Sparta’s Sicilian Proxy War

The Grand Strategy of Classical Sparta (418 – 413 BC)

By Paul A. Rahe

This book covers Sparta’s engagements on Sicily to stop Athens taking Syracuse, a rich and powerful Dorian city. To stop them exerting control over the island, a hub of the Mediterranean Sea, Sparta would eventually support Syracuse. Part proxy war, part engagement between the two principal city-states, part complex political and military escapade, Dr. Rahe takes us through an account of what really went on.

The Sicilian Expedition would contribute to Athens not being able to establish a power base on Sicily, but also the significant loss of life – probably in the thousands – and ships. Ten

years later they would lose the Peloponnesian War, and although it is perhaps surprising that they lasted that long after this expedition, it likely contributed to their eventual loss.

Grand Strategy

Rahe recounts events in exacting detail. As an expert on Sparta and what he terms their Grand Strategy, he is well versed in the subject and it shows. In fact I found it a little too heavy on the detail, but I suspect this book is aimed at those with a heavy interest in the subject matter. Nonetheless, given I’ve read several of his other works and that the Sicilian Expedition can be quite convoluted with different factions, places and events even in Thucydides’ account, it’s worth noting that this is more of an academic work than an easy, casual read.

As Rahe notes himself, we are fortunate that Thucydides account is exemplary. It means that although we shouldn’t necessarily always take him at face value, he does a much better job than many of staying objective (especially true seeing as he was an involved Athenian general himself!) and relaying evidence. According to his own testimony, he spent a lot of time going and speaking with people across various city-states for his History of the Peloponnesian War.

Similarly, Rahe is careful to assess missing pieces, motivations or competing factions within city-states. Alcibiades provoking war or the violent man of the people Cleon contrasted with Nicias who negotiated peace, but he also treads carefully or highlights Thucydides’s portrayal of these figures.

Kathe-can't

I sometimes found the Greek terminology sometimes obstructed the flow, as did the usage of ‘son of’ rather than using patronymics, which I think was to provide flavour but sometimes became muddy in the midst of so may events, people and places -  even for someone accustomed with the subject and many of the figures.

Rahe lays out the key figures, the philosophy, and aims before getting into the recounting of events, which I won’t cover here for brevity. His analysis is careful but heavy, also considering options and eventualities Thucydides may not deign to mention. It comes to its apogee when Sparta gets directly involved, and in a chaotic fight in the dark, the Athenians lose to the Syracusans and Spartans. Rahe does not neglect to consider the wider repercussions on the second Attic war and the Athenian losses, and it’s worth noting he has several books devoted to sparta and the Peloponnesian War.

Later in his history, Thucydides returns to this theme, forcefully reminding his readers of the unreasoning, immoderate, and unrestrained character  of eros when he digresses from his narrative to debunk the foundation myth of the Athenian democracy. Where his contemporaries were inclined to trace the origins of the democracy  to the conspiracy mounted at Athens against the tyranny of Peisistratus’ sons by  Harmodius and Aristogeiton a century before, the son of Olorus demonstrates that their conspiracy had little, if anything, to do with a free-spirited love of freedom and much to do with the sexual predilections of the Peisistratid Hipparchus and with the private, erotic relationship uniting the two chief conspirators. (pp.92)

The appendix contains a discussion on Grand Strategy based on Morgenthau’s Politics Among Nations that is well worth reading, considering the politics and pointing to the repercussions of proxy wars ever since.

Final score

If you are looking for a detailed account of the Sicilian Expedition this is a worthy one. With Thucydides as its robust basis, Rahe considers how these events fit into Sparta’s Grand Strategy and wider events. Just beware it is heavy going and more on the academic side, as if this is or is not what you are looking for it would raise or lower the score accordingly.

7/10