Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West
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- Create Date：2021-10-19 08:53:35
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Tom Holland
- ISBN：0349117179
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Summary
In the fifth century BC， a global superpower was determined to bring truth and order to what it regarded as two terrorist states。 The superpower was Persia， incomparably rich in ambition， gold and men。 The terrorist states were Athens and Sparta， eccentric cities in a poor and mountainous backwater: Greece。 The story of how their citizens took on the most powerful man on the planet is as heart stopping as any episode in history。
Reviews
Ryan Lindsay
，
If I had read this book 20 years ago I would have loved it but now it seems painfully dated。 Would be a 2。5 star review if possible。 It’s almost like his main source was Gates of Fire。 Spartan women are all blonde？ Spartans are the delta force of the ancients world？ The Phokians would have held the path is a Spartan general was present？ He even takes on the Greeks habit of referring to non-Greeks as barbarians。 It’s a fine time story in the tradition of the previously mentioned Gates of Fire or If I had read this book 20 years ago I would have loved it but now it seems painfully dated。 Would be a 2。5 star review if possible。 It’s almost like his main source was Gates of Fire。 Spartan women are all blonde？ Spartans are the delta force of the ancients world？ The Phokians would have held the path is a Spartan general was present？ He even takes on the Greeks habit of referring to non-Greeks as barbarians。 It’s a fine time story in the tradition of the previously mentioned Gates of Fire or Frank Miller but as history， well I guess I shouldn’t have ponied up for the Folio Society version based on a catalog description without looking into it fort。 。。。more
Brian Ross
，
Fascinating subject， and I enjoy Holland's style of writing。 This is a popular （rather than academic） history。 He is up front in the preface to point out that ancient history and records are sketchy as to breadth and accuracy， and the difference between "history" and "myth" can be difficult to discern。 So what he does is write an interesting and fast-paced chronicle following what he hopes is the most plausible series of events， drawing from ancient records （lots of Herodotus） ， leavened with lo Fascinating subject， and I enjoy Holland's style of writing。 This is a popular （rather than academic） history。 He is up front in the preface to point out that ancient history and records are sketchy as to breadth and accuracy， and the difference between "history" and "myth" can be difficult to discern。 So what he does is write an interesting and fast-paced chronicle following what he hopes is the most plausible series of events， drawing from ancient records （lots of Herodotus） ， leavened with lots of footnotes that explore the controversy， alternate theories， and reasons he chose one interpretation over another。 I find this method keeps the story moving without completely sacrificing the genuine uncertainty around the historical record。 His portraits of historic characters， while I'm sure open to debate and criticism， and his use of the occasional "you-are-there" descriptions， must of course be taken with a grain of salt， but make for a very satisfying read。If I were to add one thing I think is missing， it would be a table of the key characters for reference， as there are quite a few （several of which come back into the story several times） and it can be a challenge to keep track of who is who。 。。。more
John Hunt
，
Tom Holland， man， I enjoy what he does。 He writes non-fiction like it is fiction。 Makes it very readable。 Awesome， like Mary Beard， but in a different way。 Highly recommend。
Sara G
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I generally liked this book， but I think its title is a misrepresentation of its content。 This is mostly a recounting of Herodotus with a few other sources added in for clarity。 I had to read his Histories in college as part of my humanities course and really liked it， so it was fun to have a bit of a refresher。 I visited Greece this summer and saw most of the ancient sites， helping contextualize this even further。 This book is called Persian Fire， though！ It mostly focuses on the Greek states a I generally liked this book， but I think its title is a misrepresentation of its content。 This is mostly a recounting of Herodotus with a few other sources added in for clarity。 I had to read his Histories in college as part of my humanities course and really liked it， so it was fun to have a bit of a refresher。 I visited Greece this summer and saw most of the ancient sites， helping contextualize this even further。 This book is called Persian Fire， though！ It mostly focuses on the Greek states and what they were doing when Darius and Xerxes attacked， and there's not a whole lot about those guys and their motivations。 The first part of the book which gives some background on the rise of the Persian Empire is fantastic， but the heavy Hellenic focus for most of it disappointed me a bit。 It's a good book for what it is， but expect a heavy Greek focus。 。。。more
Hossein
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A very detailed and good book but like all books about ancient Iran u judge Iran with Greek eyes，
Zac Miles
