Thucydides Books

Long before the first spear was thrown, the causes of the Peloponnesian War lay already embedded within the growing mistrust between Athens and Sparta. Sparta was the guardian of the old ways—a militarized oligarchy, cautious and conservative, ruling its allies through fear of rebellion and reliance...

From History of the Peloponnesian War

The immediate spark came at Plataea, when Theban soldiers, acting at night, attempted to seize the city, an ally of Athens. Their plan miscarried, the Plataeans resisted, and soon the bloodshed spread. In the months that followed, Archidamus, king of Sparta, led his troops into Attica. The fields of...

From History of the Peloponnesian War

The roots of the Peloponnesian War lie in the uneasy peace following the Persian Wars. Athens, once the champion of Greek freedom, had grown into an empire commanding the seas and collecting tribute from its allies. Sparta and its Peloponnesian League viewed this expansion with increasing alarm. I d...

From The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War

To understand the war, one must first recall the fifty years of uneasy peace after the defeat of Persia—the Pentecontaetia. During this period, Athens transformed its Delian League into an empire. Under the leadership of Cimon and later Pericles, we rebuilt our city, adorned it with temples, and str...

From The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War

The roots of this vast war lay not in a single incident, but in the inevitable opposition between power rising and power fearing. After the Persian Wars, Athens grew not only in physical strength but in confidence and ambition. Its leadership of the Delian League turned from partnership into dominio...

From The Peloponnesian War

When war at last began, the balance between the two powers was stark. Sparta and her allies commanded the might of infantry and controlled most of the Peloponnesus; Athens ruled the sea, its walls embracing the city like a steel shell. Pericles, my fellow Athenian, understood that direct confrontati...

From The Peloponnesian War