When the great war pitting the Athenians against the Peloponnesians first erupted, Pericles told his compatriots that, if they kept up their navy, focused on the conflict at hand, and refrained from wasting their resources on ulterior objects, they would "win through"and Thucydides believed him. After Pericles' death, however, to the historian's dismay, the Athenians pursued risky adventures tangential to their struggle with the Spartans and their allies; and, in Sicily, thanks in large part to domestic strife, they squandered not one, but two great armadas. Then, in the aftermath of that catastrophe, they found themselves bereft of triremes and short of manpower as a coalition formed against them including their Lacedaemonians rivals, their longtime allies in the Aegean, and the Great King of Achaemenid Persia.
In Sparta's Third Attic War, Paul Rahe examines the armed conflict that followed, attending to the impact on its outcome of the internal struggles that took place at Athens, at Sparta, and at the court of the Great King; describing the maneuvers of the wily, flexible, seductive Athenian turncoat Alcibiades, who dominated in turn the counsels of the Spartans, the Persians, and his fellow Athenians; and charting the eventual emergence at Lacedaemon of a commanding figure of helot ancestry named Lysander, who formed a close relationship with the younger son of the Great King and, in battle, outwitted the Athenians at every turn. This is a story of grit, determination, and brilliance on both sides. It examines the ambivalence of the Spartans, it relates the folly that brought the Athenians down, and it traces their ultimate defeat to defects in the policy and vision of Pericles.
About the Author :
Paul A. Rahe
holds the Charles O. Lee and Louise K. Lee Chair in the Western Heritage at Hillsdale College, where he is professor of history, and he currently chairs the board of trustees of the Institute of Current World Affairs. He majored in History, the Arts and Letters at Yale University, readLitterae Humanioresat Oxford University's Wadham College on a Rhodes Scholarship, and then returned to Yale to do his PhD in ancient Greek history under the direction of Donald Kagan. He is the author ofRepublics Ancient and Modern: Classical Republicanism and the American Revolution(1992),Against Throne and Altar: Machiavelli and Political Theory under the English Republic(2008),Montesquieu and the Logic of Liberty: War, Religion, Commerce, Climate, Terrain, Technology, Uneasiness of Mind, the Spirit of Political Vigilance, and the Foundations of the Modern Republic(2009),Soft Despotism, Democracy's Drift: Montesquieu, Rousseau, Tocqueville, and the Modern Prospect(2009), and of five recent volumes on the grand strategy of classical Sparta. In recognition of this body of work, the University of Piraeus in Greece conferred on him on 11 April 2022 its Themistocles Statesmanship Award.
Review :
"Paul Rahe's superb series is not only a classic for specialists but also of great importance and interest to all those interested in military history and the study of international relations."--Jeremy Black, author of The Causes of War
"Accomplished historian Paul Rahe has written a deeply researched and compelling account of Sparta's triumph in the Peloponnesian War over its adversary Athens, a victory of an authoritarian militarized regime over a democracy wracked by polarized political discord. Surely, this masterly history deserves to be read as a warning about the perils confronting American democracy in today's struggles among the great powers in the international arena."--John H. Maurer, U.S. Naval War College
"Consider what Paul Rahe brings to his self-appointed task: a life-long immersion in the inner and public lives of these ancient peoples; a first-hand familiarity with the fields, mountain passes, and seas where they contested for survival or primacy; and a broad overarching view that makes intelligible and vivid the distinctive granularity of his evidence. Where are those others who come so fully prepared to deal with such a challenge--and do so with verve?"--Ralph Lerner, University of Chicago
"In his latest Sparta volume, Rahe continues to pursue a subject that hundreds of years of Classical scholarship has omitted--how Sparta, Athens, and the Persian Empire conducted a three-way rivalry. The style is succinct, the treatment sophisticated, and the effect is miraculous. Few books on strategy match this one when it comes to finding the right blend of narrative, analysis, and guarded sympathy for both Sparta and its Greek rival."--Fred S. Naiden, Professor Emeritus University of North Carolina
"Paul Rahe is the world's leading expert on ancient Sparta. His work is indispensable if you want to understand the Peloponnesian War and its relevance today. In Sparta's Third Attic War Rahe brings together deep historical knowledge, cultural understanding, and sophisticated analysis of grand strategy and geopolitics. Simply outstanding!"--Athanasios Platias, Professor of Strategy, University of Piraeus and coauthor of Thucydides on Strategy (Oxford University Press, 2017)
"In Sparta's Third Attic War, Paul Rahe continues his monumental history of the Peloponnesian War and its long prelude, as well as why and how Sparta could and would win. Unlike many prior histories, Rahe seeks to understand the conflict from the Spartan point of view. The result once again in his penultimate volume is another insightful appreciation of the Spartan state and a brilliant and lasting reassessment of classical Greek history itself."--Victor Hanson, The Hoover Institution, Stanford University, author of A War Like No Other