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Really enjoyed learning about Persia and Greece。 Before this， my knowledge of the period was kind of random， but now I have a much better idea of how things fit together！
Drew Stock
，
Eh。。。。I dk。 Based on the title I thought it would be more Persian focused but it was the same old mostly-Greek-focused story of Marathon， Thermopylae， and Salamis with nothing particularly different from other versions of it。 This is the third Holland book I've read where I feel like I've been slightly misled about the focus of the book。 Overall it's a decent account but it just didn't particularly grip me。 Eh。。。。I dk。 Based on the title I thought it would be more Persian focused but it was the same old mostly-Greek-focused story of Marathon， Thermopylae， and Salamis with nothing particularly different from other versions of it。 This is the third Holland book I've read where I feel like I've been slightly misled about the focus of the book。 Overall it's a decent account but it just didn't particularly grip me。 。。。more
Alyssa
，
2。5 starswhat a misleading title。 it almost makes it sound like it’ll be a book that finally doesn’t just fawn over the greeks as The Creators of the West like every other western historical thing ever。 spoiler alert: this does not happen。 if you’ve come here looking for a persia-centric history， look elsewhere。 to me this just felt like another edition of ✨The Greeks: Aren’t They Great？ Everything You Were Told in Grade School Social Studies Class and More！ （Guest Starring: Those Barbarian Pers 2。5 starswhat a misleading title。 it almost makes it sound like it’ll be a book that finally doesn’t just fawn over the greeks as The Creators of the West like every other western historical thing ever。 spoiler alert: this does not happen。 if you’ve come here looking for a persia-centric history， look elsewhere。 to me this just felt like another edition of ✨The Greeks: Aren’t They Great？ Everything You Were Told in Grade School Social Studies Class and More！ （Guest Starring: Those Barbarian Persians）。 ✨ it’s just more tired wank material about the Saving of Western Civilization from what Those Effete Easterners might have done to it if the greeks hadn't been there。don’t get me wrong， the first part of the book does get into at least the broad strokes of how the achaemenids got started， but once that’s out of the way we get to what holland really wants to talk about， and that's the greeks。 the rest of the book is mostly about the minutiae of the greek city-states， their governments， myths， where they thought helen of troy came from （an egg， in case you were wondering）， the acropolis， spartan daily routines， athenian plays and the shitty way they treated women （when they bothered even thinking of them at all）， what godawful soup the spartans ate， you get the picture。 totally balanced。 wow。 i feel like i'm there。now if you （like me） are infinitely more interested in the achaemenid persian empire than the greeks， this book won’t be anything new。 and i get it， i get that a lot of the primary sources we have on what the persians were doing at this point are from the greek side， i really do， but that doesn’t mean you can’t do better than this （or even question herodotus' accounts sometimes， i mean come on）。 dan carlin goes more in depth on the persian empire and he’s a fucking podcaster。if you need me， i’ll be over here listening to “kings of kings” for the fourth time。 it’s more entertaining anyway。 。。。more
Larry Norton
，
I'm giving this four stars， but just barely。 Here's why。I was hoping for a good one volume introduction to the Persian Empire。 It turns out that a goodly portion of the book is focused on the Greeks， especially the Spartans and Athenians。 To be fair， Holland tells us up front that writing a history of the Persian Empire is difficult because there was no contemporaneous （or near contemporaneous） record of it written by Persians。 There was no Herodotus of the Persians。 There is， of course， Herodot I'm giving this four stars， but just barely。 Here's why。I was hoping for a good one volume introduction to the Persian Empire。 It turns out that a goodly portion of the book is focused on the Greeks， especially the Spartans and Athenians。 To be fair， Holland tells us up front that writing a history of the Persian Empire is difficult because there was no contemporaneous （or near contemporaneous） record of it written by Persians。 There was no Herodotus of the Persians。 There is， of course， Herodotus， whom Holland leans on heavily。We learn a good bit about Cyrus the Great， Darius I and Xerxes。 The sections including Xerxes are the most fleshed out and quite fascinating。 But mostly what we learn is indirect and admittedly speculative。The sections on Marathon， Thermopylae， The Battle of Salamis and the Battle of Plataea are riveting， so due credit to Holland here as a story teller， but still very much from the Greek perspective。From time to time I found Holland's writing a little "breathless"， verging on purple。 Also， make sure you have your phone or tablet nearby as you will be looking up a lot of vocabulary words you've never encountered before （mestizo， quailed and bounden examples found all in one chapter）。All in all， though， I came away with a much better understanding of the Persian Empire， how unprecedented it was in size and governance， and how powerful its leaders were at their height。 。。。more
José Márquez
，
Buen libro si se busca un relato detallado de las guerras médicas según Herodoto y la clásica visión europeísta y orientalista。 Épica griega a raudales。 Para mí ha sido una gran decepción。
