In this lecture, Professor Kagan examines Pericles as a general. First, he describes Pericles' strategy of war and then he evaluates this strategy. According to Professor Kagan, Pericles' strategy was characterized by being both defensive and rational. It was defensive, because the Athenians did not engage the Spartans in a traditional hoplite battle, and it was rational, because Pericles assumed that the Spartans would cease fighting when they realized that the Athenians did not have to fight a land battle, since they had a walled city and a navy. On its surface, this strategy seems reasonable, but Professor Kagan points out that there were two flaws. First, the Athenians did not have an offensive plan: that is, a plan to deter the Spartans from quitting the war. Second, Pericles failed to realize that war is not always rational.

1. Introduction
2. The Dark Ages
3. The Dark Ages (cont.)
4. The Rise of the Polis
5. The Rise of the Polis (cont.)
6. The Greek "Renaissance" - Colonization and Tyranny
7. The Greek "Renaissance" - Colonization and Tyranny (cont.)
8. Sparta
9. Sparta (cont.)
10. The Rise of Athens
11. The Rise of Athens (cont.)
12. The Persian Wars
13. The Athenian Empire
14. The Athenian Empire (cont.)
15. Athenian Democracy
16. Athenian Democracy (cont.)
17. The Peloponnesian War, Part I
18. The Peloponnesian War, Part I (cont.)
19. The Peloponnesian War, Part II
20. The Peloponnesian War, Part II (cont.)
21. The Struggle for Hegemony in Fourth-Century Greece
22. The Struggle for Hegemony in Fourth-Century Greece (cont.)
23. Twilight of the Polis
24. Twilight of the Polis (cont.) and Conclusion

This is an introductory course in Greek history tracing the development of Greek civilization as manifested in political, intellectual, and creative achievements from the Bronze Age to the end of the classical period. Students read original sources in translation as well as the works of modern scholars.