GREAT THINKERS Thucydides

Major Works

• History of the Peloponnesian War, Loeb Classical Library, Volumes I – VI

  - Thucydides. History of the Peloponnesian War. Vols. 1–4. Translated by C. F. Smith. Cambridge, MA: Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, 1919.  
  From the publisher: Thucydides of Athens, one of the greatest of historians, was born about 471 BCE. He saw the rise of Athens to greatness under the inspired leadership of Pericles. In 430, the second year of the Peloponnesian War, he caught and survived the… 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.).

• 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

• Scholia in Thucydidem ad optimos codices collata

  - Hude, Karl, ed. Scholia in Thucydidem ad optimos codices collata. Teubner: Leipzig. 1927. Reprint. New York: Arno Press, 1973.  

• Lacédémonien, archonte à Thasos, et le livre viii de Thucydide

  - Pouilloux, J. and F. Salviat. Lichas, Lacédémonien, archonte à Thasos, et le livre viii de Thucydide (376-403.) CRAI, 1983.  

• Thucydide après l’exil et la composition de son histoire

  - Pouilloux, J. and F. Salviat. Thucydide après l'exil et la composition de son histoire (13-20.) RevdePhil 59, 1985.

• Storie dello storico Tucidide: Edizione, traduzione e commento delle Vite

  - Picirilli, Luigi. Storie dello storico Tucidide: Edizione, traduzione e commento delle Vite. Genova: il melangelo, 1985.  

• 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

• 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

  - 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

• Alberti, G. B., ed. Thucydidis Historiae

  - Roma: Instituto Polygraphico dello Stato. Vol. 1 (Books 1-2) 1972. Vol. 2 (Books 3-5) 1992.  Vol. 3 (Books 6-8) 2000.  
     

Commentary

• “On the Implicit Ethics and Psychology of Thucydides.”

  - Shorey, Paul, "On the Implicit Ethics and Psychology of Thucydides." Transactions of the American Philological Association 24, pp. 66-88, 1893.

• 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.    

• Man in His Pride

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

• Lexicon Thucydideum

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

• Thucydides

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

• Index Thucydideus

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

• 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

• “Thukydides und Machiavelli.”

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

• 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

• 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

• Das Geschichtswerk des Thukydides

  - Schwartz, Eduard. [1919] 1969. Das Geschichtswerk des Thukydides. Hildesheim: Georg Olms.

• 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.

• Die Geschichtsschreibung des Thukydides: ein Versuch

  - Schadewaldt, Wolfgang. Die Geschichtsschreibung des Thukydides: ein Versuch. Weidmann: Berlin, 1971.

• Thukydides

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

• 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.

• Thucydides the Artful Reporter

  - Hunter, Virginia. Thucydides the Artful Reporter. Toronto: Hakkert, 1973.

• “Pathology of Power and the Speeches of Thucydides”

  - Immerwahr, Henry R.  "Pathology of Power and the Speeches of Thucydides." In The Speeches in Thucydides, Philip A Stadtler, ed. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1973.

• Thucydides. Greece and Rome

  - Dover, K. J. Thucydides. Greece and Rome : New Surveys, 7. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 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

• Thucydides and his History

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

• Chance and Intelligence in Thucydides

  - Edmunds, Lowell. Chance and Intelligence in Thucydides. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1975.

• The City and Man by Leo Strauss

  - Strauss, Leo. “On Thucydides' War of the Peloponnesians and the Athenians.” In The City and Man, 50–85. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978. Originally published 1964 by the University Press of Virginia.
  From the publisher: 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… More

• In Defense of Thucydides

  - Tasolambros, Frixos L. In Defense of Thucydides. Athens: Grigoris Publications, 1979.

• 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

• Logos and Ergon in Thucydides

  - Parry, Adam. Logos and Ergon in Thucydides. With a new introduction by Donald Kagan. Salem, NH: Ayer, 1981.

• Thucydides and Religion

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

• The Structure of Thucydides’ History

  - Rawlings, Hunter R., III. The Structure of Thucydides' History. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1981.

• The Human Thing: The Speeches and Principles of Thucydides’ History

  - Cogan, Marc.  The Human Thing: The Speeches and Principles of Thucydides' History. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1981.
  Introduces speeches of Thucydides’ History, including Pericles Funeral Oration.

