The Peloponnesian War

For three decades in the fifth century B.C. the ancient world was torn apart by a conflict that was as dramatic, divisive, and destructive as the world wars of the twentieth century: the Peloponnesian War. Donald Kagan, one of the world's most respected classical, political, and military historians, here presents a new account of this vicious war of Greek against Greek, Athenian against Spartan. The Peloponnesian War is a magisterial work of history written for general readers, offering a fresh examination of a pivotal moment in Western civilization. With a lively, readable narrative that conveys a richly detailed portrait of a vanished world while honoring its timeless relevance, The Peloponnesian War is a chronicle of the rise and fall of a great empire and of a dark time whose lessons still resonate today.

"[T]ruly impressive...a thorough, yet concise, erudite, yet accessible, narrative....[T]he war's many characters and places are presented accessibly enough to feel relevant to modern events....Kagan's history is excellent." Brendan Driscoll, Booklist (Starred Review)

"Authoritative history demonstrating that, though the weaponry may have multiplied, the reactions of leaders and societies during wartime have altered little." Kirkus Reviews

"One feature that makes it eminently readable is its division into short chapters....It is also handsomely furnished with something essential to a history of this war: maps...all clearly printed and complete and situated just where you need them." Bernard Knox, The New York Times Book Review

"[Kagan] succeeds admirably....[M]uch of the value of this work lies in Kagan's brilliant contextualization of [Thucydides's] work....[P]erceptive, magisterial..." Publishers Weekly

"In a style at once readable and pithy, Kagan makes fifth-century B.C.E. Greece comprehensible to all readers....Kagan's sumptuous style will enthrall readers who had not imagined that they would find the topic so absorbing." Library Journal

One of the world's foremost historians presents a fresh look at the greatest war of ancient Greece and a pivotal moment in Western civilization that still resonates today. 24 maps.

Giving all due respect to Thucydides, Kagan decided that a new account was needed of the three-decade war between the Athenian Empire and the Spartan Alliance at the end of the fifth century B.C. that changed the Greek world and its civilization forever.

Donald Kagan is Sterling Professor of Classics and History at Yale University. His four-volume History of the Peloponnesian War is the leading scholarly work on the subject. He is also the author of many books on ancient and modern topics.

Introduction
Pt. 1 The Road to War 1
Ch. 1 The Great Rivalry (479-439) 3
Ch. 2 "A Quarrel in a Far-away Country" (436-433) 25
Ch. 3 Enter Athens (433-432) 30
Ch. 4 The Decisions for War (432) 41
Pt. 2 Pericles' War 55
Ch. 5 War Aims and Resources (432-431) 57
Ch. 6 The Theban Attack on Plataea (431) 64
Ch. 7 The Plague (430-429) 76
Ch. 8 Pericles' Last Days (429) 87
Ch. 9 Rebellion in the Empire (428-427) 99
Ch. 10 Terror and Adventure (427) 113
Pt. 3 New Strategies 123
Ch. 11 Demosthenes and the New Strategy (426) 125
Ch. 12 Pylos and Sphacteria (425) 137
Ch. 13 Athens on the Offensive: Megara and Delium (424) 157
Ch. 14 Brasidas' Thracian Campaign (424-423) 171
Ch. 15 The Coming of Peace (422-421) 182
Pt. 4 The False Peace 195
Ch. 16 The Peace Unravels (421-420) 197
Ch. 17 The Alliance of Athens and Argos (420-418) 210
Ch. 18 The Battle of Mantinea (418) 228
Ch. 19 After Mantinea: Politics and Policy at Sparta and Athens (418-416) 244
Pt. 5 The Disaster in Sicily 251
Ch. 20 The Decision (416-415) 253
Ch. 21 The Home Front and the First Campaigns (415) 262
Ch. 22 The First Attack on Syracuse (415) 275
Ch. 23 The Siege of Syracuse (414) 284
Ch. 24 The Besiegers Besieged (414-413) 298
Ch. 25 Defeat and Destruction (413) 313
Pt. 6 Revolutions in the Empire and in Athens 325
Ch. 26 After the Disaster (413-412) 327
Ch. 27 War in the Aegean (412-411) 341
Ch. 28 The Revolutionary Movement (411) 361
Ch. 29 The Coup (411) 371
Ch. 30 The Four Hundred in Power (411) 381
Ch. 31 The Five Thousand (411) 392
Ch. 32 War in the Hellespont (411-410) 402
Pt. 7 The Fall of Athens 415
Ch. 33 The Restoration (410-409) 417
Ch. 34 The Return of Alcibiades (409-408) 427
Ch. 35 Cyrus, Lysander, and the Fall of Alcibiades (408-406) 437
Ch. 36 Arginusae (406) 448
Ch. 37 The Fall of Athens (405-404) 467
Conclusion 485
Sources for the History of the Peloponnesian War 491
Index 495