Athens

A radical, revolutionary state in the Aegean that became the prototype for democratic regimes.

“Welcome back, everybody, to The Rest is History. It is the winter of 499 BC, and we are in Athens. So to remind people, Aristagoras, the, um, former strongman of the city of Miletus, who has now become a born-again enthusiast for democracy and has launched an …”

The Greek city-state whose infant democracy is drawn into the conflict with Persia.

“Well, I think he, he has two plans. Um, and the first of these is, is very cunning because he knows that the Persian fleet is not far from Miletus, and there are lots of Ionian squadrons there. He sends an officer down to the Persian fleet, and this officer is…”

A Greek city-state that defied Persian demands and executed their ambassadors.

“the north of, of Greece.Um, and Mardonius himself sustains quite a severe wound. He's kind of gone off on a, a, a, a dashing expedition against a, a mountainous tribe, and he's ended up with a, with a rather severe wound. So that knocks him out of the, uh, of …”

The city-state where Miltiades returns and faces political suspicion before being elected as a general.

“So he has fought very bravely and well in the Ionian revolt, but by now the revolt is effectively crushed, and the net is closing in on him. And a squadron is sent to intercept him on the Chersonese. Um, he manages to escape it. Um, there's a, a, a chase all t…”

Described as a rogue or terrorist state that the Persians felt compelled to punish to prevent further instability.

“Now, why though? Because my sense of this has always been that the Persians are so rich, so powerful, so important, um, and, and, and Athens is just a, you know, it's a, a, to, to the Persian sensibility, what is it? It's a rogue state, a terrorist state, that…”

The city-state that recently established a democracy and is considering supporting the Ionian revolt.

“far. Proof enough that the downtrodden, since their labors are all in the service of a master, will never willingly pull their weight. Whereas free men, because they have a stake in their own exertions, will set to them with relish." And he's articulating some…”

A Greek city-state dependent on grain imports from the Chersonese and the Crimea.

“Yeah, in a few weeks' time. So Miltiades, um, he set up this colony on the Thracian Ch- Chersonese, AKA Gallipoli, and he's done it partly because the Hellespont is really, really important to Athens. Um, Athens is dependent for its food supply on, um, grain f…”

The Greek city that the Persians sought to destroy during the Ionian revolt.

“Yeah, so we're go- we're going to be looking at how, uh, the Persians try to suppress the Ionian revolt, how they send this extraordinary amphibious operation across the Aegean with orders to destroy the city of Athens and to bring its people back as slaves. T…”

Referenced as a Greek democracy that failed, serving as a cautionary tale for the US Constitution creators.

“Well, look, if you look back in history, most human societies in most times have been what you would, we would now call autocracy, but they were whatever. They were monarchies. They were led by tribal leaders, by warlords. There have been very, very few libera…”

Ecclestone and Mosley traveled to Athens to monitor Balestre's communications.

“Over the following months, Formula One spins toward chaos. [upbeat music] Sponsors threaten to withdraw their money unless order is restored. The British teams begin planning a breakaway Formula One series independent of FISA. Yet Balestre remains confident. M…”