A Fresh Look at the Great Ancient Conflict

“For a superpower, dealing with the fast rise of a rich, brash competitor has always been an iffy thing . . . . Ask Thucydides, the Athenian historian whose tome on the Peloponnesian War has ruined many a college freshman’s weekend. The line they had to remember for the test was his conclusion: ‘What made war inevitable was the growth of Athenian power and the fear which this caused in Sparta’.” (p. 331)

Although the Peloponnesian War was fought over 24 centuries ago (431-404 BCE,) we are surprisingly well-informed about it, because two brilliant historians recorded it: Thucydides for the first part, and Xenophon for the conclusion. They wrote such pure Greek (the prestigious “Attic” dialect) that their works were copied and recopied down the centuries as models of good style. In our century, this war is studied in military academies and staff colleges as the archetypal example of a conflict between a land power and a sea power. In Western civilization we tend to think of the Athenians as the “good guys.” Athens is touted as the “birthplace of democracy,” and it achieved remarkable things in architecture, sculpture, literature, and philosophy. But like most ancient societies, its economy was based on the enslavement of a large part of the working class, and during the war Athenians were just as capable of atrocities as the brutal Spartans.

In English the superb four-volume history of the war by Yale professor Donald Kagan (1932-2021) has long been admired as the definitive account. More recently, a younger generation of classical scholars have sought to go beyond the usual military-focused treatment. This book consists of an introduction and ten essays offering varied perspectives on this ancient war:

1. “Introduction: rewriting the Peloponnesian War,” by Samuel Gartland and Robin Osborne

3. “The causes of the Peloponnesian War.” by Robin Osborne

4. “The Athenian Empire and the Peloponnesian War,” by Polly Low

5. “Peloponnesian war aims and strategies, 432–420: Sparta versus its allies,” by Hans van Wees

6. “Athenian politics and the Peloponnesian War,” by Vincent Azoulay

7. “Greek constitutional thinking and the Peloponnesian War,” by Lynette Mitchell

8. “The Peloponnesian War and the changing shape of the world,” by Samuel Gartland

9. “Rape and sexual violence in the Peloponnesian War,” by Alastair Blanshard

10. “Gods: what are they good for? Religion and the Peloponnesian War,” by Hannah Willey

11. “The Peloponnesian War: a prophecy: Thucydides and the clash of civilizations,” by James DavidsonThere are 38 pages of references, in a variety of modern languages.

Samuel Gartland is Associate Professor in Ancient Greek History and Culture at the University of Leeds. Robin Osborne is Emeritus Professor of Ancient History at Cambridge. Reassessing the Peloponnesian War should be of interest to readers - and wargamers - who enjoy ancient history.

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Our Reviewer: Mike Markowitz is an historian and wargame designer. He writes a monthly column for CoinWeek.Com and is a member of the ADBC (Association of Dedicated Byzantine Collectors). His previous reviews include Caesar Rules: The Emperor in the Changing Roman World, Ancient Rome on the Silver Screen, Justinian: Emperor, Soldier, Saint, Persians: The Age of the Great Kings, Polis: A New History of the Ancient Greek City-State, At the Gates of Rome: The Battle for a Dying Empire, Roman Emperors in Context, After 1177 B.C., Cyrus the Great, Barbarians and Romans: The Birth Struggle of Europe, A.D. 400–700, Crescent Dawn: The Rise of the Ottoman Empire and the Making of the Modern Age, The Missing Thread: A New History of the Ancient World Through the Women Who Shaped It, The Roman Provinces, 300 BCE–300 CE: Using Coins as Sources, The Cambridge Companion to Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations, Archaic Greece, Amazons: The History Behind the Legend, The Byzantine World, and Classical Controversies .

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Note: Reassessing the Peloponnesian War is also available in hard back & e-editions.

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