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Available
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Genres
Collection
Publication
New York : Simon & Schuster, 1998.
Description
Thucydides called his account of two decades of war between Athens and Sparta "a possession for all time," and indeed it is the first and still the most famous work in the Western historical tradition. Considered essential reading for generals, statesmen, and liberally educated citizens for more than 2,000 years. The Peloponnesian War is a mine of military, moral, political, and philosophical wisdom. However, this classic book has long presented obstacles to the. Uninitiated reader. Written centuries before the rise of modern historiography. Thucydides' narrative is not continuous or linear. His authoritative chronicle of what he considered the greatest war of all time is rigorous and meticulous, yet omits the many aids to comprehension modern readers take for granted - such as brief biographies of the story's main characters, maps and other visual enhancements, and background on the military, cultural, and political traditions. Of ancient Greece. Robert Strassler's new edition amends these omissions, and not only provides a new coherence to the narrative overall but effectively reconstructs the lost cultural context that Thucydides shared with his original audience. Based on the venerable Richard Crawley translation, updated and revised for modern readers, The Landmark Thucydides includes a vast array of superbly designed and presented maps, brief informative appendices by outstanding classical. Scholars on subjects of special relevance to the text, explanatory marginal notes on each page, an index of unprecedented subtlety and depth, and numerous other useful features. Readers will find that with this edition they can dip into the text at any point and be immediately oriented with regard to the geography, season, date, and stage of the conflict.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Poquette
The conventional attitude is that in ancient Greece, Athens and her allies were the good guys while Sparta and hers were the equivalent of the forces of evil. But this is a gross misrepresentation as it turns out. We in the West are heavily invested in a belief in Athenian democracy, and while
The twenty-seven-year struggle between Athens and Sparta cannot be summarized — easily or otherwise! In a brief review such as this, one can only speak in generalities and perhaps mention a highlight or two.
The main reason Sparta decided to muster her forces against Athens was because she feared the growing strength of the Athenian Empire which had ballooned in the fifty years following the Persian wars described by Herodotus. And Sparta's decision occurred at a time when many of Athens' subject city-states, especially those in and around western Asia Minor, were beginning to chafe under the financial demands exacted by Athens to maintain her enormous fleet and commercial interests. Athens needed her Aegean allies to protect the grain trade emanating from the Black Sea region. And with a growing population at home and abroad, Athens needed that grain not only for commercial purposes but to feed the people.
The war began when Sparta marched across the Isthmus of Corinth for the first time and invaded Athenian territory. Pericles, who was one of the Athenian leaders at the time, believed the best policy was for people from the countryside to move inside the city walls and wait until Sparta went home. There were skirmishes to keep Sparta well away from Athens proper, but Pericles deemed it was better to absorb property destruction than to risk losing people. This routine was repeated every summer for seven years running. Incidentally and ironically, a large part of the Athenian population died in at least two visitations of a devastating plague, which may have resulted from overcrowding in the city caused by Pericles' policies. He, too, succumbed to the plague in the second year of the war.
At the same time allies on both sides scattered around the Greek mainland and the Aegean engaged in more skirmishes. Battles were not fought to the death. An attack would be made, and when daylight was evaporating, the parties would stop fighting, declare victory whether on land or at sea, and return to their camps to fight another day. It seemed that both sides frequently took the attitude they had won the day's campaign.
Both sides had many opportunities to achieve a decisive end to the war, but either through delay or misunderstanding did not follow through with their advantage. Each side believed it could wear the other down by attrition. There were a number of significant conflicts in various parts of the Greek world that lasted for many months or even several years — such as the infamous and ill-fated Sicilian Expedition, which occurred during the 17th, 18th and 19th years of the war and came close to being the ruination of Athens — but after the twenty-one years of Thucydides' account, neither side had been able to deliver the coup de grace.
Thucydides stopped writing almost mid-sentence, and no one knows why he did not complete his book, for he was still alive in Athens at the end of the war. It has been left to others to provide details of the war's conclusion. In the Landmark edition, the editors provide an epilogue that outlines the events of the final years and the ultimate destruction of Athens' fleet in an overwhelming and devastating defeat. Sparta was magnanimous enough not to sack and burn the city as the Persians had done eighty years before. What was left of the Athenian army was allowed to return home, but this marked the end of the great Athenian Empire.
The Landmark Thucydides is replete with introductions, maps, illustrations, outlines, appendices, notes and a descriptive index. It is a tremendous resource for an informed reading of Thucydides' account of the Peloponnesian War. It is a tribute to those who produced it, and in almost every way it equals The Landmark Herodotus. The story seems to go on and on with one skirmish after another, but the description of battle tactics both on land and sea are fascinating. And Thucydides' relentless reporting reveals how Athenian superiority at sea was gradually surpassed by the inventiveness and ingenuity of her opponents, which is undoubtedly one of the reasons why Thucydides is still studied in war colleges everywhere.
