The Peloponnesian War

by Kenneth W. Harl

Course Lecture Titles
1. Thucydides and the Peloponnesian War
2. The Greek Way of War
3. SpartaPerceptions and Prejudices
4. Sparta and Her Allies
5. The Athenian Democracy
6. Athens and the Navy
7. Victory over Persia, 490479 B.C.
8. Athens or SpartaA Question of Leadership
9. Cimonian Imperialism
10. Sparta after the Persian Wars
11. The First Peloponnesian War
12. The Thirty Years' Peace
13. Triumph of the Radical Democracy
14. From Delian League to Athenian Empire
15. Economy and Society of Imperial Athens
16. Athens, School of Greece
17. Crisis in Corcyra, 435432 B.C.
18. Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War
19. Strategies and Stalemate, 431429 B.C.
20. Athenian Victory in Northwest Greece
21. Imperial CrisisThe Chalcidice and Mytilene
22. Plague, Fiscal Crisis, and War
23. Demagogues and Stasis
24. Pylos, 425 B.C.A Test of Leadership
25. New Leaders and New Strategies
26. The Peace of Nicias
27. Collapse of the Peace of Nicias
28. From Mantinea to Sicily, 418415 B.C.
29. Sparta, Athens, and the Western Greeks
30. The Athenian Expedition to Sicily
31. Alcibiades and Sparta, 414412 B.C.
32. Conspiracy and Revolution, 411 B.C.
33. Alcibiades and Athens, 411406 B.C.
34. The Defeat of Athens, 406404 B.C.
35. Sparta's Bitter Victory
36. Lessons of the Peloponnesian War

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Ancient History, War, Ancient, Classics

18 pages, Audio CD

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Dr. Kenneth W. Harl is Professor of Classical and Byzantine History at Tulane University in New Orleans, where he teaches courses in Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Crusader history. He earned his B.A. from Trinity College and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Yale University.

Recognized as an outstanding lecturer, Professor Harl has received numerous teaching awards at Tulane, including the coveted Sheldon H. Hackney Award two times. He has earned Tulane's annual Student Body Award for Excellence in Teaching nine times and is the recipient of Baylor University's nationwide Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teachers.

In 2007, he was the Lewis P. Jones Visiting Professor in History at Wofford College. An expert on classical Anatolia, he has taken students with him into the field on excursions and to assist in excavations of Hellenistic and Roman sites in Turkey.

Professor Harl has also published a wide variety of articles and books, including his current work on coins unearthed in an excavation of Gordion, Turkey, and a new book on Rome and her Iranian foes. A fellow and trustee of the American Numismatic Society, Professor Harl is well known for his studies of ancient coinage. He is the author of Civic Coins and Civic Politics in the Roman East, A.D. 180–275 and Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 B.C. to A.D. 700.

Reviews

[Amirsaman · Rating 4 out of 5]

این کورس اولا باعث شد کتاب توسیدید بازخوانی شود برای من و آن را اساسی بفهمم؛ فهمی که با خواندن صرف کتاب جنگ پلوپونزی ممکن نیست حاصل شود. خاصه این‌که کورس با انواع نقشه‌ها و انیمیشن‌های نمایانگر شکل نبردها همراه بود. مضاف بر آن تقریبا نیمی از حجم کورس به بیان پس‌زمینه‌ی آتن و اسپارت و منطقه‌ی یونان می‌گذرد.

در ثانی این کورس توانایی خارق‌العاده‌ای داشت تا فهم من از جهان یونان را مرتب سازد. به این ترتیب بود که نه تنها وضعیت سیاسی تصویر شده از جهان یونانی در جنگ پلوپونزی را فهمیدم، بلکه جایگاه افلاطون و برخی شخصیت‌های مکالماتش را فهمیدم - مثل آلکیبادس و همچنین زندگی سقراط به عنوان یک سرباز! نیز ارسطو و سیاستش را فهمیدم وقتی که مثلا از دموکراسی و پرداخت پول به منصب‌های دولتی حرف می‌زند و انواع حکومت‌هایی که به تصویر می‌کشد و مثال‌هایی که از کشورهای جهان یونانی می‌آورَد. همچنین ربط شخصیت‌های آریستوفانس به تاریخ آتن را فهمیدم و نیز درکم از تراژدی‌های یونانی و حتی هومر، عمیق‌تر شد.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very good lecture series on the Peleponnesian War. It fell just close of great in my opinion because in this one of all his lectures Professor Harl strays farthest from conventional thoughts on the subject. This would of been fine but his stated reasons for this difference of opinion of orthodoxy is a bit thin. I can see his point of view that conventional thought on Sparta is skewed too far in one direction but in this case I think he over corrects in the opposite way. So if this is your first exposure to the topic than you might get an idea about the subject that is a bit far from current thought.

