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

Thucydides and the Philosophical Origins of History

- Shanske, Darien.  Thucydides and the Philosophical Origins of History.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,  2007.
Overview: This book addresses the question of how and why history begins with the work of Thucydides. The History of the Peloponnesian War is distinctive in that it is a prose narrative, meant to be read rather than performed. It focuses on the unfolding of… More

Thucydides: An Introduction for the Common Reader

- Zagorin, Perez.  Thucydides: An Introduction for the  Common Reader.  Princeton: Princeton University Press,  2005.
Overview: This book is a concise, readable introduction to the Greek author Thucydides, who is widely regarded as one of the foremost historians of all time. Why does Thucydides continue to matter today? Perez Zagorin answers this question by examining… More

Thucydides and the Shaping of History

- Greenwodd, Emily.  Thucydides and the Shaping of History.  London: Duckworth, 2005.
From the publisher: Thucydides’ work was one of the most exciting creations in the cultural history of Greece in the fifth century BC and it still poses fresh and challenging questions about the writing of history. There is a marked tension in… More

Thucydides’ War Narrative: A Structural Study

- Dewald, Carolyn.  Thucydides’ War Narrative: A Structural Study.  Berkeley CA: University of California Press, 2005.
Overview: As a sustained analysis of the connections between narrative structure and meaning in the “History of the Peloponnesian War, “Carolyn Dewald’s study revolves around a curious aspect of Thucydides’ work: the first ten years of… More

Apologies to Thucydides: Understanding History as Culture and Vice Versa

- Sahlins, Marshall.  Apologies to Thucydides: Understanding History as Culture and Vice Versa.  Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004.
From the publisher: Thucydides’ classic work on the history of the Peloponnesian War is the root of Western conceptions of history—including the idea that Western history is the foundation of everyone else’s. Here, Marshall Sahlins takes on… More

The Peloponnesian War by Donald Kagan

- Kagan, Donald, The Peloponnesian War, New York: Penguin Books, 2004.
From the Publisher: For three decades in the fifth century B.C. the ancient world was torn apart by a conflict that was as dramatic, divisive, and destructive as the world wars of the twentieth century: the Peloponnesian War. Donald Kagan, one of the… More

Thucydides and Internal War

- Price, Jonathan J.  Thucydides and Internal War. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
From the Publisher: This book explains in detail Thucydides’ abstract model of internal war, and then shows how, by the terms of the model itself, Thucydides perceived and narrated the Peloponnesian War not as a conventional war but as an internal… More

Money and the Corrosion of Power in Thucydides: The Sicilian Expedition and its Aftermath

- Kallet, Lisa.  Money and the Corrosion of Power in Thucydides: The Sicilian Expedition and its Aftermath.  Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001.
From the publisher: Wealth and power are themes that preoccupy much of Greek literature from Homer on, and this book unravels the significance of these subjects in one of the most famous pieces of narrative writing from classical antiquity. Lisa Kallet… More

Speaking the Same Language: Speech and Audience in Thucydides’ Spartan Debates

- Debnar, Paula.  Speaking the Same Language: Speech and Audience inThucydides' Spartan Debates.  Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2001.
Overview: The Peloponnesian War, which destroyed imperial Athens and ultimately Sparta as well, continues to fascinate students of history, politics, and human nature. Thucydides’ account of the twenty-seven-year conflict charts the opposition between… More

“The fear of death and the longing for immortality: Hobbes and Thucydides on Human Nature and the Problem of Anarchy”

- Ahrensdorf, Peter, “The fear of death and the longing for immortality: Hobbes and Thucydides on Human Nature and the Problem of Anarchy,” The American Political Science Review, vol. 94, no. 3,  579-593, 2000.
Overview: Recent challenges to the modern secular state invite us to reexamine the arguments made by its theoretical founders, especially Hobbes. Hobbes argues that the desire for security is the most reliable and rational desire of our nature, and the state… More

