Lives of Greek Statesmen

Lives of Greek Statesmen

by George William Cox

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.)

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George William Cox was a renowned scholar and author who was born in Liverpool, England in 1827. He was known for his works on ancient Greece and its mythology, as well as on the history of the Aryan...

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