Once again, Olivia Coolidge puts flesh and blood on the bones of history. In these short stories that frame the Golden Age of Athens she spreads before the reader a dramatic, highly colored panorama of the times and men who made the glory of Athens' Golden Age.
Here is the barbaric splendor of the Persian court at Sardis; a stirring view of the battle of Salamis; here is Themistocles, the ambassador from Athens, cleverly outmaneuvering the smug and simple Spartans; Criton, the athlete, defending the honor of his city at the Olympic games; the bustle of the marketplace where even a potter strives for an excellence worthy of his city.
Finally, after the flashing brilliance of Athens at its height of power, there is a moving account of the day that Socrates is condemned to death, a verdict that seems to spell the death of Athens itself.
As with the author's Roman People, which Library Journal called "absolutely essential," the book makes excellent reading just as a collection of fine and exciting stories; at the same time it will make the Athenian century a living reality and give the reader a sense of participation in the Golden Age.
—from the dust jacket
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