When the first volume of Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West" was published in 1918, it caused unprecedented attention. No German work on history has found a similarly strong and lasting echo. It received enthusiastic approval from historically interested readers, while the academic community reacted with distance, with few exceptions. From then on, skepticism towards progress optimism and the idea of a possible decline of the West remained on the agenda. The essays presented here by ancient historian Alexander Demandt engage in a substantive discussion of Spengler's understanding of history and politics, his predictions, and his impact up to the present day. According to Spengler, decline occurs twice: once as high culture - that is behind us, and another time as civilization - that lies ahead of us.