Justice Among the Nations: on the moral basis of power and peace

- Ahrensdorf, Peter and Pangle, Thomas.  Justice Among the Nations: on the moral basis of power and peace, Kansas: The University of Kansas, 1999.
From the publisher: In the post-Cold War era, we have lost the clarity that once characterized our vision of international conflict. Foreign affairs are no longer defined solely by the ideological battles fought between capitalism and communism or by the… More

Narrative and Explanation

- Rood, Tim.  Thucydides:  Narrative and Explanation,  Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
From the publisher: `War is a harsh teacher’ wrote Thucydides in the fifth-century BC. Rood analyses the techniques through which Thucydides’ narrative explains the origin and course of the Peloponnesian War and exposes harsh truths about how… More

“The Illusion of Power and the Disruption of Moral Norms: Thucydides’ Critique of Periclean Policy”

- Monoson, Susan, “The Illusion of Power and the Disruption of Moral Norms: Thucydides’ Critique of Periclean Policy,” The American Political Science Review, Vol. 92, no. 2, 285-297, 1998.
This analysis of Thucydides “History of the Peloponnesian War” focuses on his treatment of Pericles. The ancient historian’s use of antithesis is examined to appreciate his style and to understand his political philosophy.

Thucydides and the ancient simplicity: The Limits of Political Realism

- Crane, Gregory. Thucydides and the ancient simplicity: The Limits of Political Realism,  Berkeley: The University of California Press, 1998.
Overview: Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War is the earliest surviving realist text in the European tradition. As an account of the Peloponnesian War, it is famous both as an analysis of power politics and as a classic of political realism.… More

Pericles of Athens and the Birth of Democracy

- Kagan, Donald. Pericles of Athens and the Birth of Democracy, New York: Free Press, 1998.
Kagan is well known for his four-volume history of the Peloponnesian War ( The Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War , LJ 1/5/70; The Archidamian War , 1974; The Peace of Nicias and the Sicilian Expedition, 1981; The Fall of the Athenian Empire, 1987, all Cornell… More

Ethics in Thucydides

- Williams, Mary Frances. Ethics in Thucydides, Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1998.
Overview: Ethics in Thucydides uses the historian’s account of the resolution at Corcyra as the basis for determining a moral or ethical perspective in Thucydides’ History. Various scenes, speeches, and narrative descriptions are analyzed in… More

The Blinded Eye: Thucydides and the New Written Word

- Crane, Gregory. The Blinded Eye: Thucydides and the New Written Word, Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 1996.
Overview: Thucydides, the patron saint of Realpolitik, continues to be read in many fields outside of classics. Why did his History succeed in setting the pattern for future scholars where Hereodotus’s earlier Histories failed? In this fascinating study… More

Thucydides’ Pentekontaetia and Other Essays

- Pritchett, W. K. Thucydides' Pentekontaetia and Other Essays, Amsterdam: J. C. Gieben, 1995.
From the publisher: In this book Professor Pritchett offers five original essays under the titles: Thucydides’ Pentekontaetia; Thucydides 1.61.3-5; Diodoros’ Pentekontaetia; The Solar Year of Thucydides; Aetiology sans Topography. The initial lengthy… More

“The Use and Abuse of Thucydides in International Relations.”

- Johnson-Bagby, Laurie M.  "The Use and Abuse of Thucydides in International Relations," International Organization 48:1, pp. 131-53, 1994.
Overview: International relations scholars are prone to claiming that the ancient historian of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides, is a realist of one kind or another. Paul Viotti and Mark Kauppi tell us that Thucydides “is usually credited with being the… More

The Humanity of Thucydides by Clifford Orwin

- Orwin, Clifford. The Humanity of Thucydides, Princeton: Princeton U. Press, 1994.
Thucydides has long been celebrated for the unflinching realism of his presentation of political life. And yet, as some scholars have asserted, his work also displays a profound humanity. In the first thorough exploration of the relation between these two… More

