Cruise And Stay Deals

In Review

04 December 2008 04:29 BST

Persian Fire by Tom Holland

Published by Abacus, out now, paperback, 376 pages, £9.99.

In a nutshell…

Epic. Absorbing. Pertinent. Accessible. Stylish.

What's it all about?

More than 2,500 years ago, the free people of Greece faced ruin at the hands of the world's first superpower, the Persian empire, whose tributaries stretched from modern day Turkey to India. Tom Holland's epic non-fiction account of how the insubordinate Greeks, led by the cities of Athens and Sparta, stood up to the great king Xerxes and his immeasurably large armies, covers a period of history often overlooked by readers, but one that is especially relevant in today's context of east versus west.

Who's it by?

As well as his other major historical work, Rubicon, which details the rise and fall of Rome, the 38-year-old also has a flair for the fantastical, often writing about supernatural subjects such as vampires. Holland graduated from Cambridge with a double first and later studied for a DPhil at Oxford. His major influences are the ancient historians Herodotus and Virgil, as well as more recent writers such as Lord Byron.

As an example…

"Marathon had taught not only Athens but the whole of Greece a portentous lesson: humiliation at the hands of the superpower was not inevitable. The Athenians, as they would never tire of reminding everyone, had shown that the hordes of the great king could be defeated. The colossus had feet of clay.

"Liberty might be defended after all."

Chapter five, Singeing the King of Persia's beard, page 201

Likelihood of becoming a Hollywood blockbuster

Please no; cinema's relationship with the ancient world is sketchy to say the least. For every Gladiator there is an Alexander (whose own rise follows the events of Persian Fire by only a century). The breadth and scope needed to relay the Greek-Persian war could never be achieved in a two-hour film, and the thought of today's megastars trying to look meaningful in sandals delivering key oratories is enough to make the mind implode.

What the others say

"One of the most astonishing aspects of the author's achievement here, as in Rubicon, is that this is a book written by someone trained neither in the Greek and Latin classics nor even in history, let alone oriental studies," The Independent.

"This book is an unequivocal argument for the relevance of ancient history. As we stand at the start of century that many would like to see as a time when civilisations are doomed to clash, Holland writes of a war between east and west which predates the Crusades, which is older than Islam or Christianity," The Guardian.

So is it any good?

The story of how the Greeks defied an empire of perilously unimaginable resources is stirring enough alone, but when Holland's masterful writing is added to the equation the result is simply superb.

The Athenians, fighting on their part to safeguard the democracy that they had so-lovingly created only years before the Asian hordes gazed across the Aegean; the Spartans and their two-tier society of elite beyond measure warriors and sub-human farm workers; and the Persians themselves, who valued accurate bureaucracy as highly as valour in battle; all are brought to life beyond comparison with the book's stirring and evocative prose.

Historical figures such as the doom-laden Spartan king Leonidas, who when demanded by the Persians to relinquish his arms when hopelessly outnumbered at Thermopylae replied "Molon labe" (Come and get them); to the arch-Athenian statesman and hero of Salamis Themistocles; and Xerxes, king of all Persia himself, whose love for laying waste to rebellious cities is only matched by horticulture; are all painted in startlingly vivid detail. Coming from the pen of a self-confessed non-historian, the well-researched book holds up to examination as well.

The book is so peerlessly written that practically anyone, regardless of historical interest, will find themselves engaged with the text, burning the midnight oil to discover what happens next in true pulp fiction-style, as well as frantically turning the pages back to refer to the illustrative maps.

Most people will know that the founding principles of democracy, the very same democracy that still guides the west to this day, had their origins in ancient Greece, but they will not know how it was only preserved at the point of a spear wielded by a bronze-clad hoplite. Thanks to Tom Holland, readers can now revel in the illumination that Persian Fire brings.

9/10

Matthew Champion