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The Peloponnesian War (Norton Critical Editions)

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The greatest of all Greek historians was the Athenian general Thucydides (455-400 B.C.E.). Thucydides' classic work, "History Of The Peloponnesian War", provides us with the historical framework for 5th century Greece, a golden age of intellectual achievement and creativity rarely equaled in human history. This history is by far the best account of the bitter war between Athens and Sparta as well as the only surviving contemporary record of the rise of the Athenian empire. Thucydides as a master story teller doesn't just cover the battle scenes, he records the great political speeches of Pericles, leader of Athens, and Lysander leader of Sparta with great acumen. He is recognized as the first historian to actually go and get eyewitness accounts, visit battlefieilds and research documents and records. This work took him over 20 years and it shows!

The lessons he teaches about imperial over reaching and unreasonable peace settlements are prescient today as they were during his times. President Woodrow Wilson, read this book on his voyage across the Atlantic to the Versailles Peace Conference and vociferously fought the other Allies in making unreasonable demands of the Germans. Wilson learned the dangers that the world would be placed in by backing the Germans into a corner politically and economically from Thucydides book.

I recommend this timeless classic to anyone who is interested in political philosophy, and history. I also recommend you read it with David Cartwright's "A Historical Commentary On Thucydides.

This translations is one of the best I have read. It has a very modern feel to it which makes it easy to read. Thucydides discusses his epochal conflict of the Peloponnesian War in great detail.
He approached history very differently from Herodotus. Thucydides did not include any gods in this story, which would add excitement to the book. Yet, I believe it paints a more accurate depiction of the Greeks. Thucydides even makes reference to how much better at history he is than Homer (and Herodotus)! Great read, but take your time to look over the speeches they are very important.

The Peloponnesian War is the account of the war between Athens and Sparta, 432-402 B.C. It was a war that Sparta eventually won, although it was a short-lived victory as Spartan hegemony gave way to Theban dominance and ultimately to that of the Macedonians Phillip and Alexander.

Military historians will find much to enjoy here. The account involves traditional battles with massed hoplites, amphibious landings, night battles, peltasts and light-armed troops, special forces ops, siege warfare, diplomacy, etc. The descriptions of the battles of Delium (Bk. 4) and Maninteas (Bk. 5) are particularly good on this score

What caused the war? Thucydides points to the growing power of the Athenian Empire. Athens had emerged stronger after the Persian war. But it led to a policy of imperialism directed at other Greek states, which in turn caused geopolitical instability. In light of the growth of the Athenian empire, one could argue, war was practically inevitable. Imperial hubris was Athens's downfall, a danger to which not even modern superpowers are immune.

A case in point. The disastrous Sicilian expedition undertaken by Athens was a direct factor in its downfall, and is disturbingly reminiscent of the overseas military ops of modern empires, especially the current crisis in Iraq. Incidentally, in Bk 4.58-65, the decision of the Sicilians to put aside their squabbles and unite against the invader, Athens, will be familiar to students of insurgency warfare.

It is also curious to note the role that ethnicity played in the war, i.e. Ionian vs. Dorian, Greek vs. Barbarian, particularly since historians tell us that race & ethnicity were unimportant to the ancient Greeks.

Should we be surprised that the events described by Thucydides seem to familiar to us? Not at all. History is the study of mankind. As Thucydides knew, human nature is a constant. As the Syracusan Hermocrates says to his fellow Sicilians prior to the Athenian invasion: "...although it is human nature everywhere to dominate those who gave way, it is also in our nature to defend ourselves against attack" (Bk 4.61). War is a part of human nature, and no amount of idealistic peace-keeping missions can change that. To help us understand why, there is no better historian than Thucydides.