Library

This book is based on summarizing relevant domestic research and discusses the hidden political conflicts in the Athenian Empire. The Peloponnesian War was Athens' direct path to the empire, and it was also the last resort for other Greek city-states to defend their independence. The war exposed the shortcomings of democracy: it is not conducive to making war decisions. Athens faced a dilemma: Either shake the foundation of the city-state, sacrifice democracy and even the individuality it caused, and build a formal Greek empire; or maintain democracy, hinder the victory of the war, and the empire would die.