What is the best translation of the peloponnesian war by. Its an amazing work, a literary work every bit as much as a history. Thucydides has 383 books on goodreads with 72901 ratings. I think it is best to start with your book, in which you introduce the work and translate the important speechesrather than immediately committing to a long book. Thucydides, the peloponnesian war, book 5, chapter 84. The first book 245k the second book 190k the third book 187k the fourth book 220k the fifth book 169k the sixth book 187k the seventh book 164k. Thucydides, the peloponnesian war, the melian dialogue book. History of the peloponnesian warbook 4 wikisource, the. Thucydides classic work, history of the peloponnesian war, provides us with the historical framework for 5th century greece, a golden age of intellectual achievement and. The electronic text version of this translation comes from the eris project at.
Thucydides, history of the peloponnesian war, book iv. History of the peloponnesian war by thucydides, translated by richard. Accordingly, professors of antiquity, international relations, military history. The history of the peloponnesian war, revised edition. History of the peloponnesian warbook 5 wikisource, the. Thucydides, the peloponnesian war, book 1, chapter 1. Thucydides books list of books by author thucydides. Thucydides did not witness the negotiations and in fact had been in exile at the time, so this dialogue. The new translation is particularly sensitive to the risks of anachronism, and the. See all books authored by thucydides, including history of the peloponnesian war, and on justice, power and human nature. Since thomas hobbess exquisite 1629 translation, there have been 11 translations published of the entirety of thucydidess history, not counting numerous revisions of translations and innumerable translations of such sections as the funeral oration or the melian dialogue. The lacedaemonians and their allies shall give back amphipolis to the athenians.
Thus the winter ended, and with it ended the seventh year of this war of which thucydides is the historian. The history of the peloponnesian war, by thucydides, tells the story of the war of that name that took place in ancient greece. I didnt find out about the landmark thucydides until after i read lateimere. Moving beyond other studies by its focus on the readers role in giving meaning to the text, it reveals thucydides use of objectivity not so much as a standard for the proper presentation of his. The history of the peloponnesian war translated by richard crawley. History of the peloponnesian war, volume iii thucydides.
Apr 16, 2012 history of the peloponnesian warbook 4. Hey policy wonks, this is how you should read thucydides the diplomat all sections search. Thucydides, history of the peloponnesian war, book iv, chapter 40. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of scientific history by those who accept his claims to. Ernst badian, for example has argued that thucydides has a strong proathenian bias. The merit of hobbes translation of thucydides lies principally in the simplicity and force of the language. The war was really three conflicts with one uncertain peace after the first. History of the peloponnesian warbook 5 wikisource, the free. The peloponnesian war pitted athens and its allies against a league of citystates headed by sparta. Which is the better translation of thucydides history of the peloponnesian war. The first unabridged translation into american english, and the first to take into account the wealth of thucydidean scholarship of the last half of the twentieth century, steven lattimores translation sets a new standard for accuracy and reliability.
Book vi greek texts greek and english edition 9781853995873. The history of the peloponnesian war the internet classics. It is heavily based on crawleys which is somewhat ponderously written and it doesnt do a great job of getting at the nuances which is impossible, i know. Chapter i the state of greece from the earliest times to the commencement of the peloponnesian war. Id read so many pages in one translation and switch to another. He presents a useful text for students of attic greek and to instructors of thucydides. In keeping with this sort of doubt, other scholars claim that thucydides had.
The peloponnesian war thucydides, steven lattimore. Thucydidess most popular book is history of the peloponnesian war. The history of the peloponnesian war, by thucydides 431 bc. Blancos translation or the landmark thucydides by strassler and crowley. The history of the peloponnesian war by thucydides, part of the internet classics archive. Thucydides history of the peloponnesian war book 5. The state of greece from the earliest times to the commencement of the peloponnesian war thucydides, an athenian, wrote the history of the war between the peloponnesians and the athenians, beginning at the moment that it. Best translation of the history of the peloponnesian war. Which is the better translation of thucydides history of. History of the peloponnesian war, by thucydides book vi during the same winter the athenians conceived a desire of sending another expedition to sicily, larger than those commanded by laches and eurymedon. The peloponnesian war was really three conflicts 431421, 4154, and 4404 bce that thucydides was still unifying into one account when he died some time before 396 bce. Fortunately ive already posted a little bit on some of the reasons i think are important to read thucydides. The greatest of all greek historians was the athenian general thucydides 455400 b. Viewed merely as a translation, it will be found to contain, owing partly to the corrupt state of the greek text of his day, partly to his habitual disregard of minute details so.
The history of the peloponnesian war by thucydides the internet. The history of the peloponnesian war by thucydides written 431 b. Chapter xviii seventeenth year of the war the sicilian campaign affair of the hermae departure of the expedition the same winter the athenians resolved to sail again to sicily, with a greater armament than that under laches and eurymedon, and, if possible, to conquer the island. Thucydides, the peloponnesian war, the melian dialogue. Although unfinished and as a whole unrevised, in brilliance of description and depth of insight this history has no superior. The history of the peloponnesian war, revised edition 9780140440393 by thucydides. I read ther lateimere translation of thucydides and liked it. The ancient greek historian thucydides captured this drama with matchless insight in his classic eyewitness account of what was arguably the greatest war in the history of the world up to that time. The history of the peloponnesian war by thucydides. Commonly acknowledged as one of the earliest firsthand written accounts of history, this classic work chronicles the war between athens and sparta during the fifth century b. With diligence and reflection, readers can discern relevant lessons and wisdom from thucydidess the history of the peloponnesian war. The reinvention of history, donald kagan is kinder, but even he concedes that his style is often very compressed and difficult to understand, so that any translation is necessarily an interpretation.
