Thucydides, Books VI-VIII: Reading Guide

Books VI and VII: The Sicilian Expedition

In V.25-6 Thucydides explains that the peace of Nicias was only an interval in what was really one war. Athens and Sparta drifted back into war (although it was almost seven years before Athenians and Spartans directly fought one another; V.25, VII.18).

In book VI Thucydides describes the next major Athenian action, an attack on Syracuse, a democratic city in Sicily, not allied with Sparta. Ostensibly the Athenians went there to aid certain allies, and to cut off possible help for Sparta from the cities of the western Mediterranean. Thucydides suggests that their real aim was to extend their empire (contrary to Pericles' advice not to try to add to the empire during the war, II.65).

Read VI.8-18

Compare Nicias and Alcibiades on the rationality of taking risks in extending the empire. Which is right?

Just before the departure of the Sicilian expedition Alcibiades was accused of impiety (certain statues had been desecrated), and was later recalled from Sicily to face the charge. Instead he went to Sparta and offered his services.

Read VI.89-92

Later he became an adviser to the Persians, and later tried to get recalled to Athens to lead their forces. (For more on Alcibiades, see Plato, Symposium.)

To return to the Sicilian expedition. Books VI and VII describe the politics, diplomacy and fighting (VI.32-41, 76-80 are worth reading).

Read VI.81-87

The Athenian expedition to Sicily ended in disaster (see VII.69-87). The remnants of the Athenian army were imprisoned in the quarries at Syracuse, with the corpses of those who died heaped up unburied, and then sold as slaves. 'They were utterly and entirely defeated; their sufferings were on an enormous scale; their losses were, as they say, total; army, navy, everything was destroyed, and, out of many, only few returned. So ended the events in Sicily' (VII.87).

Book VIII

This book contains no speeches. It is a complex narrative of political intrigues involving many actors, who deceive one another with practiced skill. Thucydides makes all clear, at least to the patient reader. After the disaster in Sicily, many of Athens' subjects rebelled, encouraged by the Spartans and also by two satraps of the king of Persia, Tissaphernes and Pharnabazus. Athens was now in danger of defeat, and the population could expect death or slavery. Some of the military leaders decided to end democracy and take over themselves, hoping that the Persians would support Athens against Sparta if Athens became an oligarchy (for a while some of them hoped that Alcibiades, now adviser to Tissaphernes, would bring Persian support if his exile was ended - which would require abolition of democracy). The democrats resisted, and there was fighting and murder. The oligarchs managed to set up a government allegedly of Five Thousand, but in fact of a much smaller number; since the democrats did not know who might belong to the Five Thousand, they did not know whom they could trust.

Read VIII.45-7, 56

Astyochus is the Spartan admiral.

Notice that when Tissaphernes does not feel strong enough to break with the Spartans Alcibiades has to pretend to have deceived the Athenians, to keep them believing that he can bring powerful Persian help to them when he chooses.

Read VIII.47-48, 53-4, 63

At this time the island of Samos is the base of the main Athenian forces. Some of the leaders of these forces wanted an oligarchy as the most effective way to organise for self-preservation. Later, however, others at Samos favoured democracy, and Alcibiades (!) became their general (see VIII.75-6).

Read VIII.65-6

According to Thucydides 'the five thousand' did not really exist; the conspirators invented them to intimidate the democrats. The democratic council of 500 periodically chosen from the whole population by lot was replaced by The Four Hundred (who pretended to represent the Five Thousand); see VIII.69-70. Alcibiades urged that the Five Thousand be made a reality; see VIII.86 Notice that the regime of the Five Thousand is not democracy restored, but a less narrow oligarchy 'the few' not being so few.

Thucydides did not finish his history. After their victory the Spartans were not as harsh as might have been expected. They imposed an oligarchical government on the city, The Thirty, who behaved tyrannically, and were after a while expelled. It was after democracy was restored that Socrates was tried (Plato, Apology).

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