Still a fine series and worth your time and if this is not your first exposure to the subject than it's a fantastic way of seeing the conflict in a different way.

[Elwin Kline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Professor Harl did an outstanding job. What I love most about him is his energy, enthusiasm, and excitement when he gets fired up about a particular topic. I truly do believe that this is a man really pursuing what he loves and actually getting paid for it.

Some notable highlights of this course that I absolutely loved was the opening lectures on hoplite and naval warfare, which I enjoyed so much that these two lectures alone are worth waiting in line for this Great Course. Other very interesting lectures that grabbed my attention and really enjoyed include Darius, Xerces, Leonidas, in depth slavery discussion, and surprisingly even more in depth discussion on economics. Towards the end of this course, it finishes incredibly strong with two very interesting individuals who have amazing stories and were so much fun to learn about: Brasidas the charismatic Spartan warrior and leader, and Alciabiades the party animal, trickster, seducer of queens, and political master mind.

I say again, the lectures on Brasidas and Alciabiades, Hoplites and Naval Warfare almost want me to give this a 5/5 and were truly amazing, however though the other lectures while still very good were not as impactful as these 4 particular topics.

I highly recommend this Great Course to anyone interested in Ancient Greece or Sparta. Absolutely loved it. Rock solid 4. Probably more of a 4.5+.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good. There's more about Thucydides and his world here than one may likely to ever care to know. Highly recommended!

[Chouba Nabil · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing analysis, its full of politics manoeuvre, can been seen as war between democracies and autocracy, same happening again ...
The Peloponnesian War is a must read !

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Professor Harl maintains his status as my favorite Great Courses lecturer with The Peloponnesian War. He has such enthusiasm for the subject that he makes ancient history feel like contemporary news.

[Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thorough history of the causes, proceedings, and effects of the Peloponnesian war. The lecturer, Harl, does a wonderful job of presenting the material. I admit I lost the thread with dates, names, and battle details, but the thrust of the discussion is great.

Following Thucydides’ famous history, but adding to it from other historical accounts and other sources, Harl presents an analysis of the various causes of the war. He makes great effort not to demonize the Spartans or unilaterally praise the Athenians. Exploring the roots of the war, Harl discusses the many motivations, circumstances, and relationships that led to the war. He also doesn’t just focus on Sparta and Athens; he looks at the other players, like Corinth, Thebes, and Persia.

The last few lectures focus on how the war changed the Greek city-states and what its legacy is.
The Peloponnesian War ends up seeming to be extraordinarily tragic. All wars are, of course, but this war (or rather serious of wars) seemed in many ways unnecessary: there were many opportunities for it to be avoid or ended, and it seems ultimately not to really have mattered.

Though history always has a way of seeming inevitable, Philip and the Macedonian empire was almost surely going to sweep through Greece anyway. Though maybe if the city-states had not been so busy fighting themselves for so long, they could have put up a better fight and resisted. One of the interesting conclusions Harl draws is that the war showed the limitations of the city-state and spelled its demise. If that is true, then the Macedonians and later the Romans were likely going to conquer Greece anyway. Though one wonders, had the Spartans and Athenians be able to work together more, they might have created a regional power that could have resisted both the Macedonians and the Romans.

[Nate · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Peloponnesian War is a series of 36 lectures by Dr. Kenneth Harl regarding the 5th century war between Athens and Sparta. Dr Harl closely follows the eminent historian Thucydides in his timeline but also connects the war with other sources to what we commonly call the 'Classical Period or the Golden Age of Greece' between 500 and 300 BC. Dr Harl’s lectures illustrate lessons for us today including (1) recognizing the importance of servant leadership as necessary to functioning democracies (contrasting the leadership styles of Pericles and Alcibiades), (2) knowing that even governments with strong democracies can degenerate into ‘Empire’ (the slow evolution of the radical Athenian democracy from Delian League leader to the Athenian Empire); and (3) acknowledging the importance of Thucydides as the ‘pre-eminent, model historian’ and Greek academic culture that enabled his reflections.

