About this episode

Michael Scott discusses the life and complexities of Themistocles, a significant figure in ancient Athens, in relation to his new book.

Themistocles is one of the great personages of ancient Athens, known for his heroics in warfare as well as for his overweening and ultimately tragic ambitions. In Themistocles: The Rise and Fall of Athen’s Naval Mastermind (Yale UP, 2026), Michael Scott takes a distinctly human measure of this complex figure. As he tells me in our conversation, it would be wrong to see Themistocles, as some ancient scribes were disposed to, as the product of a fixed nature. Born and raised as an outsider in the status-obsessed world of Athens, he shaped his destiny through his own choices, some of them flawed. Scott is professor of classics and ancient history at the University of Warwick, UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/military-history

People in this episode

Host: Marshall Poe

Guest: Michael Scott

Topics covered

• ancient history
• Themistocles
• Athenian warfare
• classics
• biography

Keywords

• Themistocles
• ancient Athens
• naval warfare
• Michael Scott
• Yale University Press

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Yale UP, University of Warwick

Books & works: Themistocles: The Rise and Fall of Athen’s Naval Mastermind

Places: Athens

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