May 31

Ep. 0287: ‘The Mad Dream of Conquest,’ Pt I

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CJ decided he needed a break from modern US history as he continues to recover & reset his life, so this is the first episode of a new DHP miniseries set during the Peloponnesian War in 5th century BC Greece. The series will primarily focus on a famous Athenian military expedition to Sicily that occurred right in the middle of that conflict, an expedition that, to CJ, is eerily similar in some ways to the current war with Iran.

This first episode, though, is backstory & world-building, setting the stage for the massive, complex & costly Peloponnesian War of 431-404 BC during which the Sicilian expedition occurred.

Join CJ as he discusses:

A brief overview of ancient Greek history, from the Bronze Age through the Persian invasions of 490 & 480 BC.
The growing rivalries & tensions between the Peloponnesian League (led by Sparta) & the Delian League (led by Athens) in the aftermath of the Persian Wars, including Athens’ increasingly aggressive & destabilizing imperialism, & Sparta’s fears about it
The rise of Pericles & the construction of the Athenian Long Walls
The ‘first’ Peloponnesian War of ~460 BC-445 BC, which ended with a treaty known as “The Thirty Years’ Peace”
The rising tensions & conflicts that caused the Thirty Years’ Peace to only last about half as long as it was intended to
The ancient Greek historian Thucydides
The escalating conflicts that led, in 431 BC, to the outbreak of the Second Peloponnesian War (sometimes just referred to as “The Peloponnesian War”), a conflict that would end up dwarfing the previous war in duration, cost, death & destruction

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Posted May 31, 2026 by profcj in category "Ancient History", "Military History", "Podcasts