Money, Expense, and Naval Power in Thucydides’ History 1-5.24

- Kallet-Marx, Lisa. Money, Expense, and Naval Power in Thucydides' History 1-5.24, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993.
Overview: Thucydides has been found guilty of indifference toward financial matters without a consideration of all the evidence. Now Lisa Kallet-Marx examines Thucydides’ treatment of financial resources by studying his comments on finance in the… More

Thucydides, Hobbes, and the Interpretation of Realism

- Johnson, Laurie. Thucydides, Hobbes, and the Interpretation of Realism, DeKalb, IL: Northern Illinois University Press, 1993.
Table of Contents: List of Abbreviations Introduction Ch. 1 Human Nature 3 Hobbes 4 Thucydides 27 A Comparison of Hobbes and Thucydides on Human Nature 63 Ch. 2 Justice 72 Hobbes 73 Thucydides 98 A Comparison of Hobbes and Thucydides on Justice 140 Ch. 3… More

“The Realists and Saint Augustine: Skepticism, Psychology, and Moral Action in International Relations Thought.”

- Loriaux, Michael.  "The Realists and Saint Augustine: Skepticism, Psychology, and Moral Action in International Relations Thought," International Studies Quarterly 36, pp. 401-420, 1992.
Overview: In this article from International Studies Quarterly, scholar Michael Loriaux argues that Augustinian realism is more radical than those who would appropriate him in the contemporary political sphere realize. Though Augustinian realism shares with… More

“Varieties of Realism: Thucydides and Machiavelli”

- Forde, Stephen, “Varieties of Realism: Thucydides and Machiavelli,” Journal of Politics, vol. 54, no. 02, , 372-393, 1992.
Review: Realists have dominated the postwar study of international politics, but they have not always taken seriously the problems of realism as a moral theory. One such problem is the difficulty of reconciling realism with devotion to ethics in any sphere,… More

Love of Glory and the Common Good: Aspects of the Political Thought of Thucydides

- Palmer, Michael. Love of Glory and the Common Good: Aspects of the Political Thought of Thucydides, Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 1992.  
Overview: More clearly than any previous work on the subject, Michael Palmer’s Love of Glory and the Common Good defines the relationship between Periclean democracy and the decline in Athenian political life that followed the death of Pericles. The… More

The Fall of the Athenian Empire (A New History of the Peloponnesian War)

- Kagan, Donald. The Fall of the Athenian Empire, A New History of the Peloponnesian War, Ithaca: Cornell U. Press, 1991.
Overview: In the fourth and final volume of his magisterial history of the Peloponnesian War, Donald Kagan examines the period from the destruction of Athens’ Sicilian expedition in September of 413 B.C. to the Athenian surrender to Sparta in the spring… More

“Of Balances, Bandwagons, and Ancient Greeks.”

- Strauss, Barry S.  "Of Balances, Bandwagons, and Ancient Greeks." In Richard Ned Lebow and Barry S. Strauss, eds., Hegemonic Rivalry: From Thucydides to the Nuclear Age, pp. 189-210. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1991.

“Thucydides, Power Transition Theory, and the Causes of War.”

- Lebow, Richard Ned. "Thucydides, Power Transition Theory, and the Causes of War," In Lebow and Barry S. Strauss, eds., Hegemonic Rivalry: From Thucydides to the Nuclear Age, pp. 125-65. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1991.
Review: Strategists and international relations theorists, both of whom trace their lineage to Thucydides, meet classicists in an engaging debate over reinterpreting him and the relevance of his commentary on Athens and Sparta to present-day Soviet-American… More

“Contemporary International Relations Theory and the Peloponnesian War.”

- Kauppi, Mark V.  "Contemporary International Relations Theory and the Peloponnesian War," In Richard Ned Lebow and Barry S. Strauss, eds., Hegemonic Rivalry: From Thucydides to the Nuclear Age, pp. 101-124. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1991.  
Strategists and international relations theorists, both of whom trace their lineage to Thucydides, meet classicists in an engaging debate over reinterpreting him and the relevance of his commentary on Athens and Sparta to present-day Soviet-American… More

“Thucydides: A Realist?”

