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The great expedition to Sicily described in the sixth and seventh books of Thucydides' history can be depicted in a variety of ways. By some, it has been thoughtfully treated as an example of overreaching on the part of the Athenians. By others, it has been singled out as a sterling example of patriotism, courage, and grit on the part of the Syracusans. Never until now, however, has anyone examined this conflict from a Spartan perspective - despite the fact that Lacedaemon was the war's principal beneficiary and that her intervention with the dispatch of a single Spartiate turned the tide and decided the outcome. In Sparta's Sicilian Proxy War, Paul Rahe first outlines the struggle's origins and traces its progress early on, then examines the reasons for Sparta's intervention, analyzes the consequences, and retells the story of Athens' ignominious defeat. Rarely in human history has a political community gained so much at so little cost through the efforts of a single man.
List of contents
CONTENTS
List of Maps xi
Introduction xiii
Prologue: Sparta’s Enduring Strategic Dilemma 3
Part One: A Single Spartiate 49
Chapter One: Greece’s Wild West 55
Chapter Two: A Venture Ill-Advised 78
Chapter Three: Philosophy, Sophistry, Impiety,
Sacrilege, and Faction 110
Part Two: War by Proxy 143
Chapter Four: Syracusa Besieged 165
Chapter Five: Dancing in the Dark 189
Chapter Six: The Flashing Sword of Retribution 217
Epilogue: Sparta’s Third Attic War 241
Appendix: The Case for Grand Strategy 250
List of Abbreviations and Short Titles 263
Notes 267
Author’s Note and Acknowledgements 351
Index 355
About the author
PAUL A. RAHE is the Roger and Martha Mertz Visiting Fellow in Classics at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. He holds the Charles O. Lee and Louise K. Lee Chair in the Western Heritage at Hillsdale College, where he is Professor of History, and he currently chairs the Board of Trustees of the Institute of Current World Affairs. He is the author of
Republics Ancient and Modern: Classical Republicanism and the American Revolution (1992),
Against Throne and Altar (2008),
Montesquieu and the Logic of Liberty (2009),
Soft Despotism, Democracy's Drift (2009), and of four recent volumes on the grand strategy of classical Sparta. In recognition of this body of work, the University of Piraeus in Greece conferred on him on 11 April 2022 its Themistocles Statesmanship Award.
Summary
The great expedition to Sicily described in the sixth and seventh books of Thucydides’ history can be depicted in a variety of ways. By some, it has been thoughtfully treated as an example of overreaching on the part of the Athenians. By others, it has been singled out as a sterling example of patriotism, courage, and grit on the part of the Syracusans. Never until now, however, has anyone examined this conflict from a Spartan perspective – despite the fact that Lacedaemon was the war’s principal beneficiary and that her intervention with the dispatch of a single Spartiate turned the tide and decided the outcome. In Sparta’s Sicilian Proxy War, Paul Rahe first outlines the struggle’s origins and traces its progress early on, then examines the reasons for Sparta’s intervention, analyzes the consequences, and retells the story of Athens’ ignominious defeat. Rarely in human history has a political community gained so much at so little cost through the efforts of a single man.
Foreword
The great expedition to Sicily described in the sixth and seventh books of Thucydides’ history can be depicted in a variety of ways. By some, it has been thoughtfully treated as an example of overreaching on the part of the Athenians. By others, it has been singled out as a sterling example of patriotism, courage, and grit on the part of the Syracusans. Never until now, however, has anyone examined this conflict from a Spartan perspective – despite the fact that Lacedaemon was the war’s principal beneficiary and that her intervention with the dispatch of a single Spartiate turned the tide and decided the outcome. In Sparta’s Sicilian Proxy War, Paul Rahe first outlines the struggle’s origins and traces its progress early on, then examines the reasons for Sparta’s intervention, analyzes the consequences, and retells the story of Athens’ ignominious defeat. Rarely in human history has a political community gained so much at so little cost through the efforts of a single man.
