Commentary

[in chronological order]

Commentary on Thucydides: Book 7

- Charles F. Smith, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 7
First Entry: After refitting his four ships, Gylippus leaves Tarentum, and, receiving at the Epizephyrian Locri more favourable news of the situation at Syracuse, proceeds undisturbed by Attic ships through the strait to Himera. From this point he enters into… More

Commentary on Thucydides: Book 5

- Harold North Fowler, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 5
First Entry: Chapters 1-24: The tenth year of the war The Athenians for religious reasons drive the Delians from their island. αἱ σπονδαὶ διελέλυντο: the truce was at an end, but no warlike operations are recorded until Cleon led the… More

Commentary on Thucydides: Book 3

- Charles F. Smith, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 3
First Entry: Third Peloponnesian Invasion of Attica. Πελοποννήσιοι καὶ οἱ ξύμμαχοι: designation for the whole Peloponnesian alliance, as in c. 26.1, 4; ii. 47. 4; 71. 1; iv. 2. 2. For Πελοποννήσιοι alone in… More

Commentary on Thucydides: Book 1

- Charles D. Morris, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 1
Introduction THOUGH we have several ancient biographies of Thucydides,1 our trustworthy knowledge of the circumstances of his life rests almost exclusively on a few notices casually imparted by himself. Everything else that we are told of him either by his… More

Commentary on Thucydides: Book 5

- C.E. Graves, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 5
First Entry: τοῦ δὲ θέρους—the same words with which the third and fourth books begin; see note on iv. 1, 1.αἱ μέν—answered by δέ at the beginning of chapter 2, the rest of this chapter being parenthetical. A second protasis to… More

Commentary on Thucydides: Book 4

- C.E. Graves, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 4
First Entry: τοῦ δ᾽ ἐπιγιγνομένου θέρους—the opening words introduced by δέ complete the sentence which ends the preceding… More

Commentary on Thucydides: Book 3

- E.C. Marchant, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 3
First Entry: θέρους—Thuc. divides the year into θέρος, consisting of about eight months (Elaphebohon to Pyanepsion) and χειμών, consisting of about four (Maimacterion to Anthesterion).… More

Commentary on Thucydides: Book 2

- E.C. Marchant, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 2
First Entry: ἄρχεται—not historic, but primary and connected with γέγραπται below. Thuc. means to say ‘what preceded (i.e. book I.) was an introduction: now begins (my account of) the war itself.’ Cf.ἀρξάμενος, I. 1, 1:… More

Commentary on Thucydides: Book 1

- E.C. Marchant, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 1
First Entry: 1. 1. Θουκυδίδης κτλ.—a formal method of opening, after the manner of the gnomic poets, not due, as Bloomfield imagined, to ‘the modesty of our author.’ Cf. Herod.init.; Intr. p. xv. ξυνέγραψε—a characteristic word… More

Thucydides: The Reinvention of History

- Kagan, Donald. Thucydides: The Reinvention of History, New York: Penguin Books, 2010.
From the publisher: Yale professor of classics Kagan thoroughly examines Thucydides’ life and work to successfully demonstrate that the Athenian historian was the first to utilize a truly professional (i.e., realistic and methodical) approach in recounting… More

Featured Editions

The Peloponnesian War

- Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War, trans. S. Lattimore. New York: Hackett Publishing Co., 1998.
Review: Thucydides’ The Peloponnesian War mixes tragedy and intellection, profound emotion and painstaking analysis. Steven Lattimore has met the most daunting challenge to a translator of Thucydides, which is to provide a sense of this combination.… More

The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War

- Strassler, R., ed. The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War. Translated by E. Crawley. Introduction by V. D. Hanson. New York: Free Press, 1998.
Overview: Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War is one of the great books in the Western tradition, as well as its first true historical narrative. Editor Robert Strassler has annotated this classic text to make it more accessible to modern… More

The Peloponnesian War – The Hobbes Translation

- Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War, trans. Thomas Hobbes, ed./intro., David Grene. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989.  
Review: “Thomas Hobbes’s translation of Thucydides brings together the magisterial prose of one of the greatest writers of the English language and the depth of mind and experience of one of the greatest writers of history in any language. . . .… More

Thucydide : La Guerre du Péloponnèse, 6 Vols

- De Romilly, Jacqueline, Raymond Weil, and Louis Bodin. Thucydide : La Guerre du Péloponnèse. 6 Vols.  A textual edition and a translation (the "Budé"). Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1958-1972.
Overview: En composant La Guerre du Péloponnèse, l’historien athénien Thucydide n’entendait pas seulement faire le récit du conflit qui, de 431 à 404 avant notre ère, avait opposé les deux plus puissantes cités grecques, Athènes et… More

Thucydides Historiae

- Hude, Karl, ed. Thucydides Historiae. 2 Vols. 2d ed. Leipzig: Teubner. 1913-25. Books 1-2 revised by Otto Luschnat, 1960 (2d ed.).

Multimedia

Why Teach Thucydides?

- W. Robert. Connor and Clifford Orwin, et. al. "The 9th Annual Platsis Symposium on the Greek Legacy: Why Teach Thucydides?" University of Michigan, Dec 20, 2010. Time: 2:53:04
The symposium addressed ways in which Thucydides matters in liberal arts education today. It featured two distinguished scholars of Thucydides who have also played significant public roles: W. Robert. Connor, who besides his scholarly work on Thucydides and… More

The Peloponnesian War, Part I

- Donald Kagan. Introduction to Ancient Greek History. YaleCourses. November, 2008.
In this lecture, Professor Kagan describes the events that lead up the Peloponnesian War. He argues that the rise of Athenian power and the concomitant challenge to Spartan dominance pointed to potential conflict. However, Professor Kagan also points out that… More

The Peloponnesian War, Part II

- Donald Kagan. Introduction to Ancient Greek History. YaleCourses. November, 2008
 In this lecture, Professor Kagan focuses on the causes of the Peloponnesian War and the possible motivations for Thucydides’ book, The History of the Peloponnesian War. Concerning the first point, Professor Kagan parts ways with Thucydides and argues… More