The Peloponnesian War 431-404 BC [Paperback]

Philip Souza (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 13, 2002

It is a testament to the fascination of the subject that even today the events of the Peloponnesian War are studied for what they can teach about diplomacy, strategy and tactics. This book reveals the darker side of Classical Greek civilization. From the horrific effects of overcrowding and the plague on the population of Athens, to the vicious civil strife that often erupted in cities allied with Athens or Sparta, this volume offers vivid and at times disturbing insights into the impact of warfare on the people who are celebrated as the founders of Western civilization.

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"I am most favorably impressed by the Essential Histories series on the American Civil War. Written by four of the best historians of the military course of the war, these volumes provide a lucid and concise narrative of the campaigns in both the Eastern and Western theaters as well as penetrating analyses of strategies and leadership. Ideal for classroom use or fireside reading."

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This unique series studies every major war in history looking at all the aspects of war, from how it felt to be a soldier to the lasting impact of the conflict on the world around it.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing; 1st ed edition (November 13, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841763578
• ISBN-13: 978-1841763576
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 0.2 x 9.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #498,867 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent But Not Great, January 25, 2003

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R. A Forczyk (MD, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Peloponnesian War 431-404 BC (Paperback)

Dr. Philip de Souza, a lecturer on Greek and Roman classics at University College in Dublin, has summarized the Peloponnesian War in Osprey's Essential Histories volume #27. The Peloponnesian War remains an enduring favorite primarily due to the landmark effort by the first great historian, Thucydides, who wrote a detailed account of the conflict. Given this advantage, Dr. de Souza is able to construct a solid and uncontroversial summary of the war. This summary will be useful to modern students who lack the time or will to plow through the original Thucydides. However, this volume is less than fully satisfying for several reasons. Anyone who has read Thucydides a few times will not get much new out of this volume. Further, the author has chosen to devote less than one-third of the volume to the war itself, which reduces the value for anyone attempting to study the actual military operations. Better maps, a glossary and information on oft-neglected topics like the war economies of Athens and Sparta would have made this a much better volume.

The Peloponnesian War 431-404 BC begins with a short introduction, a chronology, a section on the background to the war (the rise of Athens and the First Peloponnesian War), a section on the warring sides, and how the war began. The actual narrative of the war is 29 pages long. Final sections include portrait of a soldier (an Athenian ship captain), politics and culture (democracy and oligarchy in Greece, the role of Persia, and the importance of Athenian art and culture), portrait of a civilian (the Athenian wife of Alcibiades), how the war ended, and conclusions. There are a total of seven maps supporting the text: Athens, a strategic map of Greece, the Battle of Mantinea, Sicily, the Siege of Syracuse, the Battle of Arginousai and the eastern Aegean. Unfortunately, the maps are one of the most disappointing aspects of this volume. The strategic map of Greece is less detailed than the sketch map provided in Penguin translations of Thucydides. The map depicting the Siege of Syracuse is particularly poor since it shows neither dispositions nor key events. A map depicting the key action at Phylos-Sphacteria should have been included.

One of the few areas that the author emphasizes that is not apparent in reading the original Thucydides is the tremendous manpower constraints of Sparta. According to Dr. de Souza, Sparta only had about 5-10,000 full citizens capable of bearing arms. Given this limited manpower pool and the constant threat of slave rebellions in Sparta, the Spartans were extremely reluctant to commit large numbers of troops far from home. Instead, the Spartans tended to fight the war as much as possible using allies and mercenaries, often lead by a few capable Spartan officers. When the Spartans were able to capture about 200 Spartans during the Pylos-Spachteria affair, this tiny loss of personnel brought mighty Sparta to the negotiating table. While Athens started the war with about 40,000 able-bodied male citizens, it is estimated that about one-third died or were incapacitated due to the plague that struck the city in the second year of the war. Thus, both sides fought the war under manpower constraints that tended to get worse over time.

Dr. de Souza also makes an interesting point about the flimsiness of Sparta's motives in the war and its involvement with the former common enemy, Persia. The author notes that, "in spite of their repeated claims to be fighting in order to liberate the Greeks, the Spartans negotiated a series of treaties with the representatives of King Dareios [of Persia] in which they agreed that those territories in Asia Minor which had formerly been under Persian domination should revert to his control. This included many Greek cities that had joined the Delian League under Athenian leadership in 478 and were now looking to Sparta to free them from Athenian domination." Instead, Sparta was ready to hand over its newfound allies to Persian tyranny in return for financial aid. After the war ended in the defeat of Athens, it was the Persian Empire that enforced the peace, "thus the freedom of the Greeks, that had been the rallying cry at the start of the Peloponnesian War, was guaranteed not by the Spartans, but by the Persian King."

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Cursory Look At A Long War, September 15, 2006

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Mike Dillemuth (Virginia) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Peloponnesian War 431-404 BC (Paperback)

Like all other books in the Essential History series, this Osprey publication covers several distinct aspects of the war. It describes not only the fighting, but also some of the political and social conditions of the time. The largest chapter is devoted to the fighting. Another chapter describes the life of a civilian woman during the war. As expected, the book is illustrated with photos of artifacts, sketches of buildings, and color maps which describe the events on various battlefields.

On the down side, the book lacks significant detail on numerous battles. In some cases, the same battle is partially described in multiple parts of the book. For example, the Battles of Aigospotamoi is discussed briefly in two different chapters. Granted, the focus of each chapter is different. One chapter is focused on how the war ended while the other chapter gave a portrait of a ship's captain. The reader must remember that this obscure battle was discussed briefly in a previous chapter. That said, by combining information from both chapters, the reader can gain a better understanding of the battle.

Other battles, however, are described in excellent detail. The Battle of Mantinea in 418 BC is covered both in text and with a full page graphic showing all four phases of the struggle. The book essentially covers all the main events of the war. The siege of Syracuse, the capture of the Spartans in Sphakteria, and the involvement of the Persian Empire are all discussed in detail. In addition, many of the famous figures of the war, such as Perikles, Alkibiades, and Lysandros are also covered.

Bottom line, this book is an excellent companion to other, more detailed books on the war. Granted, some parts of the war are covered in the vaguest of detail. Given the size restrictions of Osprey books, this is to be expected. Nevertheless, all the significant events are covered. The added bonus is that the book covers aspects of the war besides the various battles. One would have a hard time finding a better book on the war where the events are boiled down to the bare minimum.

4.0 out of 5 stars Handy Reference & Easy Read, October 2, 2011

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Christopher Beckert (Fort Meade, MD) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Peloponnesian War 431-404 BC (Paperback)

I'm currently enrolled in the National War College here in D.C., and we studied Thucydides and the great War of the Pelopennes. This book was an absolutely critical addition to my library as a military professional and student of the Art of War. If you're even casually interested in the subject, I recommend it!