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This new study by a respected historian provides a unique narrative of the Peloponnesian War, a monumental conflict between Athens and Sparta that raged for 27 years across the Greek world. The conflict's resulting destruction of cities, mass enslavements, and loss of human life - in short, the horrors of war - bears strong resemblance to the violence of modern war from the Western front to Vietnam. Despite these common factors, little attention has been paid to the contemporary nature of the Peloponnesian War, and its impact on the society and culture of the time. Incorporating an original interpretation of how and why the war developed, and a perceptive analysis of its conduct, Tritle weaves in the contemporary evidence of Aristophanes and other dramatists to illustrate how war affected the average Athenian. He discusses the effect of the violence on both the individual and society, in the light of modern understanding of the impact of the brutality of war. He also describes how, despite the conflict, Athens witnessed a blossoming of culture and intellectual achievement, including the plays of Sophocles and Euripides, and the philosophical questioning of Socrates.
List of contents
List of illustrations viii
List of maps x
List of abbreviations xi
Chronology xiii
Acknowledgments xix
Preface xxi
Prelude - a band of brothers 1
1 'From this the Corinthians developed their bitter hatred for the Athenians' 4
2 'Give the Greeks their freedom' 25
3 'Our city is an education to Greece' 44
4 'War is a violent teacher' 67
5 'Spindles would be worth a lot' 85
6 'Weeping for joy' 111
7 'The strong do what they have the power to do' 132
8 'What of us then who for our children must weep?' 144
9 'The whole of Greece against Athens' 165
10 'Ships gone . . . don't know what to do' 186
11 'Athens is taken' 205
12 'Here's to the noble Critias!' 223
Epilogue 241
Appendix A: A note on sources 243
Appendix B: Who's who in the Peloponnesian War 248
Appendix C: A Peloponnesian War glossary 258
Bibliography 263
Index 275
About the author
Lawrence A. Tritle is Professor of History at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles. He has previously taught at Loyola University, Chicago and UCLA as visiting Professor of History. He is the author or editor of eight books on Greek history, including
Phocion the Good (1988) and
From Melos to My Lai (2000), as well as numerous articles on various aspects of the ancient world. He has served on the editorial board of the Ancient History Bulletin (1996 - 2003) and as president of the International Plutarch Society (1997-1999).
Summary
This stimulating new study provides a narrative of the monumental conflict of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta, and examines the realities of the war and its effects on the average Athenian. The book offers an original interpretation of how and why the war began, and challenges the approach of Thucydides in his account of the war.
