Ancient World Now:Themistocles, Part II

Click here for direct link to audio Episode #47.

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The Greeks had the “home-court advantage” at Salamis. Knowing that winds kicked up at a certain time of day, Themistocles postponed assault until the Persians were knocked about a bit! Hear today of the crafty tactics of the Athenian general, and of the fate of Persian king Xerxes’s brother. We all know the Greeks were victorious at Salamis, but how many know the man who led them to that victory was ostracized by his fellow Athenians because he’d gotten “too big for his britches?” Pick up Plutarch’s Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans to find out how he ended up hanging out with Xerxes in Persia, settled quietly in Magnesia, and committed suicide rather than take up arms against his countrymen when Xerxes called upon him so to do! Who were these people! What drama!

Enjoy the final installment on Themistocles, from Plutarch’s Lives for Boys and Girls by W.H.Weston from the early 1900’s.

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