The Peloponnesian War by Donald Kagan

The Peloponnesian War by Donald Kagan

For almost three decades at the end of the fifth century BC the ancient world was torn apart in a conflict that was, within its historical context, as dramatic, divisive, and destructive as the great world wars of the twentieth century. The Peloponnesian War pitted Greek against Greek: the Athenians, with their glorious empire, rich legacy of democracy and political rights, and extraordinary cultural achievement, against the militaristic, oligarchic Spartan state. The result was a period of unprecedented brutality, one that violated even the rugged code that had previously governed Greek combat, and led to an enormous destruction of life and property, intensification of factional and class hostility, and a reversal of the trend toward democratic development. With these came a collapse in the habits, institutions, beliefs, and restraints that had long been the foundation of civilization. Now Donald Kagan, one of the world's most respected historians, has written a new account of the Peloponnesian War--a lively, readable narrative that offers a richly detailed portrait of a vanished world while honoring its timeless relevance. In chronicling the rise and fall of a great empire, The Peloponnesian War illuminates the interplay of intelligence and chance in human affairs, the role of great individuals and masses of people in determining the course of events, and the potential of leadership and the limits within which it must operate. Among the brilliant portraits of extraordinary statesmen are those of Pericles, the greatest among the Athenians and a man determined to pursue a policy of deterrence, and the charismatic, duplicitous Alcibiades. Kagan captures the dynamic of war in his thrilling re-creations of some of the most famous military campaigns of antiquity. With its fresh examination of a pivotal moment of Western civilization, The Peloponnesian War is a magisterial work of historiography--a chronicle of a dark time whose lessons are especially resonant today.

DONALD KAGAN is Sterling Professor of History and Classics at Yale University, where he has taught since 1969. He received the A.B. degree in history from Brooklyn College, the M.A. in classics from Brown University, and the Ph.D. in history from Ohio State University. During 1958 to 1959 he studied at the American School of Classical Studies as a Fulbright Scholar. He has received three awards for undergraduate teaching at Cornell and Yale. He is the author of a history of Greek political thought, The Great Dialogue (1965); a four volume history of the Peloponnesian war, TheOrigins of the Peloponnesian War (1969); The Archidamian War (1974); The Peace of Nicias and the Sicilian Expedition (1981); The Fall of the Athenian Empire (1987); and a biography of Pericles, Pericles of Athens and the Birth of Democracy (1991); On the Origins of War (1995) and The Peloponnesian War (2003). He is coauthor, with Frederick W. Kagan of While America Sleeps (2000). With Brian Tierney and L. Pearce Williams, he is the editor of Great Issues in Western Civilization, a collection of readings. He was awarded the National Humanities Medal for 2002 and was chosen by the National Endowment for the Humanities to deliver the Jefferson Lecture in 2004.

GREGORY VIGGIANO received his Ph.D. in Classics from Yale University. He is an Assistant Professor in the history department at Sacred Heart University, where he teaches courses on ancient Greece and Rome, and Western Civilization. He is currently co-editing a book on Ancient Greek Hoplite Warfare with Donald Kagan.

SKU	Nicht verfügbar
ISBN 13	9780142004371
ISBN 10	0142004375
Titel	The Peloponnesian War
Autor	Donald Kagan
Buchzustand	Nicht verfügbar
Bindungsart	Paperback
Verlag	Penguin Putnam Inc
Erscheinungsjahr	2004-04-27
Seitenanzahl	544
Hinweis auf dem Einband	Die Abbildung des Buches dient nur Illustrationszwecken, die tatsächliche Bindung, das Cover und die Auflage können sich davon unterscheiden.
Hinweis	Nicht verfügbar