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Athens was indeed a democracy at home, she ran a rather oppressive and authoritarian empire abroad, and therein lay the seeds of her undoing.The twenty-seven-year struggle between Athens and Sparta cannot be summarized — easily or otherwise! In a brief review such as this, one can only speak in generalities and perhaps mention a highlight or two.
The main reason Sparta decided to muster her forces against Athens was because she feared the growing strength of the Athenian Empire which had ballooned in the fifty years following the Persian wars described by Herodotus. And Sparta's decision occurred at a time when many of Athens' subject city-states, especially those in and around western Asia Minor, were beginning to chafe under the financial demands exacted by Athens to maintain her enormous fleet and commercial interests. Athens needed her Aegean allies to protect the grain trade emanating from the Black Sea region. And with a growing population at home and abroad, Athens needed that grain not only for commercial purposes but to feed the people.
The war began when Sparta marched across the Isthmus of Corinth for the first time and invaded Athenian territory. Pericles, who was one of the Athenian leaders at the time, believed the best policy was for people from the countryside to move inside the city walls and wait until Sparta went home. There were skirmishes to keep Sparta well away from Athens proper, but Pericles deemed it was better to absorb property destruction than to risk losing people. This routine was repeated every summer for seven years running. Incidentally and ironically, a large part of the Athenian population died in at least two visitations of a devastating plague, which may have resulted from overcrowding in the city caused by Pericles' policies. He, too, succumbed to the plague in the second year of the war.
At the same time allies on both sides scattered around the Greek mainland and the Aegean engaged in more skirmishes. Battles were not fought to the death. An attack would be made, and when daylight was evaporating, the parties would stop fighting, declare victory whether on land or at sea, and return to their camps to fight another day. It seemed that both sides frequently took the attitude they had won the day's campaign.
Both sides had many opportunities to achieve a decisive end to the war, but either through delay or misunderstanding did not follow through with their advantage. Each side believed it could wear the other down by attrition. There were a number of significant conflicts in various parts of the Greek world that lasted for many months or even several years — such as the infamous and ill-fated Sicilian Expedition, which occurred during the 17th, 18th and 19th years of the war and came close to being the ruination of Athens — but after the twenty-one years of Thucydides' account, neither side had been able to deliver the coup de grace.
Thucydides stopped writing almost mid-sentence, and no one knows why he did not complete his book, for he was still alive in Athens at the end of the war. It has been left to others to provide details of the war's conclusion. In the Landmark edition, the editors provide an epilogue that outlines the events of the final years and the ultimate destruction of Athens' fleet in an overwhelming and devastating defeat. Sparta was magnanimous enough not to sack and burn the city as the Persians had done eighty years before. What was left of the Athenian army was allowed to return home, but this marked the end of the great Athenian Empire.
The Landmark Thucydides is replete with introductions, maps, illustrations, outlines, appendices, notes and a descriptive index. It is a tremendous resource for an informed reading of Thucydides' account of the Peloponnesian War. It is a tribute to those who produced it, and in almost every way it equals The Landmark Herodotus. The story seems to go on and on with one skirmish after another, but the description of battle tactics both on land and sea are fascinating. And Thucydides' relentless reporting reveals how Athenian superiority at sea was gradually surpassed by the inventiveness and ingenuity of her opponents, which is undoubtedly one of the reasons why Thucydides is still studied in war colleges everywhere.
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LibraryThing member auntmarge64
This is a magnificent edition of one of the pillars of ancient history, making it accessible and useful for both lay and professional readers. I read the Kindle edition on the iPad alongside the print version (700+ pages), the first for ease of use, the second for the footnotes, which are not tied
This edition begins with 20 pages of introductory notes, a dated outline of the text, and then the 8 books, each heavily footnoted, sourced and laced with maps. The maps alone make the edition worth its hefty price tag, but following the text there are 11 appendices, a glossary, bibliographies of ancient and modern sources, a 70-page annotated index, and a directory to place names mentioned in the text. There is also a 20-page chart and timeline of the theaters of operation during the war.
The appendices are footnoted, sourced, and, in some cases, illustrated with maps and drawings. I've starred those which would be particularly useful to lay readers if read before the history proper:
The Athenian Government in Thucydides *
The Athenian Empire in Thucydides *
Spartan Institutions in Thucydides *
The Peloponnesian League in Thucydides *
The Persians in Thucydides *
Land Warfare in Thucydides *
Trireme Warfare in Thucydides *
Dialectics and Ethnic Groups in Thucydides
Religious Festivals in Thucydides
Classical Greek Currency in Thucydides
Calendars and Dating Systems in Thucydides
This will be "the" translation to read for many years to come.
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to the text in the Kindle edition, while in the print version they are included on each page.This edition begins with 20 pages of introductory notes, a dated outline of the text, and then the 8 books, each heavily footnoted, sourced and laced with maps. The maps alone make the edition worth its hefty price tag, but following the text there are 11 appendices, a glossary, bibliographies of ancient and modern sources, a 70-page annotated index, and a directory to place names mentioned in the text. There is also a 20-page chart and timeline of the theaters of operation during the war.
