Books by Erik Sanden

It is not without due cause that historians and scholars have attempted to understand and retell Thucydides’s story of the Peloponnesian War, without pause, since it was first written. Athens v. Sparta now joins that tradition, infusing the classic narrative of the Peloponnesian War with a take that is vibrant, modern, and above all, musical. Led by a veteran of the San Antonio and Austin indie music scene, Charlie Roadman, Athens v. Sparta was inspired by Thucydides and his successor Xenophon (who took up the history upon Thucydides’s death) to create a new version, capturing the gravity of the ancient narrative within the approachable framework of well-crafted latter-day musical sensibilities. The result is a vivid, fascinating, occasionally humorous, and often surprising fusion, which achieves its aim well: to present the fullness of the war, its circumstances and consequences, to ears not yet attuned to the niceties and nuances of ancient history. The CD educates and entertains. It is ideal for garnering the interest of students new to Greece and the classical world.