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The Gates of Athens

The Gates of Athens

Book One in the Athenian series

Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

Devour the latest epic tale of ancient Greece and Sunday Times top 5 bestseller from the author of War of the Roses.

On the plains of Marathon an army of slaves gathers . . .

Under Darius the Great, King of Kings, the mighty Persian army - swollen by 10,000 Immortal warriors - have come to subjugate the Greeks.

In their path stands an army of freeborn Athenians, and among them is fearsome and cunning soldier-statesman, Xanthippus.

Knowing defeat means slavery lends keenness to his already sharp blade . . .

Yet people soon forget that freedom is bought with blood.

Ten years later, Xanthippus watches helplessly as Athens succumbs to the bitter politics of factionalism, when the Persians cross the Hellespont in ever greater numbers to raze Athens to the ground.

Facing overwhelming forces by land and sea, the Athenians call on their Spartan allies for assistance - to delay the Persians at the treacherous pass of Thermopylae . . .

© Conn Iggulden 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Reviews

  • Thrilling retelling . . . It's a brilliant read, and his description of the Battle of Thermopylae is simply a stunning - and inspiring - piece of writing
    Cotswold Life

About the author

Conn Iggulden

CONN IGGULDEN is one of the most successful authors of historical fiction writing today, with bestselling series on Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan and the Wars of the Roses, as well as two stand-alone novels: Dunstan, set in the red-blooded world of tenth-century England, and The Falcon of Sparta, in which Iggulden returns to the Ancient World. Both instalments of his Athenian series, ­The Gates of Athens and Protector, and his recent Golden Age series, Lion and Empire, are Sunday Times bestsellers.
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