Anna
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Good content， but needlessly convoluted sentences。 I kept stopping and trying to parse out the subjects and predicates of his sentences， which was just tedious and wasted time。
Noah Edinger-Reeve
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nice sunday read。 quite enojyable
Zac Curtis
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The most disappointing part of the book is the title， which implies that we will see the war in Greece from Persia's point of view。 Which we partially do， but most of the story is told from the Greek point of view。 Holland tries to insert the Persian mindset throughout， but they are never the main character of the narrative。 This book is really a history of the Persians， Athenians， and Spartans， an excellent telling of it but falling short of what was expected from the title。I imagine that if th The most disappointing part of the book is the title， which implies that we will see the war in Greece from Persia's point of view。 Which we partially do， but most of the story is told from the Greek point of view。 Holland tries to insert the Persian mindset throughout， but they are never the main character of the narrative。 This book is really a history of the Persians， Athenians， and Spartans， an excellent telling of it but falling short of what was expected from the title。I imagine that if there was more source material from the Persians， Holland would have delivered on the goal of the book。 He read between the lines as much as possible to get past the Greek xenophobia， and the overall book was great。 I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in the battle between Greece and Persia and want a more even handed telling of the conflict。 。。。more
Kristian Jakobsson
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Captivating story about how the Greeks prevailed in the battle of Marathon
Enrico
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Awesome book about the Greco-Persian Wars and among others the battle of the 300 Spartans。 It also taught me what led to the Peloponnesian War。 I will now read all of Tom Hollands works。
Edward
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 To read this book， you have to be willing to soak up every bit of information elaborately conjectured through a labyrinth of spider webs representing the complex history of Persia and Greece and how these come together with stunning brutality and intrigue。 The politics， scare tactics， spies， traitors， archons， delegates， anxious conferences， rebellions and last stands form the crux of the Persian War against Greece。 Right from the very start with the Ionian revolution led by Aristogoras we see G To read this book， you have to be willing to soak up every bit of information elaborately conjectured through a labyrinth of spider webs representing the complex history of Persia and Greece and how these come together with stunning brutality and intrigue。 The politics， scare tactics， spies， traitors， archons， delegates， anxious conferences， rebellions and last stands form the crux of the Persian War against Greece。 Right from the very start with the Ionian revolution led by Aristogoras we see Greek dissidence against Persian rule， with their eastern orientalist ideologies and “effeminate” practices。 After this fails and the Ionians butchered， Greece is mortified as to what will happen to them， because they were convinced these by aristogoras that these Persians were women in leather pants！！ They were all too wrong and found out the hard way with the Ionian defeat at Lade。 This broke the former treaty Athens had with Persia， and Darius， with a great righteous indignation to force the “lie” out of every part of his God “Ahura Mazda”’s world， set his eyes west to Greece。 This was carried on in Xerxes， who brought fear and terror to Greece， those who would not surrender were butchered as he slowly made his way to Athens after building a bridge over the Hellespont in a true show of strength。 Though at Thermopylae， Marathon， Salamis and Plataea with Greek heroes such as Xanthhipus， Themistocles， Leonidas， Leotychides， Aristides， Pausanias and many more facing up against the likes of Datis， Xerxes himself and an empire covering most of the known world， and epic showdown of backstabbing， name calling， spying and amity in the face of overwhelming odds all played out in true Greek drama fashion is written over 372 pages that require focus and concentration on each one。 If you want true Greece with hard grit and determination against effeminate Persians， this book is DEFINITELY for you！！ 。。。more
Marge
，
I just finished reading Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West and I loved it。
Jacquelyn
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The action is magical and I really like trying to visualize the settings Holland builds up。
Robert Ballantyne
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Love it， Starts getting a bit overly East Vs West when he's chatting about the actual battles。 But other than that it is class， reads a little bit like a GRR Martin book with the novel-y feel and tons of detail。 Spoilers: the Greeks win Love it， Starts getting a bit overly East Vs West when he's chatting about the actual battles。 But other than that it is class， reads a little bit like a GRR Martin book with the novel-y feel and tons of detail。 Spoilers: the Greeks win 。。。more
Andres Quiroz
，
