History of the Peloponnesian War

E76030

ancient Greek literature historical work historiography

History of the Peloponnesian War is an ancient Greek historical work by Thucydides that offers a detailed, critical account of the conflict between Athens and Sparta in the 5th century BCE.

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All labels observed (12)

Label	Occurrences
History of the Peloponnesian War canonical	24
Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War	14
Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War	4
History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides	2
Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War	2
Book 3 of Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War	1
Histories by Thucydides	1
History of the Peloponnesian War, Book 2	1
The Landmark Thucydides	1
Thucydides' "History of the Peloponnesian War"	1
Thucydides' History	1
Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T607008 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: History of the Peloponnesian War
Context triple: [Peloponnesian War, primarySource, History of the Peloponnesian War]

A. Age of Pericles
The Age of Pericles was the height of Athenian power and cultural flourishing in the 5th century BCE, marked by democratic reforms, imperial expansion, and major artistic and architectural achievements such as the Parthenon.
B. Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War was a protracted 5th-century BCE conflict between Athens and Sparta (and their respective allies) that reshaped the balance of power in ancient Greece and ultimately led to the downfall of Athenian dominance.
C. Polybius’ Histories
Polybius’ *Histories* is a multi-volume work of ancient Greek historiography that analyzes how Rome rose to Mediterranean dominance in the Hellenistic period through a critical, eyewitness-based narrative.
D. Book III: Polybius
Book III: Polybius is a section of Cotton Mather’s historical work *Magnalia Christi Americana* that emulates the style of the ancient historian Polybius to interpret and narrate New England’s colonial history.
E. Greco-Persian Wars
The Greco-Persian Wars were a series of early 5th-century BCE conflicts in which a coalition of Greek city-states, including Athens and Sparta, repelled invasions by the vast Achaemenid Persian Empire, shaping the course of classical Greek civilization.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: History of the Peloponnesian War
Target entity description: History of the Peloponnesian War is an ancient Greek historical work by Thucydides that offers a detailed, critical account of the conflict between Athens and Sparta in the 5th century BCE.

A. Age of Pericles
The Age of Pericles was the height of Athenian power and cultural flourishing in the 5th century BCE, marked by democratic reforms, imperial expansion, and major artistic and architectural achievements such as the Parthenon.
B. Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War was a protracted 5th-century BCE conflict between Athens and Sparta (and their respective allies) that reshaped the balance of power in ancient Greece and ultimately led to the downfall of Athenian dominance.
C. Polybius’ Histories
Polybius’ *Histories* is a multi-volume work of ancient Greek historiography that analyzes how Rome rose to Mediterranean dominance in the Hellenistic period through a critical, eyewitness-based narrative.
D. Book III: Polybius
Book III: Polybius is a section of Cotton Mather’s historical work *Magnalia Christi Americana* that emulates the style of the ancient historian Polybius to interpret and narrate New England’s colonial history.
E. Greco-Persian Wars
The Greco-Persian Wars were a series of early 5th-century BCE conflicts in which a coalition of Greek city-states, including Athens and Sparta, repelled invasions by the vast Achaemenid Persian Empire, shaping the course of classical Greek civilization.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (50)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	ancient Greek literature ⓘ historical work ⓘ historiography ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	Peloponnesian War ⓘ surface form: The Peloponnesian War History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ surface form: Thucydides' History
approximateDateWritten	late 5th century BCE ⓘ
author	Thucydides ⓘ
canonicalStatus	classic of Western literature ⓘ foundational text of political realism ⓘ
completionStatus	unfinished ⓘ
contains	Melian Dialogue ⓘ Mytilenean Debate ⓘ Funeral Oration of Pericles ⓘ surface form: Pericles' Funeral Oration
countryOfOrigin	Classical Greece ⓘ
coversEvent	Archidamian War ⓘ Athenian plague ⓘ Ionian War ⓘ Peace of Nicias ⓘ Sicilian Expedition ⓘ
distinguishingFeature	focus on human causes of events ⓘ rejection of mythological explanations ⓘ use of eyewitness testimony ⓘ
focusesOn	conflict between Athenian Empire and Peloponnesian League ⓘ
genre	history ⓘ military history ⓘ political history ⓘ
historicalMethod	critical evaluation of sources ⓘ direct observation ⓘ speeches composed to reflect essence of arguments ⓘ
influenced	international relations theory ⓘ modern historiography ⓘ political theory ⓘ
influencedBy	Herodotus ⓘ
literaryPeriod	Classical period ⓘ
mainSubject	Athens ⓘ Peloponnesian War ⓘ Sparta ⓘ
narrativePerspective	first-person ⓘ
originalLanguage	Ancient Greek ⓘ
philosophicalTheme	effects of war on society ⓘ nature of power ⓘ realism in international relations ⓘ relationship between justice and power ⓘ
setting	ancient Greece ⓘ
structure	eight books ⓘ
timePeriodCovered	431 BCE–404 BCE ⓘ 5th century BCE ⓘ
writingStyle	analytical ⓘ critical ⓘ empirical ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (53)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Peloponnesian War → primarySource → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

