Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction discussion

Hi everyone,

I'm wondering if anyone might recommend a good historical fiction book that centres on ancient Athenian politics and political intrigue. Particularly before/during the Greco-Persian wars or earlier during the Athenian revolution/the period between.

I'm currently reading Christian Cameron's Long War series and very much enjoying it. Evidently it's very much focused on the military aspects of the Greco-Persian wars, which is certainly up my alley! But during the scenes dealing with Athenian politics, the Alcmaeonidae's scheming, double dealing etc it made me want to find a series that focuses more on the politics, scheming etc rather than open warfare. Can anyone make any good recommendations?

I had a glance in the classical antiquity section but didn't see anything that seemed to hit on exactly what I'm looking for.

Try ‘The Tides of War’ by Steven Pressfield. It’s a long time since I read this book and seem to recall that it covers the death of Socrates and the career of Alcibiades.

There is also Achilles His Armour by Peter Green which is very good. Peter Green is a classical scholar, so he knows his stuff, but he has written two novels as well. This one about Alcibiades and The Laughter of Aphrodite: A Novel about Sappho of Lesbos about Sappho.

I can recommend both, but as it is the Peloponnesian War you are interested in, the first one is the one to go for.

There's The Confessions of Socrates.

Also, although I don't recall much about Athens in this novel, there's Victor Davis Hanson's The End of Sparta. It concerns the efforts of the Theban general Epaminondas to free the other Greek city states from the yoke of the bullying Spartans.

NekroRider wrote: "Hi everyone,

I'm wondering if anyone might recommend a good historical fiction book that centres on ancient Athenian politics and political intrigue. Particularly before/during the Greco-Persian w..."

Have you read Mary Renault's The Last of the Wine? It's excellent.