Lo problemático que puede ser abordar hechos tan importantes solo desde una perspectiva como en este caso es la griega， no le quita méritos a lo que ha hecho Holland。Me ha parecido una libro genial y muy recomendable para quienes como yo somos tan adictos a la historia en todas sus presentaciones。 Los dos primeros capítulos son muy interesantes pues resultan un brillante rompecabezas de fichas griegas， y de roca （las inscripciones de las ruinas persas） sobre la caída de oriente en manos persas y Lo problemático que puede ser abordar hechos tan importantes solo desde una perspectiva como en este caso es la griega， no le quita méritos a lo que ha hecho Holland。Me ha parecido una libro genial y muy recomendable para quienes como yo somos tan adictos a la historia en todas sus presentaciones。 Los dos primeros capítulos son muy interesantes pues resultan un brillante rompecabezas de fichas griegas， y de roca （las inscripciones de las ruinas persas） sobre la caída de oriente en manos persas y la visión que ellos podría haber tenido sobre la realidad y su existencia misma。 En el caso de Esparta y Atenas no me han parecido tan entretenidos， quizá porque ya conozco sobre ellos， aunque por supuesto no dejan de ser muy enriquecedores。 Ya para la segunda mitad del libro el relato se vuelve apasionante， pues las revueltas Jónicas son una intrincada red de sucesos con sórdidas intrigas y estratagemas políticas que te enganchan línea tras línea， para pasar al climax que son las diferentes batallas。Es la primera obra que leo de Holland， pero me ha gustado mucho por el ritmo y fluidez con la que escribe， y por la calificación que le doy por supuesto va a mi sub-colección de libros que tengo que volver a leer。 。。。more
Dongor
，
As many others have commented， I'm somewhat ambivalent about this book。 There is no question that Tom Holland is a very compelling story teller and that this book is difficult to put down as a result。 It lives wholly in the realm of pop history though。 The book is essentially an annotated edition of Herodotus' Histories。 Holland never acknowledges when aspects of Herodotus' account are disputed by modern historians， nor does he really engage at all with present scholarly debates。 He also leans t As many others have commented， I'm somewhat ambivalent about this book。 There is no question that Tom Holland is a very compelling story teller and that this book is difficult to put down as a result。 It lives wholly in the realm of pop history though。 The book is essentially an annotated edition of Herodotus' Histories。 Holland never acknowledges when aspects of Herodotus' account are disputed by modern historians， nor does he really engage at all with present scholarly debates。 He also leans too heavily on notions of an eternal conflict between east and west， a concept that is not only outdated but problematic。 That being said， I don't think there's anything here that's overwhelmingly egregious， and there's no denying that the book is an entertaining read。 。。。more
Charlie Boardman
，
I am having a hard time rating Tom Holland books。 I start them slowly， but pick up speed later。 It took me a long time to get through this one because， like Rubicon， there’s something about the writing that gets heavy and bogged down。 Maybe that clears up later on in the book as I get some momentum going。 That said， the story itself is monumental and Holland portrays it in vivid detail。 I enjoyed it once the ball got rolling。
João Santos
，
Excelente contextualização histórica desde a formação do império Persa， da relação das cidades-estado da Grécia naquela tempo， até ao confronto propriamente dito， ocidente vs oriente。Não dou nota mais alta pois a minha edição é bem fraca。 Variados erros gramaticais， de impressão e até folhas coladas。 Apanhei de tudo。 Acabou por tirar algum brilho à excelente narrativa de Tom Holland。
Gayla Bassham
，
So here we have the first real disappointment in my Greek history reading list。 Persian Fire didn't really work for me at all， for a couple of reasons。First， I didn't like the way it was written。 I know that a lot of people disagree with me on this one， but I honestly found it to be overwritten， or at least written in such a way that every sentence made you keenly aware of how hard Tom Holland was trying to write well。 By the end of the book I was exhausted by it。 Take this passage: However， bold So here we have the first real disappointment in my Greek history reading list。 Persian Fire didn't really work for me at all， for a couple of reasons。First， I didn't like the way it was written。 I know that a lot of people disagree with me on this one， but I honestly found it to be overwritten， or at least written in such a way that every sentence made you keenly aware of how hard Tom Holland was trying to write well。 By the end of the book I was exhausted by it。 Take this passage: However， bold and original though all the new monuments on the Acropolis were destined to be， they still had their foundations deep in the bedrock of what had gone before。 The Parthenon， for instance， that daring monument to the new age of Athenian greatness， was being raised on the scorched base of an older， unfinished building: the great temple that had been begun in the 480s BC as a celebration of the victory at Marathon。 Now， with his plans for the Acropolis， Pericles was looking to enshrine the memory of Marathon for all eternity。 Remembrances of the battle were to be everywhere on the sacred rock。 