June, 2026 | The Dangerous History Podcast

Ep. 0288: ‘The Mad Dream of Conquest,’ Pt. II

Subscribe: RSS | More

Here it is — the 2nd installment of CJ’s already-epic mini-series, ‘The Mad Dream of Conquest,’ set in the Peloponnesian War in 5th-century BC Greece.

Join CJ as he shares an overview of some of the events of the first half of the Peloponnesian War, including:

Spartan-led Peloponnesian invasions of Attica (the countryside around Athens), which used the traditional Greek tactic of ‘ravaging’ farms in order to try to provoke the Athenians to confront them in a decisive hoplite battle
Athens’ refusal to do so, as they followed Pericles’ strategy of being purely defensive on land while waging naval & amphibious warfare against the coastal strongholds of the Peloponnesian League
The horrific plague that afflicted Athens for the first few years of the war, which likely killed 20-30% of Athens, including, eventually, Pericles himself
The leadership void left by Pericles, which was filled by men of much less competence, none of whom ever enjoyed the supermajority support that Pericles had
The ‘Peace of Nicias,’ concluded in 421 BC, which was never fully adhered to & wouldn’t last long
The growing political feud between Nicias & the Athenian doves vs. Alcibiades & the Athenian hawks
The appeal for Athenian assistance from a few Sicilian poleis against Syracuse, the most powerful polis on that island, & the Athenian debates over the wisdom of intervening there, dominated by debates between Nicias & Alcibiades
The decision of a majority of the Athenian Assembly to intervene on a massive scale
Religious/political scandals that created serious potential problems for the Athenian expedition to Sicily on the eve of its departure
The departure, to great fanfare, of a massive Athenian & allied force to Sicily

Like this episode?