While small in relative importance to the Persian Empire, the conquests of Alexander, and the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, classical Greece has a special appeal to the modern West and especially sea faring Britain’s and Americans. This is most likely due to the great liberty and experimentation with radical democracy and representative republics that went on among the Greek City states. We find in Athenians a fierce determination to choose your own destiny, an economy based on the sea, and a love for academic and artistic pursuits. When we look at the Greeks of the classical Age, we see ourselves in many cases, and Thucydides has done a great service to posterity by cataloguing the annals of the penultimate conflict of this era.
You can also make a case that this was a war like no other… a war that has similarities not with World War II… but more like Vietnam, the Irish Revolution, the fights between Islamic governments, and our own Civil War. The Spartan and Athenians held so much the same: their religion, common ancestry.. but yet so much different… democratic vs. oligarchic, sea faring vs. land based, free inquirers vs traditionalists. As in our time with Vietnam and other minor conflicts, the Athenians at one time thought their government superior so they devolved into ‘conquering’ and installed democracies. Ironically or sadly… three thousand years later, we still fail to see the irony of ‘spreading democracy’ and we see ourselves falling into the same trap as the Athenians by thinking we can save the world by giving people our ‘superior’ form of government.

As to the war itself, we again see ourselves in the Greeks. Realizing a direct confrontational war would have devastating consequences, the Athenians and Spartans fought via many allies in the Delian League and the Peloponnesian League. Direct warfare was replaced with economic warfare… picking off minor allies one by one, going after grain supplies, destroying trade routes. Strategically, the Athenians knew they could never match Spartans on land, so the Athenians walled off Athens and imported grain from their Empire to keep Athens fed. The war became a contest of attrition as to how each side could eliminate its sources of wealth. The Athenians tried to eliminate Spartan supplies in Sicily and launched a massive campaign in Sicily. This weakened Athens considerably and laid the foundation for the Spartans to eliminate their grain supply in the Aegean. After almost 30 years of warfare, the Athenian hubris finally brought it into the submission of Sparta. But we also see so many lessons in this… the 30 years of warfare weakened the Greek states so much that they were ‘softened’ up for the onslaught of Philip, Alexander and the Macedonian Empire.

Finally, the Peloponnesian War is an object lesson for democracies and republics to ensure they elect people of integrity and virtue. Pericles was the First Athenian, the man who was loved by the Athenians and sacrificed everything for the good of Athens. Pericles’ funeral oration is on par with the Gettysburg Address… a true statement of living democratically, “instead of looking on discussion as a stumbling-block in the way of action, we think it an indispensable preliminary to any wise action at all”. His passion was making Athens a better place and he suffered for it. Unfortunately, Pericles died and in the war’s latter stages, an Athenian named Alcibiades came to leadership. Alcibiades had one interest… himself. A known philanderer and double crosser, Alcibiades is not the statesmen, but really one who embodied all the negative connotations of the word, politician. Alcibiades convinced Athens to undertake the Sicilian expedition then defected when he was called up on charges. Alcibiades perhaps gave the Spartans some inside knowledge to doom Athens, but he once again defected from Sparta when he got the Spartan king’s wife pregnant. He tried a turn with the Persians and was once again accepted by the Athenians, only to wither in the aftermath of the lack of resources left with Athens due to the defeat in Sicily. How might history and Athens’s course have changed had Pericles stayed alive or had Alcibiades been more like Pericles? We might never know, but like ancient Greece, democracies and republics cannot long endure leaders without integrity. Without integrity, the whole democratic enterprise is a fiction, an exercise in rhetoric while the oligarchs give lip service to fine oration and work behind the scenes for only themselves.

[Micsescu Raul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even tucidides would enjoy this. And very well put into context.

[David Sweet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding! One of my favorites from the Great Courses.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kenneth Harl is excellent.

[Aaron Kimpton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am excited to get back into the history. A few books of fiction, and i find my self happily back here soaking up more reality.


I am on lecture 18. Fascinating. I like how it is coming along. Very well done.


Fascinating. The total picture over the decades is just amazing. Great read. Long read, and one that will need to be read a couple of times to have it all sink in.

[عدنان العبار · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kenneth Harl and William Cook are the most entertaining historians on Audible's Great Courses series. Their lectures feel improvised, but that improvisation of the scholar who is well capable of his subject, and who has an encyclopaedic understanding not only of the presented material but also a several tangential and essential disciplines besides that knowledge of history and the capability of separating proper historiography from the author's attempts to wrap the events around his mind.

