The History of the Peloponnesian War is a historical account of the
Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), which was fought between the Peloponnesian League (led by
Sparta ) and the Delian League (led by
Athens ). It was written by
Thucydides , an Athenian historian who also served as an Athenian general during the war. His account of the conflict is widely considered to be a classic and regarded as one of the earliest scholarly works of history. The History is divided into eight books.
Thucydides   (c. 460 – c. 400 BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of ‘scientific history’ by those who accept his claims to have applied strict standards of impartiality and evidence-gathering and analysis of cause and effect, without reference to intervention by the gods, as outlined in his introduction to his work.
Translated by
Richard Crawley .