Whether in the ground plan of the Parthenon itself， or in trophies raised to the victory， or in friezes illustrating the fighting， the greatest moment in Athenian history was to be celebrated with a brilliance that would proclaim Athens not merely the savior of Greece， but her school and mistress， too。 The language is colorful， his word choice is precise， I see that， but to me this passage doesn't flow。 It feels strained。 It doesn't feel effortless and natural。 I'm reading it now， trying to pick out exactly what I don't like。 Too many adjectives？ Something about "daring monument" and "sacred rock" makes me grind my teeth。 The rhythm of the sentences feels off。 I know some people really enjoy Holland's writing here， I am not claiming objective correctness， but for me I struggled with every chapter because his style irritated me so much。Secondly， the book isn't balanced。 Holland has a rooting interest， and that interest is Greece。 He is bound and determined to make you believe that the naval battle at Salamis preserved western civilization as we know it， and if he has to state theories as fact or diminish Persian achievement and culture to do that， well， that's a price he's willing to pay。 He turns what was surely a complicated war into a melodrama with a good guy and a bad guy， and that is a poor way to write history。 Look， I don't know much about this era。 But I know enough to spot that Holland is taking the Greek perspective as an objective account of an ancient war for which we don't have a lot of evidence。 And that makes me skeptical of all his conclusions。This is the fifth book in my Greece reading list。 The review of the first book， Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times， is here。 。。。more
Keith Daniels
，
I really appreciated the focus on the Persian side of this history， which is often neglected or characterized as a faceless horde of stormtroopers led by "Darth Vader" - evil for evil's sake。 I've enjoyed every Holland book I've read so far， even though I've got a nagging suspicion that his politics are closer to Jeremy Clarkson's than Jeremy Corbyn's - a relevant concern when the author focuses so much on religion and themes of 'east versus west'。 I really appreciated the focus on the Persian side of this history， which is often neglected or characterized as a faceless horde of stormtroopers led by "Darth Vader" - evil for evil's sake。 I've enjoyed every Holland book I've read so far， even though I've got a nagging suspicion that his politics are closer to Jeremy Clarkson's than Jeremy Corbyn's - a relevant concern when the author focuses so much on religion and themes of 'east versus west'。 。。。more
Daniele
，
Very informative， quite long but the final part with the battles descriptions is worth every word and more。
Igor
，
Slow start， but the second half of the book is amazing。
Josue Raga
，
Uno de los mejores libros de historia que he leído y una gran historia sobre las guerras médicas。Me gustó en sobremanera la forma en la que Holland aborda cada cultura en particular， desde sus orígenes， cultura， intrigas políticas， religiones y las va conjuntando hasta llegar el clímax del libro que es la batalla entre la alianza griega contra los medo-persas。 A pesar de lo extenso del libro， su narrativa es fluida y fácil de digerir para cualquier tipo de lector y aunque leí la versión en españ Uno de los mejores libros de historia que he leído y una gran historia sobre las guerras médicas。Me gustó en sobremanera la forma en la que Holland aborda cada cultura en particular， desde sus orígenes， cultura， intrigas políticas， religiones y las va conjuntando hasta llegar el clímax del libro que es la batalla entre la alianza griega contra los medo-persas。 A pesar de lo extenso del libro， su narrativa es fluida y fácil de digerir para cualquier tipo de lector y aunque leí la versión en español， los traductores estuvieron a la altura de mantener este mismo ritmo dinámico y jamás llegó a abrumarme tanta información dada ni mucho menos aburrirme。Como dice Holland al principio de este libro， uno no puede entender la cultura actual sin ese parteaguas que hubo en la batalla entre Oriente contra Occidente。 Si hubiese ganado Jerjes y el imperio persa， tal vez el mundo como lo conocemos ahora jamás hubiese existido。 Es por eso que la relevancia que tuvieron estos sucesos para el curso de la humanidad。Una gran lectura que me agradó tener y espero volver a releer pronto。 5/5。 。。。more
Todito
，
Persian Fire is not another history book about the medic wars。 Its novelish style gets you hooked on this epic moment of history。 The way all the sides of the war are projected is fantastic。 It can be sort of tough to read at the beginning， but it has to be。 There are so many things to understand before we move into battle。 There is a brief-but-clear economical， social and warfare analysis。 You can get into the skin of the brave Greeks whose freedom depended on stopping a massive empire。 Every s Persian Fire is not another history book about the medic wars。 Its novelish style gets you hooked on this epic moment of history。 The way all the sides of the war are projected is fantastic。 It can be sort of tough to read at the beginning， but it has to be。 There are so many things to understand before we move into battle。 There is a brief-but-clear economical， social and warfare analysis。 You can get into the skin of the brave Greeks whose freedom depended on stopping a massive empire。 Every single fact is useful for the understanding the causes， sides and consequences of one of the most important conflicts in Eurasian history。 。。。more
Chiefdonkey Bradey
，