This book is an exploration of Thucydides' The Peloponnesian War, and revision of that book as well as an integration of Xenophon's and Plutarch's inputs into the characters who played the most important roles in the war. Xenophon and Plutarch were philosophers who had an interest in history and biography, respectively. Thucydides was an exiled general who was contemporary to the events of the wars. In fact, he participated in one of the wars that we now consider the outbreak of such a war. We remember from this Hayek's famous quote that “nobody can be a great economist who is only an economist — and I am even tempted to add that the economist who is only an economist is likely to become a nuisance if not a positive danger.” Perhaps, but to a lesser degree, the same can be said of a historian. It is important to incorporate the writings of other scholars into the book since Thucydides never completed the books he had been writing about that war. The author of the current book not only uses these three authors but also relies heavily on three contemporary authors who had contributed with their analysis on the war; the most important contemporary historians, who the author cites in this book are Donald Kagan, Geoffrey de Ste. Croix, and Victor David Hanson, the first and last of which I am a huge admirer and fan. They all have competing analyses on various events in the war, and interpretations, which the author of the current volume discusses and juxtaposes to show the variety of thought concerning the topics.

The book is separated into many segments. The book starts with an introduction of ancient historiography and the methods that ancient historians have used in writing history. One of which—which is quite interesting—is speech writing. Many famous and important speeches have not reached us from ancient times, and the historians tried to recreate them in the same vein those generals and statesmen have uttered. The book also explores important aspects of Greek culture, how soldiers are trained and how they vote themselves into war — who are the participants, how those who lead are chosen. Then, an important set of lectures focus on dispelling some myths about Spartans being barbarian warriors, who were really far from that description: The Spartans were always prepared for war, but they are essentially civilized and a commercial people. Although well-versed in terrestrial combat, their victories against the Persians on land, and then their most spectacular victory against the Athenians on the sea (since the Athenians were the masters of naval combat) cements their position as territorial rulers of the Hellenic world in the periods right after the wars. The Spartans soon granted diplomatic rule and sovereignty over the assigned lands to both the Corinthians and the Athenians, briefly after the war.

The Peloponnesian wars were actually a set of wars, many even not between the belligerent parties we generally associate with the war. The Persians, for example, were participating in the wars just prior to the Peloponnesian wars, and the Greeks did not know when the Persians would return to assert their dominance once again. The Persians, then, bankrolled the Spartans against the Athenians, when the Athenians started to break their treaties and oaths (most importantly, the peace of Nicias).

These events in the 5th century BC were chaotic, and not even continuously documented. Many sources have just reached us, after two and a half centuries. So, this book is an excellent introduction to pre-socratic times, as well as ancient history. The book does much more than document the war itself but offers much that the lecture attendant finds use in. I have immensely enjoyed these lectures not only because of their interesting subject and superb exposition — but also because of the charismatic character of Professor Harl who gives us history with passion (he often bursts into laughter mid-lecture) and the appeal to the rationality of the men of ancient times: The author does not treat these men as idiots. He reminds us that we would not be much different, nor is their cause to believe that we will behave much different if we were put in similar circumstances in our world, today.

[DrBabić · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing lectures!!! Well done.

Something that came to mind over and over again while I was listening was how it is relevant with today's geopolitical landscape.

The comparison between Pericles' Athens and modern U.S. hegemony is an interesting case study to tackle. During Pericles' leadership, Athens transformed the Delian League, initially an alliance against Persian aggression, into a more centralized Athenian Empire. Under his rule, Athens promoted democracy and cultural achievements, but it also wielded power over its allies, sometimes coercively, by imposing its economic and political influence—often in the name of defending "freedom" and "democracy".

Similarly, the U.S. has championed democracy and freedom globally, but its influence often extends beyond simply supporting sovereign nations. Like Athens, it sometimes imposes its political or economic will, leading to debates about whether its actions are truly liberating or hegemonic.

The parallel between Sparta and modern authoritarian powers like Russia also "holds". Sparta was a militaristic state with an oligarchic government, standing as a counterbalance to Athenian democracy. This dynamic between democratic and authoritarian powers resembles today's geopolitical landscape, where authoritarian countries (or BRICS) resist U.S. influence and challenge its global dominance.

The Peloponnesian War ultimately led to Athens' downfall, as the prolonged conflict with Sparta weakened its resources and internal unity—an important reminder of the potential costs of hegemonic ambition. It’s a complex cycle of power, influence, and conflict that echoes across history.

[Natasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is the purpose of war? What causes people to choose war? What does it mean to choose war when those deciding will be the ones fighting? What is an empire? What is an empire when you have no interest in converting those conquered into your folds? What is a citizen? What is a citizen who does not pay taxes? What is a tax if it’s only paid by those who do not benefit? What is the best government to have if you want to win a war? How can you protect the Greeks and fight the Greeks? How do you prevent those on the right flank of your hoplite formation from slowing down to move their unprotected side away from the enemy? How do you kill that basic human instinct to survive? The ruthless Spartans say music.

