A New History of the Peloponnesian War [Paperback]

• A penetrating new study of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta by an established scholar
• Offers an original interpretation of how and why the war began
• Weaves in the contemporary evidence of Aristophanes in order to give readers a new sense of how the war affected the individual
• Discusses the practicalities and realities of the war
• Examines the blossoming of culture and intellectual achievement in Athens despite the war
• Challenges the approach of Thucydides in his account of the war

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 oló¦