I did a interesting experiment by reading several translations of thucydides at the same time i have a history degree so theres that. Im approaching book 5, its overdue at my library, i cant renew it, and im just gonna take the overdue fines. Hobbes wording gave me trouble in a few places and it was nice to have the richard crawley translation in the landmark edition handy. There are big implications here for our modern admiration of thucydides as a historian. The state of greece from the earliest times to the commencement of the peloponnesian war. History of the peloponnesian war book by thucydides. A quick word on my experiment with reading the thomas hobbes translation while also looking at the landmark thucydidesit went smoother than i thought it would. Inferences about thucydides character can only be drawn with due caution from his book. In the list of books youve recommended, you havent included a full translation of thucydides history of the peloponnesian war. Authors like thucydides require careful reading and musing to get to the core of their arguments. My book club decided to read the peloponnesian war for its january 2016. English translation of thucydides history of the peloponnesian war book 5, by r. Professor rusten nearly equals clyde pharr in his presentation of book ii. With an english translation by charles forster smith.
Better in terms of 1 ease of reading and 2 accuracy to original texts ideas. Thucydides, the peloponnesian war, the melian dialogue book 5, chapter 17 translated by richard crawley. Commentary is helpful, if in the form of end notes, and fairly thorough. Accordingly, professors of antiquity, international relations, military history, and political philosophy continue to list it on their syllabi.
The best books on thucydides five books expert recommendations. Selections from the history of the peloponnesian war, and more on. Jun 10, 2019 history of the peloponnesian warbook 5. Extract of sample thucydides, the peloponnesian war, the melian dialogue book 5, chapter 17 essay, political science 8 october thucydides, the peloponnesian war, the melian dialogue this paper discusses a dialoguethat happened between two parties, the athenians and melians. Thucydides peloponnesian war, steven lattimore translation. His history of the first conflict, 431421, was nearly complete. The next summer alcibiades sailed with twenty ships to argos and seized the suspected persons still left of the lacedaemonian faction to the number of three hundred, whom the athenians forthwith lodged in the neighbouring islands of their empire. His sardonic sense of humor is evident throughout, as when, during his description of the athenian plague, he remarks that old athenians seemed to remember a rhyme which said that with the dorian war would come a great death.
Hey policy wonks, this is how you should read thucydides. Better in terms of 1 ease of reading and 2 accuracy to original. The reader is aided by frequent crossreferences and succinct comments on thucydides choices regarding selection and placement of material. Thucydides, an athenian, wrote the history of the war between the peloponnesians and the athenians, beginning at the moment that it broke out, and believing that it would be a great war and more worthy of relation than any that had preceded it. The first book 245k the second book 190k the third book 187k. Tenth year of the war death of cleon and brasidas peace of nicias. His history of the peloponnesian war recounts the fifthcentury bc war between sparta and athens until the year 411 bc. Thucydides was still at work on this when the war spread to sicily and into a conflict 4154 likewise.
Thucydides, history of the peloponnesian war, book v. Thucydides recounts his history of the war in eight books the book begins with sparta deciding that peace has been broken and that they need to go to war. Moving beyond other studies by its focus on the readers role in giving meaning to the text, it reveals thucydides use of objectivity not so much as a standard for the proper presentation of his subject matter as a method for communicating with his readers and involving them in the complexity and suffering of the peloponnesian war. The rise of the athenian empire from thucydides book i. In history of the peloponnesian war book 5, chapters 84116, the contemporary athenian historian thucydides included a dramatization of the negotiations between the athenian emissaries and the rulers of melos. This fullscale sequential reading of thucydides history of the peloponnesian war will be invaluable to the specialist and also to those in search of an introduction and companion to the histories. Thucydides history of the peloponnesian war translated by richard crawley the first book chapter i. This useful companion, keyed by bold lemmata to the penguin translation, identifies the basic issues and raises key questions. The history of the peloponnesian war is an account of the peloponnesian war in ancient greece, fought between the peloponnesian league led by sparta and the delian league led by athens in.
Electronic text from the internet classics archive at mit. The rise of the athenian empire, from thucydides, book i. With an english translation by charles forster smith see other formats. Thucydides, history of the peloponnesian war, volume i. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of scientific history due to his strict standards of evidence. The eight books of thucydidess account of the clash between great powers, athens and sparta, are contained in rex warners acclaimed modern translation. The history of the peloponnesian war is an account of the peloponnesian war in ancient greece, fought between the peloponnesian league led by sparta and the delian league led by athens in the 5th century bc. The war of the peloponnesians and the athenians cambridge texts in the. The peloponnesian war was something i have wanted to read for a long time and i am extremely glad i finally did. The history of the peloponnesian war translated by. The only advantage which rusten does not provide is a vocabulary list.
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