History of the Peloponnesian War is an account of the battles, conflicts, and politics of the Peloponnesian War, fought between the Peloponnesian League (led by Sparta) and the Delian League (led by Athens), written by an Athenian general who served in the war, Thucydides. It is widely considered a classic and regarded as one of the earliest scholarly works of history.

Thucydides' History begins almost exactly where Herodotus' Histories leaves off. Unlike Herodotus, the gods play no role in Thucydides' work, unlike the many appearances they make in the writings of Herodotus (and their near ubiquity in Homer's work). Instead, Thucydides shows history as caused by the choices and actions of the actors.

Thucydides' masterpiece is divided into eight books and is roughly chronological, although the commentary occasionally oscillates wildly between the various theatres of conflict. One major feature of the work are the dozens of speeches by the principal figures engaged in the war. These include addresses given to troops by their generals before battles and numerous political debates, both amongst Athenian and Spartan leaders and between them. Of the speeches, the most famous is the funeral oration of Pericles, which is found in Book Two. Thucydides undoubtedly heard some of these speeches himself while for others he relied on eye witness accounts. Some of the speeches are probably fabricated according to his expectations of what must have been said.

Despite being an Athenian and a participant in the conflict, Thucydides is regarded as having written a generally unbiased account of the conflict and all the sides involved in it. In Book One he states that he wrote his History "not as an essay which is to win the applause of the moment, but as a possession for all time."

The History of the Peloponnesian War is unfinished, ending in mid-sentence. Whilst it is possible Thucydides might have died before he could complete the work (in which case other sections would likely have been changed and edited had he lived longer), other alternatives have been proposed by scholars for the abrupt end of the work.

The History concentrates on military and political matters. However, it uses these events as a medium to deal specifically with the socially and culturally degenerative effects of war on men themselves (focusing on the lawlessness and atrocities committed by Greek citizens). It largely leaves matters like art and architecture untouched. The History, for example in the Melian dialogue, describes early instances of realpolitik or power politics, as well as the breakdown of social and cultural norms under the stress of warfare.

External links

• The History of the Peloponnesian War from Project Gutenberg
• Thucydides and the Discovery of Historical Causation by John Lewis