Fall of the Athenian Empire

by Donald Kagan

Book Overview

"The fourth volume in Kagan's history of ancient Athens, which has been called one of the major achievements of modern historical scholarship, begins with the ill-fated Sicilian expedition of 413 B.C. and ends with the surrender of Athens to Sparta in 404 B.C. Richly documented, precise in detail, it is also extremely well-written, linking it to a tradition of historical narrative that has become rare in our time."
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• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0801499844
• ISBN13: 9780801499845
• Release Date: July 1991
• Publisher: Cornell University Press
• Length: 480 Pages
• Weight: 1.36 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Fall of the Athenian Empire By Donald Kagan

This is an outstanding documentary and analysis of the causes of the fall of the Athenian Empire which occurs as a result of the P. This history begins after the failure of the Sicilian Expedition and provided considerable more detail and analysis than his "History of the Peloponnesian War" which is an excellent book for the general reader who wants to know more about this important war. This documentary provided signifiantly more detail and analysis than Thucydidas history of the same war. I highly recommend this to the serious student of the Peloponnesian War.

Kagan's End of the Peloponnesian War

The Peloponnesian War, along with the myriad feuds that latched on to the central conflict between Sparta and Athens in the latter half of the fifth century BCE, can be an exhausting subject. The civil and international politics involved in fostering and perpetuating the war rival even today's most complex conflicts. In this, The fourth and final installment of Kagan's history of the Peloponnesian War. Kagan skillfully rounds out the set and the war itself. These books come in and out of circulation, so best to get ahold of them while they're available. Again, Kagan's work is superb For the historian, or avid history buff (however you might self-identify), these works are a necessary addition to your library. The more casual reader might, however, consider purchasing Kagan's abridged work entitled simply "The Peloponnesian War." It includes the main thrust of the narrative, but with markedly less analysis of the political motivations included in these volumes.

Coup De Grace

Athens had already been bled white by the Archidamian war; it had lost its fleet and the flower of its youth in the Sicilian expedition. Here, Sparta rejoins the conflict as a full-blooded belligerent, and Persia weighs in as a sponsor. For all that, Athens still puts up a hell of a fight, scratching together a new fleet and defending its Aegean and Black Sea possessions with vitality and imagination. Yet, like Napoleon's armies after the Russian winter, a brilliant victory only defers the outcome, whereas it will only take one serious defeat for the whole war effort to collapse. At length, this defeat arrives when the Spartans get serious about naval tactics and recall Lysander to administer the decisive blow. Another great character in this saga, the Athenian exile Alcabiades, reappears, first as a Spartan advisor, then as a friend to the Persian King, then back to Athens as the prodigal son. Not until Talleyrand will one encounter such a serial turncoat.