In 406 B.C., eight Athenian generals who had achieved a glorious victory against the Spartans during the Peloponnesian War were put on trial because, after the Battle of Arginusae, they failed to rescue the shipwrecked sailors and left unburied those who had fallen heroically for the city.

The death sentence of the victorious Athenian generals was considered an eternal stain on the Athenian Democracy, which reached its peak during the time of Pericles.

[Excerpt from the text on the back cover of the edition]