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-Neurotica- t1_jay01we wrote

Hello everyone!

I'm currently looking for some book suggestions regarding the Peloponnesian War and Greeco-Persian Wars.

Apart from covering the main events and general history of these conflicts, I would really like to read about the battles that took place, maybe with some imagery regarding the battelfieds and the different tactics that were used, as well as an overview of the military structure and culture of each of the involved parties.

If you have any recommendation for books (or even documentaries!) that would cover these topics please let me know.

Thank you!

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MeatballDom t1_jayd2sf wrote

For starters, you need to read Thucydides and Herodotus, definitely all of Thucydides (followed by the start of Xenophon's Hellenica which picks up literally continuing where Thucydides stopped). Herodotus is worth reading the whole thing, but at minimum 1.70 onward from book 1, skip book 2, read book 3, and read Book 5 onward. Any good source is going to discuss these events with the assumption that you've already read Thucydides and Herodotus.

On the Peloponnesian War, Donald Kagan's works are a bit dated, but will be easy enough to get through. For the Persian Wars, give Philip Souza's work a try, The Greek and Persian Wars, 499-386 B.C

For an overview, Hans van Wees' Greek Warfare is a book I will forever recommend. It's something I still will thumb through when working on my own stuff, but will also have students read it because it's written in a style that's really easy to follow even if you don't have a lot of experience or knowledge on the topic.

That will hold you over for awhile, after that try and figure out which bits you want to focus in on and we can recommend some more specific things.

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-Neurotica- t1_jb1cqs5 wrote

Thank you for such a thoughtful reply, I will defintely be taking note of your suggestions!

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