• Past and Process in Herodotus and Thucydides

  - Hunter, Virginia. Past and Process in Herodotus and Thucydides. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1982.

• Die Anfänge der Geschichtsschreibung bei den Griechen: Herodot, Thukydides

  - Schadewaldt, Wolfgang.  Die Anfänge der Geschichtsschreibung bei den Griechen: Herodot, Thukydides, ed. Ingeborg Schudoma. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1982.

• Lichas, Lacédémonien, archonte à Thasos, et le livre viii de Thucydide

  - Pouilloux, J. and F. Salviat. Lichas, Lacédémonien, archonte à Thasos, et le livre viii de Thucydide. CRAI , 376-403, 1983.

• Tucidide Continuato

  - Canfora, Luciano. Tucidide Continuato. Padua: Antenore, 1970.

• “The Just and the advantageous in Thucydides: The Case of the Mytilanean Debate”

  - Orwin, Clifford, “The Just and the advantageous in Thucydides: The Case of the Mytilanean Debate”, The American Political Science Review, vol. 78, no. 2, 1984, 485-495.

• “Democracy and Distrust: A lesson from Thucydides”

  - Orwin, Clifford. “Democracy and Distrust: A lesson from Thucydides,” The American Scholar, Vol. 53, no. 3, 313-325, 1984.

• 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

• “Form und Wandel des Machtdenkens der Athener bei Thukydides.”

  - Rengakos, Antonios. "Form und Wandel des Machtdenkens der Athener bei Thukydides." In Hermes Einzelschrift Heft 48. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner, 1984.

• 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 and the Tradition of Funeral Speeches at Athens

  - Ziolkowski, John E. Thucydides and the Tradition of Funeral Speeches at Athens. Salem, NH: Ayer, 1985.

• “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.

• “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

• Thucydides

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

• 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 and Athenian Imperialism

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

• Anagke in Thucydides

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

• “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

• Power and Preparedness in Thucydides

  - Allison, J. W. Power and Preparedness in Thucydides. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989.

• The Ambition to Rule: Alcibiades and the Politics of Imperialism in Thucydides by Steven Forde

  - Forde, Steven. The Ambition to Rule: Alcibiades and the Politics of Imperialism in Thucydides. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1989.

• 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

• “Thucydides’ Contest: Thucydidean “Methodology in Context”

  - Orwin, Clifford, “Thucydides’ Contest: Thucydidean “Methodology in Context”, The Review of Politics, vol. 51, no. 3, 345-364, 1989.

• “Piety, Justice and the Necessity of War: Thucydides’ Delian Debate”

  - Orwin, Clifford, “Piety, Justice and the Necessity of War: Thucydides’ Delian Debate”, The American Political Science Review, vol. 83, no. 1, 233-239, 1989.

• 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 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

• “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.

• “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, 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

• “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.

• The Peace of Nicias and the Sicilian Expedition (A New History of the Peloponnesian War)

  - Kagan, Donald. The Peace of Nicias and the Sicilian Expedition, Ithaca: Cornell U. Press, 1991.
  Overview: Why did the Peace of Nicias fail to reconcile Athens and Sparta? In the third volume of his landmark four-volume history of the Peloponnesian War, Donald Kagan examines the years between the signing of the peace treaty and the destruction of 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

• 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

• “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

• “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

• 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

• 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

• The Humanity of Thucydides by Clifford Orwin

  - Orwin, Clifford. The Humanity of Thucydides. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1994.
  From the Publisher: 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… 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

• “Thucydides’ Critique of Realism”

  - Rahe, Paul.  “Thucydides' Critique of Realism,” Security Studies, vol. 5, no. 2, 105-141, 1995.

• 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

• “International Realism and the Science of Politics, Thucydides, Machiavelli and Neo-Realism”

  - Forde, Stephen, “International Realism and the Science of Politics, Thucydides, Machiavelli and Neo-Realism,” International Studies Quarterly 39, 141-160, 1995.

• 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

• Polis and Polemos: Essays on Politics, War,and History in Ancient Greece in Honor of Donald Kagan

  - Hamilton, Charles D., and Peter Krentz, eds. Polis and Polemos: Essays on Politics, War,and History in Ancient Greece in Honor of Donald Kagan, Claremont, CA: Regina Books, 1997.

• 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

• 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

• 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

• “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.

• 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

• 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

• “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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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: 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 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: 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

• 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

• 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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