The Peace of Nicias and the Sicilian Expedition (A New History of the Peloponnesian War) (VOLUME 3)

"This is a solid piece of scholarship, a readable, consistent, and understandable account of a difficult period in Greek history, and rife with astute and provocative observations on Thucydides."― The HistorianWhy did the Peace of Nicias fail to reconcile Athens and Sparta? Donald Kagan examines the years between the signing of the peace treaty and the destruction of the Athenian expedition to Sicily in 413 B.C. The principal figure in the narrative is the Athenian politician and general Nicias, whose policies shaped the treaty and whose military strategies played a major role in the attack against Sicily. The Peloponnesian War (431-404 Bc) Was An Ancient Greek War Fought By Athens And Its Empire Against The Peloponnesian League Led By Sparta....the Spartan General Brasidas Raised An Army Of Allies And Helots And Marched The Length Of Greece To The Athenian Colony Of Amphipolis In Thrace, Which Controlled Several Nearby Silver Mines; Their Product Supplied Much Of The Athenian War Fund. Thucydides Was Dispatched With A Force Which Arrived Too Late To Stop Brasidas Capturing Amphipolis; Thucydides Was Exiled For This, And, As A Result, Had The Conversations With Both Sides Of The War Which Inspired Him To Record Its History. Both Brasidas And Cleon Were Killed In Athenian Efforts To Retake Amphipolis (see Battle Of Amphipolis). The Spartans And Athenians Agreed To Exchange The Hostages For The Towns Captured By Brasidas, And Signed A Truce....with The Death Of Cleon And Brasidas, Zealous War Hawks For Both Nations, The Peace Of Nicias Was Able To Last For Some Six Years.--wikipedia. The Sicilian Expedition Was An Athenian Expedition To Sicily From 415 Bc To 413 Bc, During The Peloponnesian War.... Nearly The Entire Expedition Surrendered Or Was Destroyed In The Sicilian Interior. The Impact Of The Defeat Was Immense. Two Hundred Ships And Thousands Of Soldiers, An Appreciable Portion Of The City's Total Manpower, Were Lost In A Single Stroke. Athens' Enemies On The Mainland And In Persia Were Encouraged To Take Action, And Rebellions Broke Out In The Aegean. The Defeat Proved To Be The Crucial Turning Point In The Peloponnesian War, Though Athens Struggled On For Another Decade.--wikipedia. A Troubled Peace -- The Separate League -- The Alliance Of Athens And Argos -- The Challenge Of The Separate League -- The Battle Of Mantinea -- After Mantinea: Politics And Policy At Sparta And Athens -- The Decision To Attack Sicily -- Sacrilege And Departure -- Athenian Strategy And The Summer Campaign Of 415 -- The First Attack On Syracuse -- The Siege Of Syracuse -- Athens On The Defensive -- Defeat On Land And Sea -- Retreat And Destruction. Donald Kagan. Includes Indexes. Bibliography: P. 373-378. "The Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) was an ancient Greek war fought by Athens and its empire against the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta ... the Spartan general Brasidas raised an army of allies and helots and marched the length of Greece to the Athenian colony of Amphipolis in Thrace, which controlled several nearby silver mines; their product supplied much of the Athenian war fund. Thucydides was dispatched with a force which arrived too late to stop Brasidas capturing Amphipolis; Thucydides was exiled for this, and, as a result, had the conversations with both sides of the war which inspired him to record its history. Both Brasidas and Cleon were killed in Athenian efforts to retake Amphipolis (see Battle of Amphipolis). The Spartans and Athenians agreed to exchange the hostages for the towns captured by Brasidas, and signed a truce ... With the death of Cleon and Brasidas, zealous war hawks for both nations, the Peace of Nicias was able to last for some six years."--Wikipedia The Peace of Nicias and the Sicilian Expedition 1 Contents 10 Abbreviations and Short Titles 14 Part One. The Unraveling of the Peace 18 1. A Troubled Peace 20 2. The Separate League 34 3. The Alliance of Athens and Argos 61 4. The Challenge of the Separate League 79 5. The Battle of Mantinea 108 6. After Mantinea: Politics and Policy at Sparta and Athens 139 Part Two. The Sicilian Expedition 158 7. The Decision to Attack Sicily 160 8. Sacrilege and Departure 193 9. Athenian Strategy and the Summer Campaign of 415 211 10. The First Attack on Syracuse 229 11. The Siege o f Syracuse 261 12. Athens on the Defensive 289 13. Defeat on Land and Sea 309 14. Retreat and Destruction 330 Conclusions 355 Bibliography 374 General Index 380 Index of Modern Authors 388 Index of Ancient Authors and Inscriptions 390

Why did the Peace of Nicias fail to reconcile Athens and Sparta? In the third volume of his landmark four-volume history of the Peloponnesian War, Donald Kagan examines the years between the signing of the peace treaty and the destruction of the Athenian expedition to Sicily in 413 B.C. The principal figure in the narrative is the Athenian politician and general Nicias, whose policies shaped the treaty and whose military strategies played a major role in the attack against Sicily.

This book, the second volume in Donald Kagan's tetralogy about the Peloponnesian War, is a provocative and tightly argued history of the first ten years of the war. Taking a chronological approach that allows him to present at each stage the choices... A new evaluation of the origins and causes of the Peloponnesian War, based on evidence produced by modern scholarship and on a careful reconsideration of the ancient texts. No amount of relief and rejoicing by the Spartan and Athenian signers of the Peace of Nicias could conceal its deficiencies.