“I don’t know how to play the cithara or lyre,” said the strategist Themistocles, “but I know how to make a small city great.” He didn’t lie: the first maneuverable battle fleet in the history of mankind, built in 483-480 BC era, turned Athens into the greatest city of Hellas. Two hundred Athenian triremes, the true rulers of the sea, brought Athens a brilliant victory at Salamis and stopped the advance of the troops of the Persian king Xerxes on Europe. The golden age of Athens began, a time of democracy, glory, the flourishing of trade and crafts, an unprecedented rise in the sciences and arts. And all this the Athenians were indebted to the fleet and the sea. In John Hale's amazing book, the reader is presented with the story of the heroic struggle of the Athenians against the invaders and the unfair treatment of their own military leaders, sophisticated political intrigues and inexplicable strategic miscalculations, a clash of ideals and the triumph of human will. Translation: N. Anastasyev