Length7h 12m
About this audiobook
The story of Xerxes the Great (circa 519-465 BC), the fourth king of the Persian Achaemenid Empire, includes the battles of Thermopylæ and Salamis, famous in their own right-and which were pivotal to world and European history. The tale, woven by classic master storyteller Jacob Abbott is, as usual, free from the dry stuffiness which mars conventional historical accounts. Beginning with Xerxes' family background, the action starts straightaway with his interactions with Egypt and Greece, and the preparations for the invasion of that latter nation. Abbott's narration, based on meticulous research and primary sources, reveals the immense size of the Persian army, and that their ultimate intention was to conquer all of Europe. The Greek defensive preparations-spearheaded by the astonishing Spartans-are then reviewed. The mighty clash-and sacrifice-of the main Persian force and the 300 Spartans under Leonidas at Thermopylæ forms one of the centerpieces of the work. It is followed by the equally important burning of Athens and the Battle of Salamis, where the Persian fleet was destroyed. Finally, faced with stalemate in Greece and rebellion at home, Xerxes was forced to return to Persia. His army, routed at the Battle of Platæa, followed him home, and the Persian attempt to seize Europe was definitively defeated.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 3.7 (313)
Includes Goodreads, Amazon, LibraryThing, StoryGraph
GenreHistory
Length7 hrs 12 mins
Narrated byXYZ Voices
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateAug 24, 2026
LanguageEnglish
Romans Who Shaped Rome: 15 Most Influential People of Ancient RomeJacob Abbott, A. H. Beesly, Edward Spencer Beesly, W. Lucas Collins, Evelyn S. Shuckburgh, John Charles Tarver, Philo, Stephen Phillips, Tacitus, Georg Ebers, George Lang, John B. Firth98h 53m$1.99
The History of Genghis KhanJacob Abbott7h 22m$1.99 · $0.00
Masters of War: Top 10 Greatest Conquerors of All TimeJacob Abbott, Alfred John Church, John S. C. Abbott, William Milligan Sloane116h 34m4.2 (18)$1.99
Cyrus the GreatJacob Abbott7h 5m3.9 (219)$6 · $0.00
HannibalJacob Abbott6h 6m4.0 (493)$6 · $0.00
The History of Genghis KhanJacob Abbott7h3.8 (1.2K)$6 · $0.00
CleopatraJacob Abbott6h 23m3.8 (3.7K)$6 · $0.00
History of Julius CaesarJacob Abbott4h 43m3.9 (1.3K)$6 · $0.00
NeroJacob Abbott7h 31m3.8 (420)$6 · $0.00
Mary Queen of ScotsJacob Abbott5h 2m3.6 (580)$6 · $0.00
Margaret of AnjouJacob Abbott4h 40m3.7 (228)$6 · $0.00
PyrrhusJacob Abbott7h 25m3.7 (162)$6 · $0.00
Peter the GreatJacob Abbott6h 53m4.1 (888)$6 · $0.00
Richard IIJacob Abbott5h 18m3.2 (69)$6 · $0.00
Richard IJacob Abbott6h 19m3.8 (328)$6 · $0.00
RomulusJacob Abbott6h 24m3.7 (196)$6 · $0.00
William the ConquerorJacob Abbott6h$6 · $0.00
Richard IIIJacob Abbott4h 54m3.6 (287)$6 · $0.00
Queen ElizabethJacob Abbott4h 49m3.6 (386)$6 · $0.00
A Brief History of IntelligenceMax S. Bennett12h 18m4.6 (6.6K)$29 · $0.00
Ghosts of HiroshimaCharles Pellegrino8h 59m4.5 (877)$23
MotherlandJulia Ioffe17h 52m4.7 (2.5K)$40 · $0.00
Where Cowards Go to DieBenjamin Sledge8h 42m4.7 (351)$20 · $0.00
RevolutionariesSanjeev Sanyal11h 23m4.6 (2.6K)$29 · $0.00
We Crossed a Bridge and It TrembledWendy Pearlman6h4.6 (5.2K)$24 · $0.00
Unbroken Bonds of BattleJohnny Joey Jones8h 31m4.6 (2.6K)$8 · $0.00
The Daughter of AuschwitzTova Friedman, Malcolm Brabant7h 54m4.6 (16.7K)$26 · $0.00
Lily's PromiseLily Ebert, Dov Forman8h 54m4.6 (16.1K)$29 · $0.00
On Democracies and Death CultsDouglas Murray10h 38m4.6 (6.5K)$29 · $0.00
Across the RiverKent Babb11h 40m4.6 (927)$29 · $0.00
Balcony Over Jerusalem: A Middle East Memoir - Israel, Palestine and BeyondJohn Lyons12h 37m4.6 (1.4K)$33 · $0.00
BeyondStephen Walker15h 39m4.6 (3.2K)$33 · $0.00
Kings and PawnsHoward Bryant10h 9m4.6 (678)$29 · $0.00
No EscapeNury Turkel9h 30m4.6 (809)$28 · $0.00
Jubal Stone: U.S. Marshal: Blood Trail To Hell: A Western Adventure NovelCasey Nash3h 42m4.6 (3.2K)$18 · $0.00
Fall and RiseMitchell Zuckoff17h 23m4.6 (9.8K)$40 · $0.00
The SurvivorJosef Lewkowicz, Michael Calvin9h 22m4.6 (2.5K)$29 · $0.00
Always FaithfulThomas Schueman, Zainullah Zaki12h 12m4.6 (977)$29 · $0.00
The State of Society in France Before the Revolution of 1789 (Annotated)Alexis de Tocqueville17h 25m4.6 (1.2K)$2 · $0.00
You may also like
Cleopatra (Annotated)Jacob Abbott7h 40m3.8 (4.6K)$1.99 · $0.00
The Borgias: Celebrated CrimesAlexandre Dumas8h 42m3.7 (2.7K)$2.30 · $0.00
King LearWilliam Shakespeare2h 46m4.2 (274.7K)$14
The Brothers YorkThomas Penn23h 14m4.3 (1.8K)$30
The Man in the Iron MaskAlexandre Dumas20h 3m4.1 (79.5K)$2.30 · $0.00
CleopatraAlberto Angela14h 32m4.1 (5.7K)$33 · $0.00
CymbelineWilliam Shakespeare3h 19m3.8 (22.6K)$2 · $0.00
Uncle's dreamFyodor Dostoyevsky5h 34m3.7 (5.7K)$2.30
A Conspiracy of KingsMegan Whalen Turner8h 26m4.3 (37K)$26 · $0.00
CymbelineWilliam Shakespeare3h 22m3.8 (17.7K)$0.60 · $0.00
The Three Edwards (Annotated)Thomas Bertram Costain19h 33m4.1 (1.2K)$1.99 · $0.00
The History of England (Complete 6 Volumes) (Annotated)David Hume132h 22m4.3 (261)$2 · $0.00
Men of IronHoward Pyle7h 22m4.2 (3.6K)$21 · $0.00
King LearWilliam Shakespeare3h 45m4.2 (276.3K)$1.80 · $0.00
The Conquering Family (Annotated)Thomas Bertram Costain18h 19m4.2 (6.3K)$2 · $0.00
TudorsPeter Ackroyd19h 6m4.3 (5.8K)$25
The Hundred Years’ War. Part II.Santiago Machain6h 24m$21 · $0.00
Margaret of AnjouJacob Abbott4h 40m3.7 (228)$6 · $0.00
The History of England (Summarized Edition)David Hume25h 41m$2
Memoirs of the Dukes of UrbinoJames Dennistoun54h 24m4.2 (25)$1 · $0.00