How did the city-state of Athens defeat the invaders from Persia; the first world empire; on the plain of Marathon in 490 BCE? Clever scholars skeptical of our earliest surviving source; Herodotus; have produced one ingenious theory after another. In this stimulating new book; bound to provoke controversy; Peter Krentz argues that Herodotus was right after all.Beginning his analysis with the Athenians’ first formal contact with the Persians in 507 BCE; Krentz weaves together ancient evidence with travelers’ descriptions; archaeological discoveries; geological surveys; and the experiences of modern reenactors and soldiers to tell his story.Krentz argues that before Marathon the Athenian army fought in a much less organized way than the standard view of the hoplite phalanx suggests: as an irregularly armed mob rather than a disciplined formation of identically equipped infantry. At Marathon the Athenians equipped all their fighters; including archers and horsemen; as hoplites for the first time. Because their equipment weighed only half as much as is usually thought; the Athenians and their Plataean allies could charge almost a mile at a run; as Herodotus says they did. Krentz improves on this account in Herodotus by showing why the Athenians wanted to do such a risky thing.
#1293554 in Books Yale University Press 2010-11-23Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.25 x .87 x 5.50l; .93 #File Name: 0300161751248 pagesGreat product!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A New Biography of Moses MendelssohnBy Philip BrantinghamIf not the widest-known philosopher of the Enlightenment today; Moses Mendelssohn still was famous in his time. A Jew; he managed to overcome the anti-semitism of his time and garner praise from many contemporaries; including Immanuel Kant; who admired his writings and was a close acquaintance. Shmuel Feiner's biography is an authoritative review of Mendelssohn's thought and life. Certainly a new study of Mendelssohn's ideas was overdue. Indeed; Feiner's explication of the philosopher's ideas is clear and detailed. Mendelssohn chiefly promoted an enlightened Judaism; free from the conservatism of the rabbinical councils of the time. The reform movement he supported; the "Haskalah;" had many followers and was intended to make Judaism more progressive. That is; to attune it more with current Enlightnement ideas.Mendelssohn's friendship with Gotthold Ephraim Lessing was one of the great blessings of his life; for Lessing; poet; dramatist; and critic; helped acquaint Mendelssohn with many of the prominent Berlin intellectuals. Feiner describes the uneasyiness of Frederick the Great with this outstanding Jewish thinker. Actually; when Mendelssohn was proposed as a member in the Berlin Academy of Science the king ignored the proposal and let it drop. A great Francophile; Frederick had no respect for local philosophers; especially those who wrote in German!Feiner's book is well worth reading; especially for his clarity in explaining the difficulties faced by a Jewish intellectual in a society in which such persons were dismissed as being unwelcome. .13 of 13 people found the following review helpful. The most accessible and; in some respects; best biography of Mendelssohn to dateBy goodmusicmanSince the review titled "A Love Letter Does not a Biography Make" is not really a review of Feiner's book about Mendelssohn but more of a polemic against Mendelssohn (and the Enlightenment); I feel compelled to write a review of this book.While Alexander Altmann's Moses Mendelssohn: A Biographical Study (Littman Library of Jewish Civilization) remains the most magisterial and detailed study of the life of Moses Mendelssohn (1729-1786); and remains essential reading for all interested in Mendelssohn; Shmuel Feiner's "Moses Mendelssohn: Sage of Modernity" (translated from the Hebrew original; which was published in 2005) surpasses Altmann's book in certain respects. First; it is far more readable: while Feiner's book is around the 200-page mark; Altmann's is over 900 pages. While Altmann immerses the reader in 18th century intellectual history and the details of Mendelssohn's philosophy and how each episode of his life reflects different aspects of that philosophy; Feiner gives us a personal portrait of Mendelssohn; a glimpse into his private life; his fears and joys alike. The opening paragraph; describing Mendelssohn walking with his family in Berlin and getting taunted for being Jewish--despite the wide acclaim he had already received in Germany and beyond as a leading Enlightenment philosopher--is a preview of what is to come.Feiner's portrayal of Mendelssohn is sympathetic without being reverential. His Mendelssohn is an heroic figure but equally a tragic one. Mendelssohn's courtship and marriage; his ten children (four of whom died very young); his friends and rivals are all portrayed in a personal and human light. While Feiner is an academic and Yale University Press is an academic publisher; this book reads like a serious but popular examination of Mendelssohn's life. (Footnotes; which are missing; would have been nice.) Feiner significantly diminishes Mendelssohn's historical significance by arguing that he did not found a movement (the Haskalah) nor did he foresee the radical direction (from the point of view of traditional rabbinic Judaism) which that movement would later take. Feiner sees Mendelssohn as almost sui generis: deeply dedicated to preserving rabbinic Judaism (contra Arkush and more in keeping with Sorkin) and yet dissatisfied with the manner in which rabbinic Judaism was practiced in his time.Feiner's book is a fascinating look at an all-too-often misunderstood man. The book is highly accessible and the interested reader may finish this in one sitting. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the life of Moses Mendelssohn.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Phenomenal!By The Personal InquirerThis book gives an explanation of how Christians and Jews thought and how they viewed each other during the enlightenment in Berlin. One is given insight into the prejudices and fears of both groups - in an engrossing and sensitive and intelligent way.
