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Paul Anthony Rahe

A “provocative, intriguing and cogently argued” exploration of the collapse of the Spartan-Athenian alliance (David Stuttard, Classics for All).
 
 During the Persian Wars, Sparta and Athens worked in tandem to defeat what was, in terms of relative resources and power, the greatest empire in human history. For the decade and a half that followed, they continued their collaboration until a rift opened and an intense, strategic rivalry began.
 
 In a continuation of his series on ancient Sparta, noted historian Paul Rahe examines the grounds for their alliance, the reasons for its eventual collapse, and the first stage in an enduring conflict that would wreak havoc on Greece for six decades. Throughout, Rahe argues that the alliance between Sparta and Athens and their eventual rivalry were extensions of their domestic policy, and that the grand strategy each articulated in the wake of the Persian Wars and the conflict that arose in due course grew out of the opposed material interests and moral imperatives inherent in their different regimes.
 
Praise for the series
 
 “Persuasive.” —New York Times Book Review
 “[Rahe] has an excellent eye for military logistics.” —Wall Street Journal

Yale University Press

Yale Library of Military History

Sparta's First Attic War: The Grand Strategy of Classical Sparta, 478–446 B.C.

“[A] monumental history . . . explaining . . . how Sparta’s early strategic role in the Greek world was inseparable from the uniqueness of its origins and values.” (David Hanson, The Hoover Institution, author of The Other Greeks)

For centuries, ancient Sparta has been glorified in song, fiction, and popular art. Yet the true nature of a civilization described as a combination of democracy and oligarchy by Aristotle, considered an ideal of liberty in the ages of Machiavelli and Rousseau, and viewed as a forerunner of the modern totalitarian state by many twentieth-century scholars has long remained a mystery. In a bold new approach to historical study, noted historian Paul Rahe attempts to unravel the Spartan riddle by deploying the regime-oriented political science of the ancient Greeks, pioneered by Herodotus, Thucydides, Plato, Xenophon, and Polybius, in order to provide a more coherent picture of government, art, culture, and daily life in Lacedaemon than has previously appeared in print, and to explore the grand strategy the Spartans devised before the arrival of the Persians in the Aegean.

“Persuasive.” —Thomas E. Ricks, New York Times Book Review

“Rahe thinks and writes big. . . . The Spartan Regime breaks important new ground.” —Jacob Howland, Commentary

“An important new history. . . . The story of this ancient clash of civilizations, masterfully told by Paul Rahe . . . provides a timely reminder about strategic challenges and choices confronting the United States.” —John Maurer, Claremont Review of Books

“Rahe’s ability to reveal the human side beneath [an] austere exterior is one of many reasons to read this beautifully written, meticulously researched, and deeply engaging book.” —Waller R. Newell, Washington Free Beacon

“A serious scholarly endeavor.” —Eric W. Robinson, American Historical Review

The Spartan Regime: Its Character, Origins and Grand Strategy

> “Powerfully illustrates . . . that this regime determined the character and limits of Sparta’s domestic and foreign policy.” (Susan D. Collins, The Review of Politics)

More than 2500 years ago a confederation of small Greek city-states defeated the invading armies of Persia, the most powerful empire in the world. In this meticulously researched study, historian Paul Rahe argues that Sparta was responsible for the initial establishment of the Hellenic defensive coalition and was the most essential player in its ultimate victory.

Drawing from an impressive range of ancient sources, including Herodotus and Plutarch, the author veers from the traditional Atheno-centric view of the Greco-Persian Wars to examine from a Spartan perspective the strategy that halted the Persian juggernaut. Rahe provides a fascinating, detailed picture of life in Sparta circa 480 B.C., revealing how the Spartans’ form of government and the regimen to which they subjected themselves instilled within them the pride, confidence, discipline, and discernment necessary to forge an alliance that would stand firm against a great empire, driven by religious fervor, that held sway over two-fifths of the human race. 

“[Rahe] has an excellent eye for military logistics . . . crisp and persuasive.” —The Wall Street Journal

“Intensely well-researched and well-balanced.” —Steve Donoghue, The National

“Masterful.” —Joseph Bottum, Books and Culture

“A serious scholarly endeavor.” —Eric W. Robinson, American Historical Review

“This brilliant revisionist study . . . reminds us how Sparta . . . saved Western freedom from the Persian aggression—and did so because of its innate courage, political stability, and underappreciated genius.” —Victor Davis Hanson, author of The Other Greeks 

“Full of keen understandings that help explain Spartan policy, diplomacy, and strategy.” —Donald Kagan, author of The Peloponnesian War