Books: Marathon: The Battle That Changed Western Civilization

Marathon(490 BC) may well have been the battle that saved Western civilization__a “decisive battle, “ as historians used to call them. These battles are so important that they often change the course of history. An example of a decisive battle in relatively modern history would be Waterloo or the invasion of Normandy in WWII. Decisive battles are somewhat out of fashion today. Think of the many recent battles that have decided nothing except perhaps a local skirmish. Why is that? Well that’s a discussion of political will and empire building that is beyond the purview of a librarian. However, getting back on track, herein lies the main point of the recently published book by Richard Billows, Marathon: The Battle That Changed Western Civilization.” The title pretty much tells the tale. Well almost, Billows book is much more than an elaborate essay to prove his “decisive battle” point. After the introduction Billow’s spends about 150 pages discussing the reasons for the Persian invasion. In these introductory pages the readers gets a history of Greece, a history of the Persian Empire, a background on Athenian society, and the reasons for the Ionian revolt against the Persians. It is not until Chapter five that Billows returns to a detailed discussion of the battle itself. Then in chapter six he discuses the aftermath of the battle and the changes it caused. In Billows opinion, which is mostly likely correct, a defeat at Marathon at the hands of the Persians would have meant that the intellectual achievements of Western Civilization, such as, democracy, the philosophy of Aristotle and Plato, the plays of Aristophanes and the History of Thucydides' would have never occurred. Western civilization would fundamentally be different place. Now that was a battle. And Billows does a fine job explaining it. It’s interesting to speculate what would the founders of later democracies including American’s founding fathers have used for a model? Recommended.