- Doyle, Michael W. "Thucydides: A Realist?" In Richard Ned Lebow and Barry S. Strauss, eds., Hegemonic Rivalry: From Thucydides to the Nuclear Age, pp. 169-88. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1991.

The Archidamean War

- Kagan, Donald, The Archidamean War (A New History of the Peloponnesian War), Ithaca: Cornell U. Press, 1990.
This book, the second volume in Donald Kagan’s tetralogy about the Peloponnesian War, is a provocative and tightly argued history of the first ten years of the war. Taking a chronological approach that allows him to present at each stage the choices… More

The Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War (A New History of the Peloponnesian War)

- Kagan, Donald. The Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War (A New History of the Peloponnesian War) Ithaca: Cornell U. Press, 1989.
From the publisher: The first volume of Donald Kagan’s acclaimed four-volume history of the Peloponnesian War offers a new evaluation of the origins and causes of the conflict, based on evidence produced by modern scholarship and on a careful… More

The Rebirth of Classical Political Rationalism

- Strauss, Leo, “The Meaning of Political History,” The Rebirth of Classical Political Rationalism, ed. T. Pangle Chicago: U. of Chicago Press, 1989.
Review: This concise and accessible introduction to Strauss’s thought provides, for wider audience, a bridge to his more complex theoretical work. Editor Pangle has gathered five of Strauss’s previously unpublished lectures and five hard-to-find… More

“Stasis and plague: Thucydides on the dissolution of society”

- Orwin, Clifford, "Stasis and plague: Thucydides on the dissolution of society,” Journal of Politics, vol. 50, no. 4, 1988.
We think of Thucydides as an analyst of war and so primarily of international politics. He is equally concerned, however, with the consequences of war for domestic politics, and there is one aspect of his treatment of the latter which remains unsurpassed in… More

Anagke in Thucydides

- Ostwald, Martin. Anagke in Thucydides. American Classical Studies, 18. Atlanta, GA: Scholar's Press, 1988.

Thucydides and Athenian Imperialism

- De Romilly, Jacqueline . Thucydides and Athenian Imperialism. Translated by Philip Thody. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Reprint. Salem, NH: Ayer, 1988.

Thucydides

- David Bolotin, "Thucydides" in History of Political Philosophy, Eds. Leo Strauss and Joseph Cropsey, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, 1987.
Excerpt: “Thucydides is the author of a single book, The War of the Peloponnesians and the Athenians. He is not generally thought of as a political philosopher, and for obvious and weighty reasons. Not only does he never use the term “political… More

Thucydides

- Hornblower, Simon. Thucydides. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987.

“Thucydides and Hellanicus”

- Smart, J. D. "Thucydides and Hellanicus." In Past Perspectives: Studies in Greek and Roman Historical Writing, ed. id., I. S. Moxon, and A. J. Woodman. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,1986.
Overview: The ten papers that make up this volume were originally presented at a conference on ‘The Greek and Roman Historians’, held at the University of Leeds in 1983. Some of the articles investigate in detail the assumptions, prejudices and… More

“Justifying Empire” by Clifford Orwin

- Orwin, Clifford, “Justifying Empire: The Speech of the Athenians at Sparta and the Problem of Justice in Thucydides,” The Journal of Politics, vol. 48, no. 1, 72-85, 1986.

Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy

- Strauss, Leo, “Preliminary Observations on the Gods in Thucydides’ Work,” Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy Chicago: U. of Chicago Press, 1985.
One of the outstanding thinkers of our time offers in this book his final words to posterity. Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy was well underway at the time of Leo Strauss’s death in 1973. Having chosen the title for the book, he selected the… More

Thucydides

- Connor, W. Robert. Thucydides. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1984.
From the Publisher: This full-scale 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.” Moving beyond other… More

Thucydides and Religion

- Marinatos, Nanno. Thucydides and Religion. Beiträge zur klassischen Philologie, 129. Königstein/Ts, 1981.

