The 6th and 7th books of Thucydides are known as the "Sicilian" and refer to the Athenian expedition to Sicily (415-413 BC). They are the most elaborately crafted sections of Thucydides' Histories. Key points include:

• The description of the fleet's departure from Piraeus (VI. 30-32).
• The naval battle in the great harbor of Syracuse (VII. 70-72).
• The slaughter of the Athenians at the Assinarus River (VII. 84).

These sections are considered some of the finest in world literature, demonstrating that the historian is a master of rhetoric.