A review by willjacks
The Gates of Athens by Conn Iggulden

4.0

A brilliant story, which doesn’t take the typical route of telling Just Leonidas’s story, or just the perspective of Xerxes. Having multiple perspectives, all centering around Xanthippus makes the story unique. This isn’t just the story of the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae, as I expected it to be. I have never read a story about this time with such attention to detail when it came to early Greek democracy, where people followed its rulings but with a lot of heavy hearts and frustrations. The ending was incredible, and reading the historical notes shows just how historically accurate the book is. Bridging the gaps of history was to be expected, but I now find myself wanting a life-size Miltiades helmet...