Yale University Press → notablePublications → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

this entity surface form: The Landmark Thucydides

Thucydides → notableWork → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

Thucydides → knownFor → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

Alcibiades → portrayedIn → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

this entity surface form: Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War

Battle of Delium → describedIn → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

Battle of Pylos → source → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

this entity surface form: Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War

Alcmaeonid family → subjectOf → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

this entity surface form: Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War

Hellenica → follows → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

History of the Peloponnesian War → alsoKnownAs → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

this entity surface form: Thucydides' History

Peace of Nicias → recordedInWork → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

Thirty Years' Peace → describedBySource → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

this entity surface form: Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War

Sicilian Expedition → describedIn → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

Demosthenes (general) → source → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

this entity surface form: Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War

Battle of Potidaea → describedIn → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

Nicias → mentionedIn → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

this entity surface form: Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War

Battle of Amphipolis → relatedWork → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

Battle of Sybota → source → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

Hellen → mentionedIn → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

this entity surface form: Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War

Amphipolis → mentionedInWork → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

Hippias of Athens → mentionedIn → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

this entity surface form: Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War

Harmodius → mentionedIn → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

this entity surface form: Thucydides' "History of the Peloponnesian War"

Hermocrates → mentionedIn → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

this entity surface form: Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War

Melian Dialogue → partOf → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

Funeral Oration of Pericles → partOf → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

Funeral Oration of Pericles → preservedIn → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

this entity surface form: History of the Peloponnesian War, Book 2

Xenophon's Hellenica → follows → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

this entity surface form: Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War

First Peloponnesian War → describedIn → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

this entity surface form: Histories by Thucydides

Mytilenean revolt → describedIn → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

Corcyra → mentionedInWork → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

this entity surface form: Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War

sanctuary of Apollo at Delium → mentionedIn → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

Megarian Decree imposed by Athens → mentionedInSource → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

this entity surface form: Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War

island of Sphacteria → mentionedInWork → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

subject surface form: Sphacteria

Potidaea → mentionedIn → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

Amyclae → appearsInWork → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

this entity surface form: Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War

Τροιζήν → mentionedIn → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

this entity surface form: Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War

Tissaphernes → describedIn → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

this entity surface form: Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War

Classical Greek literature → majorWork → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

Phormio → sourceMention → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

this entity surface form: Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War

Long Walls of Athens → referencedIn → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

this entity surface form: Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War

Athenian plague → primaryAccountIn → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

Mytilenean Debate → describedIn → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

Mytilenean Debate → textualLocation → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

this entity surface form: Book 3 of Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War

Nician Peace → primarySource → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

this entity surface form: Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War

Battle of Naupactus → primarySource → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

Sphacteria campaign → primarySource → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

Sphacteria → mentionedIn → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

this entity surface form: Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War

Eurytanians → mentionedIn → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

Νικίας → describedIn → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

this entity surface form: Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War

Dorian → mentionedIn → History of the Peloponnesian War ⓘ

this entity surface form: Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War

All labels observed (12)

How this entity was disambiguated Show

Statements (50)

How these facts were elicited Show

Referenced by (53)

How this entity was disambiguated

How these facts were elicited