The Necessities of War: A Study of Thucydides’ Pessimism

- Pouncey, Peter R.  The Necessities of War: A Study of Thucydides' Pessimism. New York: Columbia University Press, 1980.
From the publisher: Peter Pouncey presents for us and for the gods the mind of Thucydides as an historian and writer. Pouncey gives us an amazing reading of Thucydides’ amazing reading of the confused experience of wartime events. He nails down for us… More

The City and Man by Leo Strauss

- Strauss, Leo. "On Thucydides' War of the Peloponnesians and the Athenians." Chap. 3 in The City and Man. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978. First published 1964 by the University Press of Virginia.
The City and Man consists of provocative essays by the late Leo Strauss on Aristotle’s Politics, Plato’s Republic, and Thucydides’ Peloponnesian Wars. Together, the essays constitute a brilliant attempt to use classical political… More

Thucydides and his History

- Adcock, F. E. Thucydides and his History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1963. Repr. Hamden, CT: Archon Books, 1973.

The Speeches in Thucydides

- Stadter, P. A., ed. The Speeches in Thucydides. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1973.
From the Publisher: In this collection of nine essays, a group of internationally known classicists examine from a variety of viewpoints the speeches that Thucydides inserted into the history of the Peloponnesian War. The essayists include: William C. West… More

Thoucudidou sungraphe

- Krüger, Karl Wilhelm. Thoucudidou sungraphe. Berlin: K. W. Krüger's Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1858-61. Books 1-23. Books 3-82. Reprint. Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 1972.

Thukydides

- Luschnat, Otto. Thukydides. RE, Suppl. Vol. 12, cols. 1085-1354, 1971.

Thucydides on the Nature of Power

- Woodhead, A. G. Thucydides on the Nature of Power. Martin Classical Lectures, 24. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1970.

Three Essays on Thucydides

- Finley, J. H. Three Essays on Thucydides. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1967.
From the Preface: These articles concern what, thirty years ago, seemed two chief uncertainties surrounding Thucydides’ History. The first, which appeared rather from comments of scholars than from formal discussion of the subject, has to do with the… More

Histoire et raison chez Thucydide

- De Romilly, Jacqueline. Histoire et raison chez Thucydide. 2d ed. Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1967.    
Overview: La lecture de l’œuvre de Thucydide révèle immédiatement des particularités de forme assez remarquables. Non seulement les discours, avec leur entrelacs de formules et leur brève densité, mais le récit lui-même, avec sa fermeté… More

“Thukydides und Machiavelli.”

- Reinhardt, Karl. "Thukydides und Machiavelli." In Reinhardt, Vermächtnis der Antike: Gesammelte Essays zur Philosophie und Geschichtsschreibung. Gottingen: Vandenhoek & Ruprecht, 1966.

Thucydides: Man’s Place in History

- Sahl, H. P. Thucydides: Man's Place in History. Swansea: Classical Press of Wales.  Trans. and 2nd ed. of Thukydides, 1966.
From the publisher: Stahl’s classic book on Thucydides is one of the most profound and widely respected modern studies of the Athenian historian. Published in German in 1966 as Thukydides: Die Stellung des Menschen im geschichtlichen Prozess, it has,… More

Index Thucydideus

- von Essen Dre, M. H. N. Index Thucydideus. Berlin, 1887. Reprint. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1964.

Thucydides

- Finley, John H, Jr. Thucydides. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1963.

Lexicon Thucydideum

- Bétant, Elie Ami. Lexicon Thucydideum. Geneva: E. Carey. 1843-47. Reprint. 2 Vols. Hildesheim: Olms, 1961.

Man in His Pride

- Grene, David, Man in His Pride, Chicago: U. of Chicago Press, 1950.

A Historical Commentary on Thucydides

- Gomme, A. W. (Books 1-5), Antony Andrewes (Books 5 and 8), and K. J. Dover (Books 6 and 7). A Historical Commentary on Thucydides. 5 Vols. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1945-81.