# History of the Peloponnesian War — Chapters explained

> Chapter companions for History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides.

- [Dedication](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/dedication.md): The translator dedicates the work to Connop Thirlwall, historian of Greece, acknowledging his predecessor's influence.
- [History of the Peloponnesian War](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/history-of-the-peloponnesian-war.md): This chapter introduces the overarching narrative of the Peloponnesian War, detailing its origins, key events, and the complex interplay of power, strategy, and human nature that defined the conflict between Athens and S
- [Book I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/book-i.md): Thucydides introduces his history of the Peloponnesian War, arguing it will be the greatest war in Greek history. He recounts the early history of Greece, the rise of Athenian power after the Persian Wars, and the events
- [The State of Greece from the Earliest Times to the Commencement of the Peloponnesian War](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/i.md): Thucydides introduces his history of the Peloponnesian War, arguing that it was the greatest movement in history. He traces the early development of Hellas from a period of constant migration and weakness, through the ri
- [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/ii.md): The Corcyraeans and Corinthians present competing arguments before the Athenian assembly, each seeking an alliance. The Athenians ultimately side with Corcyra, leading to a naval battle at Sybota. Tensions escalate as Po
- [Congress of the Peloponnesian Confederacy at Lacedaemon](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/iii.md): The chapter describes the assembly of the Peloponnesian League at Sparta, where various allies, especially Corinth and Megara, voice grievances against Athens for violations of the treaty, including the siege of Potidaea
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/iv.md): This chapter details the growth of Athenian power and the escalating tensions with Sparta and other Greek states following the Persian Wars. It covers the fortification of Athens and Piraeus under Themistocles, the shift
- [Second Congress at Lacedaemon: Preparations for War and Diplomatic Skirmishes](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/v.md): The chapter describes the period between the Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian War, during which Athens consolidated its empire while Sparta hesitated. A congress is convened where the Corinthians urge war against Athen
- [Book II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/book-ii.md): Thucydides recounts the first year of the Peloponnesian War, including the Theban attack on Plataea, the Athenian plague, Pericles' Funeral Oration, and the early military campaigns of both Athens and Sparta.
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/vi.md): The Peloponnesian army, led by King Archidamus, prepares to invade Attica. Archidamus delivers a speech emphasizing discipline and vigilance, and sends Melesippus to Athens in a final attempt at negotiation, but Pericles
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/vii.md): The second year of the war begins with the Peloponnesian invasion of Attica under King Archidamus, followed by the devastating outbreak of the plague in Athens. Thucydides provides a detailed clinical account of the plag
- [VIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/viii.md): The chapter covers the third year of the Peloponnesian War, detailing Athenian military campaigns in Acarnania and Chalcidice, the Thracian expedition of Sitalces, and the strategic maneuvers of both sides. It includes t
- [Book III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/book-iii.md): Book III of Thucydides' History covers the revolt of Mitylene, the siege and fall of Plataea, the Corcyraean revolution, and early Athenian campaigns including the occupation of Pylos. It explores the brutal realities of
- [IX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/ix.md): The Mitylenians revolt against Athens, seeking alliance with Sparta. They argue that Athenian imperialism has turned former allies into subjects, and that only mutual fear can secure a true alliance. The Spartans accept 
- [The Corcyraean Revolution and Its Aftermath](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/x.md): This chapter details the brutal civil war in Corcyra, where democratic and oligarchic factions engage in a bloody struggle for power. The Peloponnesian fleet, under Alcidas and urged by Brasidas, defeats the Corcyraean n
- [XI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/xi.md): The chapter covers the sixth year of the Peloponnesian War, including the second outbreak of the plague in Athens, earthquakes and tidal waves, Athenian operations in Sicily and the Aeolian islands, the purification of D
- [Book IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/book-iv.md): This book covers the Athenian occupation of Pylos, the capture of Spartan forces on Sphacteria, the campaigns of Brasidas in Thrace, and the events leading up to the Peace of Nicias, including the deaths of Cleon and Bra
- [Chapter XII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/xii.md): The Athenians, emboldened by their possession of Spartan prisoners on the island of Sphacteria, reject Spartan peace offers under the influence of Cleon. The Spartans, after failed negotiations, resume hostilities. Meanw
- [XIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/xiii.md): Hermocrates urges Sicilian cities to unite against Athenian ambition, leading to a peace agreement among them. The Athenian fleet departs Sicily, and upon return, generals Pythodorus, Sophocles, and Eurymedon are punishe
