Bruce Clark - about the history of Athens

The panorama of Athens is one of the most recognizable and rich in symbolism of any city in the world: the columns and pediments of the Parthenon - the crowning temple of the Acropolis, dedicated to the goddess of wisdom Athena - reign over a city whose name is considered by many to be synonymous with the word "civilization". The importance of Athens - the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy and theater - cannot be ignored. Few cities have a history so rich in artistic creativity and innovation, and so marked by alternations of upheaval and lull. Bruce Clarke's narrative brings the city's epic, kaleidoscopic history—from the legal reforms of sixth-century BC legislator Solon to the tribulations that beset Athens in the early 21st century as a result of the economic crises of the 2000s—to life throughout. its cultural richness and political significance.

“When Western schoolchildren are introduced to world history, they are often told that civilization owes a particular debt to events that occurred on two rocky hills in different parts of the Eastern Mediterranean. Despite their common features, the meaning of these places is understood very differently. One of them is the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, considered the cradle of monotheism, and the second is the Acropolis of Athens, whose precious monuments are seen as evidence of human intelligence, skill and freedom. My book is about one of these hills and the civilization that arose around it, although the currents originating in these two places eventually became intertwined,” says Bruce Clark.

Read today in the Slow Reading section.