The Plague of War: Athens, Sparta, and the Struggle for Ancient Greece

We rated this book:

$34.95


Over two millenia ago, two powerful city-states fought for primacy in Ancient Greece. The Peloponnesian War set democratic Athens against its main rival, the autocratic Sparta, in a conflict that dragged on for over a century. This book details the long fight, with its many shifting alliances, victories, and defeats, eventually ending, not with the fall of Athens’ Long Walls, but with Sparta’s complete destruction.

This book is exceedingly comprehensive for a book written for a general audience. It is highly readable and quite interesting; the smooth descriptions and detailed portraits of the key statesmen are particularly engaging. Frequently, it is difficult to sort out who is fighting whom, due to oft-shifting alliances, and the fact that the same polis may have several different names, but the author does a decent job of keeping you abreast of the tide. For those readers who want a less detailed play-by-play, each chapter begins with an excellent summary of action, as well as analysis; readers who read only the summary will still get a great picture of the conflict. But there are many lessons from this war that are still applicable, and serious students will be well served by studying this work.


Reviewed By:

Author
Star Count 4/5
Format Hard
Page Count 432 pages
Publisher Oxford University Press
Publish Date 2017-Feb-01
ISBN 9780199996643
Bookshop.org Buy this Book
Issue February 2017
Category Reference
Share

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

Be the first to review “The Plague of War: Athens, Sparta, and the Struggle for Ancient Greece”

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.