If you're interested in historical fiction, I'd highly recommend Mary Renault's The Persian Boy. The book is all about the interaction between Hellenic and Pers

If you're interested in historical fiction, I'd highly recommend Mary Renault's The Persian Boy. The book is all about the interaction between Hellenic and Persian cultures and the influence they each had on the other. She does a great job of making ancient cultures seem real and current without making them feel artificially modern.