The Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War (A New History of the Peloponnesian War) (VOLUME 1)

A New History of the Peloponnesian War is an ebook-only omnibus edition that includes all four volumes of Donald Kagan's acclaimed account of the war between Athens and Sparta (431–404 B.C.): The Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War, The Archidamian War, The Peace of Nicias and the Sicilian Expedition , and The Fall of the Athenian Empire . Reviewing the four-volume set in The New Yorker , George Steiner wrote, "The temptation to acclaim Kagan's four volumes as the foremost work of history produced in North America in the twentieth century is vivid. . . . Here is an achievement that not only honors the criteria of dispassion and of unstinting scruple which mark the best of modern historicism but honors its readers." All four volumes are also sold separately as both print books and ebooks. NEW HISTORY OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 1 THE OUTBREAK OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 3 Contents 16 Preface 10 Abbreviations and Short Titles 18 Introduction 22 Part One The Alliance System and the Division of the Greek World 28 1. The Spartan Alliance 30 2. The Origins of the Athenian Empire 52 3. Sparta after the Persian War 70 4. Athens after the Persian War 78 Part Two The First Peloponnesian War 96 5. The War in Greece 98 6. The Crisis in the Aegean 119 7. The End of the War 141 Part Three The Years of Peace 152 8. Athenian Politics: The Victory of Pericles 154 9. Athens and the West: The Foundation of Thurii 175 10. The Samian Rebellion 191 II. The Consolidation of the Empire 200 12. Athenian Politics on the Eve of the War 214 Part Four The Final Crisis 224 13. Epidamnus 226 14. Corcyra 243 15. Megara 272 16. Potidaea 294 17. Sparta 307 18. Athens 338 Part Five Conclusions 364 19. The Causes of the War 366 20. Thucydides and the Inevitability of the War 378 Appendixes 396 A. The Willingness of the Members of the Delian League to Accept Athenian Leadership 398 B. The Historicity of Diodorus' Account of the Spartan Assembly in 475 399 C. Chronology of Events between ca. 470–453 400 D. Reconstruction of the Athenian Tribute Lists 401 E. The Papyrus Decree 403 F. The Foundation of Thurii 403 G. Athenian Actions in the West between the Wars 405 H. Athenian Treatment of Byzantium 407 I. The Date of Pericles' Pontic Expedition 408 ] . The Site and Date of Brea 410 K. The Date of the Battle of Potidaea 412 Bibliography 414 General Index 426 Index of Ancient Authors and Inscriptions 434 Index of Modem Authors 439 THE ARCHIDAMIAN WAR 445 Preface 452 Contents 454 Abbreviations and Short Titles 458 1 . Plans and Resources 462 2. The First Year of the War 488 3. The Plague and Its Consequences 515 4. The Third Year of the War: Phormio 546 5. The Revolt at Lesbos 569 6. Sicily and Corcyra 592 7. Demosthenes 632 8. Pylos and Sphacteria 663 9. Megara and Delium 705 10. The Coming of Peace 750 Conclusions 795 Appendix A: Pericles and Athenian Income 808 Appendix B: Pericles' Last Speech 810 Bibliography 814 General Index 822 Index of Modern Authors 831 Index of Ancient Authors and Inscriptions 833 THE PEACE OF NICIAS AND THE SICILIAN EXPEDITION 839 Contents 848 Abbreviations and Short Titles 852 Part One. The Unraveling of the Peace 856 1. A Troubled Peace 858 2. The Separate League 872 3. The Alliance of Athens and Argos 899 4. The Challenge of the Separate League 917 5. The Battle of Mantinea 946 6. After Mantinea: Politics and Policy at Sparta and Athens 977 Part Two. The Sicilian Expedition 996 7. The Decision to Attack Sicily 998 8. Sacrilege and Departure 1031 9. Athenian Strategy and the Summer Campaign of 415 1049 10. The First Attack on Syracuse 1067 11. The Siege o f Syracuse 1099 12. Athens on the Defensive 1127 13. Defeat on Land and Sea 1147 14. Retreat and Destruction 1168 Conclusions 1193 Bibliography 1212 General Index 1218 Index of Modern Authors 1226 Index of Ancient Authors and Inscriptions 1228 THE FALL OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE 1235 Preface 1242 Contents 1248 Maps 1250 Abbreviations and Short Titles 1252 1. After the Sicilian Disaster 1256 2. The War in the Aegean 1279 3. Athens Responds 1306 4. Sparta's Riposte 1324 5. The Revolutionary Movement 1361 6. The Coup 1386 7. The Four Hundred in Power 1413 8. The Establishment of the Five Thousand 1442 9. The War in the Hellespont 1466 10. The Restoration 1502 11. The Return of Alcibiades 1529 12. Cyrus, Lysander, and the Fall of Alcibiades 1548 13. The Battle of Arginusae 1580 14. The Trial of the Generals 1609 15. The Fall of Athens 1631 16. Conclusions 1668 Bibliography 1682 General Index 1688 Index of Ancient Authors and Inscriptions 1700 Index of Modern Authors 1708

The first volume of Donald Kagan's acclaimed four-volume history of the Peloponnesian War offers a new evaluation of the origins and causes of the conflict, based on evidence produced by modern scholarship and on a careful reconsideration of the ancient texts. He focuses his study on the question: Was the war inevitable, or could it have been avoided?

Kagan takes issue with Thucydides' view that the war was inevitable, that the rise of the Athenian Empire in a world with an existing rival power made a clash between the two a certainty. Asserting instead that the origin of the war "cannot, without serious distortion, be treated in isolation from the internal history of the states involved," Kagan traces the connections between domestic politics, constitutional organization, and foreign affairs. He further examines the evidence to see what decisions were made that led to war, at each point asking whether a different decision would have been possible.

A New History of the Peloponnesian War is an ebook-only omnibus edition that includes all four volumes of Donald Kagan's acclaimed account of the war between Athens and Sparta (431-404 B.C.): The Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War, The Archidamian War, The Peace of Nicias and the Sicilian Expedition, and The Fall of the Athenian Empire. Reviewing the four-volume set in The New Yorker, George Steiner wrote, "The temptation to acclaim Kagan's four volumes as the foremost work of history produced in North America in the twentieth century is vivid. . . . Here is an achievement that not only honors the criteria of dispassion and of unstinting scruple which mark the best of modern historicism but honors its readers. "All four volumes are also sold separately as both print books and ebooks "The Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) was an ancient Greek war fought by Athens and its empire against the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta."--Wikipedia. The Peloponnesian War was not fought by individual Greek states but by two great coalitions, the Peloponnesian League and the Athenian Empire.