- [XIV: Eighth and Ninth Years of the War — Invasion of Boeotia — Fall of Amphipolis — Brilliant Successes of Brasidas](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/xiv.md): This chapter covers the eighth and ninth years of the Peloponnesian War, detailing Brasidas' campaign in Thrace, his persuasive speech to the Acanthians, and the Athenian attempt to seize Boeotian towns including Delium.
- [Book V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/book-v.md): The tenth year of the war sees a temporary truce and the Peace of Nicias, but tensions persist. The Mantineans, Eleans, and Argives form a new alliance against Sparta, while Athens and Sparta struggle to maintain the fra
- [The Peace of Nicias and the End of the First War](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/xv.md): After the death of Cleon and Brasidas, both Athens and Sparta, exhausted by war and facing internal and external pressures, turn towards peace. The Peace of Nicias is negotiated, establishing a fifty-year alliance and a 
- [XVI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/xvi.md): After the ten years' war and the Peace of Nicias, tensions persist as the Corinthians and other Peloponnesian states seek to undermine the Spartan-Athenian alliance. Argos, seeing an opportunity to gain supremacy in the 
- [The Melian Dialogue](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/xvii.md): In the sixteenth year of the war, Athens sends a massive expedition to subdue the neutral island of Melos, a Spartan colony. Before hostilities, Athenian envoys engage in a stark dialogue with Melian leaders, arguing tha
- [Book VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/book-vi.md): The Athenians, persuaded by Alcibiades and against the cautious advice of Nicias, launch a massive expedition to Sicily. After Alcibiades is recalled to face charges of sacrilege, he defects to Sparta and advises them on
- [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/xviii.md): The Athenians resolve to launch a massive expedition to conquer Sicily, despite their ignorance of the island's size and population. Nicias attempts to dissuade them by emphasizing the strength of Sicilian cities, the ne
- [XIX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/xix.md): News of the Athenian expedition reaches Syracuse, where Hermocrates urges preparations for defense. Meanwhile, Alcibiades is recalled to Athens on charges of impiety and conspiracy, but he escapes to the Peloponnese. The
- [XX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/xx.md): The Athenian generals in Sicily divide their forces to assess the situation at Selinus and Egesta, while the Syracusans prepare for war. Alcibiades, now in Sparta, delivers a speech revealing the grand Athenian plan to c
- [Book VII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/book-vii.md): The Athenian expedition to Sicily suffers catastrophic defeat. After initial successes, the arrival of the Spartan general Gylippus turns the tide. The Athenians, led by Nicias and Demosthenes, are besieged in Syracuse, 
- [Chapter XXI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/xxi.md): The Lacedaemonians, believing Athens has broken the truce, fortify Decelea and invade Attica under King Agis, while simultaneously sending reinforcements to Sicily. The Athenians respond by dispatching Demosthenes with a
- [XXII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/xxii.md): Demosthenes arrives with reinforcements at Syracuse, but his night attack on Epipolae fails disastrously. The Athenian army is demoralized, and a debate ensues between Demosthenes, who advocates immediate retreat, and Ni
- [The Final Catastrophe](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/xxiii.md): The Athenians, trapped in the Great Harbour of Syracuse, are defeated in a decisive naval battle. Demosthenes and Nicias attempt a desperate retreat by land, but the Syracusans under Gylippus and Hermocrates block their 
- [Book VIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/book-viii.md): Book VIII covers the aftermath of the Sicilian disaster, the Spartan alliance with Persia, the oligarchic coup in Athens, and the early stages of the Ionian War, including the revolt of Athenian allies and the rise of Al
- [Nineteenth and twentieth years of the war — Revolt of Ionia — Intervention of Persia — The War in Ionia](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/xxiv.md): After the catastrophic Athenian defeat in Sicily, Athens is plunged into despair and fear, yet resolves to resist. The Lacedaemonians, emboldened, prepare for a decisive war, while the Athenians work to rebuild their fle
- [Intrigues and Oligarchic Conspiracies](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/xxv.md): This chapter details the complex political maneuvers surrounding Alcibiades' attempt to return to Athens by leveraging his influence with the Persian satrap Tissaphernes. Phrynichus, suspicious of Alcibiades, secretly be
- [XXVI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/xxvi.md): Alcibiades is recalled to Samos and elected general, preventing the Athenian fleet from sailing against Piraeus and instead working to reconcile the army with the city. Tissaphernes goes to Aspendus for the Phoenician fl
- [Plans](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/history_of_the_peloponnesian_war_se/chapters/plans.md): This chapter outlines the strategic plans and battle formations for key engagements in the Peloponnesian War, including the Battle of Plataea, the Battles of Naupactus, and the Athenian campaign before Syracuse. It also 

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