Featuring full-color artwork and drawing upon an array of sources,
this is the story of the clash between Athenian and Spartan hoplites
during the Peloponnesian War.
The Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC), waged between Athens and Sparta and
their respective allies, involved some of the most important
developments in ancient warfare. A life-and-death struggle between the
two most powerful Greek city-states in the wake of their combined
successes against the Persian invasion of Xerxes in 480-479 BC, the
conflict dragged in communities from all over the Greek world on one
side or the other. Ranging from the Black Sea to Sicily, the war saw the
first recorded widespread use of light-armed troops, reserves, the deep
phalanx, and other ideas important for the development of Western
warfare into the 4th century BC, such as strategic thinking. It also
revealed lessons (some learned and some not) with respect to the
strengths and weaknesses of hoplite warfare and the various states in
Greece. Featuring full-color artwork and drawing upon an array of
sources, this study of three pivotal clashes between Spartan and
Athenian hoplite forces during the Peloponnesian War highlights all of
these developments and lessons.