by Pamela Nagami
Aristeides, Pt. 2 14:32 Read by Pamela Nagami
Themistokles, Pt. 1 19:38 Read by Pamela Nagami
Themistokles, Pt. 2 20:50 Read by Pamela Nagami
Themistokles, Pt. 3 22:15 Read by Pamela Nagami
Themistokles, Pt. 4 20:41 Read by Pamela Nagami
Themistokles, Pt. 5 19:13 Read by Pamela Nagami
Themistokles, Pt. 6 21:47 Read by Pamela Nagami
Themistokles, Pt. 7 16:38 Read by Pamela Nagami
Themistokles, Pt. 8 20:43 Read by Pamela Nagami
Pausanias, Pt. 1 20:15 Read by Pamela Nagami
Pausanias, Pt. 2 19:55 Read by Pamela Nagami
Gelon 21:08 Read by Pamela Nagami