[Evan DeShais · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am excited to get back into the history. A few books of fiction, and i find my self happily back here soaking up more reality.


I am on lecture 18. Fascinating. I like how it is coming along. Very well done.


Fascinating. The total picture over the decades is just amazing. Great read. Long read, and one that will need to be read a couple of times to have it all sink in.

[Ken Burkhalter · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good overview and entry into deeper studies. This is my second course by Harl, both are rapidly paced and easy to listen to (Audible.com). I cannot help but think of our own complicated geopolitical environment and there is much to learn here. Russia, China, and the U.S. have nothing on Sparta, Athens, and the Persians of the 400 B.C. era.

I will be reading more, Thucydides is next up on the study list, but first, something a bit tamer I think. :)

[Mark Lawry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another classic by Harl. As so often the case with Great Courses knowing a bit about the geography and history would be helpful. He rattles off cities and generals fast and furious. One would think he has spent a career studying and writing about just this region. Except he has somehow done this on so many of his books and lectures on other topics.

[Enrico · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good companion to the original text. The course puts the events into context with almost half of the course talking about the Athenians and Spartans before the war and how everything developed into the war. The second half goes chronologically through the entire war until it's final conclusion.

[Goran · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit too pro-Sparta, but otherwise pretty good and detailed.

[Joshua Dew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second Great Courses lecture series I've listened to (the other was on Plato's Republic) and they were both interesting, well-organized, and professionally delivered.

[Max Frankwicz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Professor is passionate about the subject which makes for great listening.

[John Morris ii · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another stellar series by DR. Harl! A long dark ever changing war!

[Stephen Tubbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This bloody piece of history is well researched and related.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can't really put my finger on why - it's not one of the courses Harl hummed and hawed his way through - put this one just couldn't keep my attention, despite the subject being interesting enough.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Harl pronounces "allies" with emphasis on the second syllable and man does that throw me.

[Nathan Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very detailed account of the war

[Gebo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent course. Covers historical lines of flight from ancient times to the Middle ages. If that sounds interesting to you, checkout this course.

[Balazs · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book-length study of the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE) Professor Kenneth Harl showcases a deep-rooted knowledge of the sources and the secondary literature as he follows in Thycidides' steps (in structuring the course and of course, treating the topic) providing insight into the political, social, economic and military workings of the classical hellenic world, especially its two giants, the poleis of Sparta and Athens, analyses the roots and causes of the war and follows its course right to the end. After reading Prof. Donald Kagan's seminal work on the subject (his four volume series 1969-1987) and listening to his lectures on the subject, this one by Prof. Harl forms a great companion to them. Despite their differences - especially on the organization and workings of Sparta (the political culture of the society, number of full-citizen Spartiates, treatment of the helots, inherent defensiveness or agressivity of Spartan foreign policy) their works together give a very vivid and engaging picture on hellenic life in the classial era.

This course is one of the lengthier ones produced by the Teaching Company, and it benefits greatly from that fact. Instead of rushing through the obligatory landmarks and providing a coursory overview, Prof. Harl is given enough time to treat each block in relatively in-depth.

Overall, this is one of the best in the Great Courses series.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

36 30 minute audio lectures along with a 272 page syllabus.
Thucydides (an Athenian general/historian living at the time of the war) provides the history for much of these lectures, but Dr Harl brings the exquisite details to life. For those considering buying this series, either go with the video presentation or listen to the audio augmented with online maps and GoogleEarth...you will need to know the area in order appreciate the action. And there is a lot of action! The good professor lays a firm grounding for the (long) war between Sparta and her allies and Athens and her league (Delian League), providing character sketches for the city-states and the leaders who gave them their personalities...from Cimon in Athens to Leonidas in Sparta. Then the lectures shift to the recounting of the the war's battles, strategies and characters, both heroic and tragic (no wonder many Greek Tragedies were written during this period of time). With Athens at her zenith under Pericles and Sparta, Corinth and Thebes worried about Athens hegemony or the Athenians getting too full of themselves, the war breaks out on a distant island, Corfu, and battles begin around Attica in 431 BCE. What follows next is history...history in its finest form.
And then there's Alcibiades...the most famous non-famous character of Hellenic history. He might well have won the war for the Athenians had he not whacked a few phalluses (phalli?) off statues of Hermes, or knocked-up the King of Sparta's wife, or switched sides at least three time...'he coulda been a contenda'. There should be movie about this guy....
Great stuff. Wonderful detail. Great delivery of Thucydides' history.
Wait for a sale and a coupon...but don't wait too long.