The Peloponnesian War

Designed as an accessible introduction to this immensely important event, The Peloponnesian War offers readers and researchers an appealing mix of descriptive chapters, biographical sketches, and annotated primary documents. An overview of the war is presented, followed a presentation of Thucydides' account of the war's causes. A look at the intertwined, some would say poisoned, relation of democracy and empire is offered, as are chapters on how the war was represented in plays, statuary, and pottery. The ethics of war are delved into by detailing the life, teachings, and eventual death of Socrates. And, critically, a chapter is devoted to those who most often suffer the harmful consequence of war: women. A glossary of terms is present, as is an annotated timeline, maps, useful illustrations, an annotated bibliography, and a thorough index.