Originally published on July 24, 2019 (Episode 121)
Introduction
The Peloponnesian War began in 431 BC and, according to Thucydides, was “more worthy of relation than any that had preceded it.” Athens and Sparta locked the entire Greek world into nearly three decades of slaughter, devastation, and shifting alliances.
Jennifer T. Roberts argues that the conflict went on much longer than the conventional dates suggest, shaping art, architecture, politics, and philosophy across centuries. Her book The Plague of War invites us to see it not as a single war, but as a transformative age of conflict whose legacy endures.
About the Guest
Jennifer T. Roberts is Professor of Classics and History at the City University of New York. She is co-editor of a translation of Herodotus’s Histories,and author of The Plague of War: Athens, Sparta, and the Struggle for Ancient Greece (OUP, 2019).
For Further Investigation
Jennifer T. Roberts, The Plague of War: Athens, Sparta, and the Struggle for Ancient Greece (OUP, 2019)
—, Herodotus: A Very Short Introduction (OUP, 2011)
Herodotus, Histories, translated by Walter Blanco, edited by Walter Blanco and Jennifer T. Roberts (W.W. Norton, 2013)
The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War, translated by Robert Crawley, edited by Robert B. Strassler (Simon and Schuster, 1998)
Donald Kagan, The Peloponnesian War (Penguin, 2004)
Related Episodes
“The View from Thucydides’ Tower”—Barry Strauss on Herodotus’ successor…and intellectual opposition???
Listen & Discuss
How did the Peloponnesian War reshape the Greek world?
Should we think of it as one war—or several overlapping conflicts?
What makes this “forever war” echo into modern debates?
Pass this along to anyone who insists history always has a neat beginning and end.