The appendices are footnoted, sourced, and, in some cases, illustrated with maps and drawings. I've starred those which would be particularly useful to lay readers if read before the history proper:
The Athenian Government in Thucydides *
The Athenian Empire in Thucydides *
Spartan Institutions in Thucydides *
The Peloponnesian League in Thucydides *
The Persians in Thucydides *
Land Warfare in Thucydides *
Trireme Warfare in Thucydides *
Dialectics and Ethnic Groups in Thucydides
Religious Festivals in Thucydides
Classical Greek Currency in Thucydides
Calendars and Dating Systems in Thucydides
This will be "the" translation to read for many years to come.
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LibraryThing member The_Wiz
Assuming that the person reading this review owns or is interested in the actual edition that is shown in the picture on the left side of the screen, then I recommend
reading this book.
I have read a few editions of Thucydides Peloponnesian War, and this one is the best. Thucydides accounts in
I can’t offer any insights on the translations though, since my understanding of Greek begins and ends with the names of college fraternities.
As to whether or not a person should read Thucydides, I really suggest that you have an initial interest in Greek philosophy or Political Theory before trudging through the abstract philosophy of the ancients. It shouldn’t be done lightly, as even interested minds can get bored, nor should it be done as some kind of achievement. It truly just isn’t worth it. It’s not a bad read if you understand it like one might a history text -- that it’s talking about how some of the thoughts and scenarios we currently discuss were first established, as well as the novelty of knowing about the events leading up to and during the Peloponnesian War -- but as to any kind of significance the book might have in the modern world, I feel it simply is obsolete. One would do better to pick up Machiavelli’s The Prince, which is a more direct account of virtually the same philosophy.
reading this book.
I have read a few editions of Thucydides Peloponnesian War, and this one is the best. Thucydides accounts in
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great detail the names of cities, battles and geography, all of which are completely foreign to the average reader. Think about describing the suburbs of Portland to a person living on the other side of the world, and that’s about how confusing this book can be. But luckily this edition has some beautiful maps and pictures that really illustrate the situation. It is a tremendous help in trying to understand military strategy and geographical significance. (I can’t tell you how many times I wondered what the hell the “long walls” were – this edition actually showed me a diagram of them and put them in relation to the overall geography of the Hellenes.) I can’t offer any insights on the translations though, since my understanding of Greek begins and ends with the names of college fraternities.
As to whether or not a person should read Thucydides, I really suggest that you have an initial interest in Greek philosophy or Political Theory before trudging through the abstract philosophy of the ancients. It shouldn’t be done lightly, as even interested minds can get bored, nor should it be done as some kind of achievement. It truly just isn’t worth it. It’s not a bad read if you understand it like one might a history text -- that it’s talking about how some of the thoughts and scenarios we currently discuss were first established, as well as the novelty of knowing about the events leading up to and during the Peloponnesian War -- but as to any kind of significance the book might have in the modern world, I feel it simply is obsolete. One would do better to pick up Machiavelli’s The Prince, which is a more direct account of virtually the same philosophy.
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LibraryThing member timspalding
Thucydides with the notes and maps built in. Even if you think you know everything, you'll still find the book helpful.
LibraryThing member gmicksmith
As important as Thucydides is, the difficulty for the layperson to grasp him and understand his work, is to overcome certain limitations in his presentation of the war. Robert Strassler's supplemental edition provides resources by providing a commentary of the narrative, and the necessary
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background of an easily misunderstood cultural tradition that we do not share in order to provide a useful context for modern readers. The work is amply bolstered by a plethora of unique maps, substantive appendices by leading classical scholars, such as Victor Davis Hanson, explanatory marginalia, and a helpful and complete index. Thucydides is much more easily understood by using this volume. Show Less
LibraryThing member Beholderess
I have seen many reviews claiming that, although an accomplished historian, Thucydides is a dry writer. Thus I've started reading this book with some trepidation, expecting to be bored out of my mind. And indeed, the beginning was more than a little dry.
However, somewhere after the first 1/3 of the
The effect is reached by foreshadowing, by subtly but constantly recurring themes and by the composition itself rather than colorful statements. To illustrate what I am talking about: a "pure" dispassionate historian would simply describe the events and left finding similarities between the expansion, overreach and fall of Athens and defeat of Persia earlier to the discretion of the reader. A somewhat talented author would have spelled it out explicitly and drew analogies in author's voice. But Thucydides makes Athens reference their own defeat of Persia as a justification to their deeds over and over again, even as they are about to commit the very same mistakes, both marking the similarity, underscoring dramatic irony and foretelling an inevitability of defeat.
On the same note, the passionate plea for justice followed by a few short sentences to the effect "and then they got killed" is often more powerful than a vivid description would have been.
A few words about the edition: While Landmark edition is probably the best one so far, Kindle version has serious issues. Namely, it was next to impossible to navigate between the footnotes while reading - they are all concentrated at the end of the chapter with no hyperlinks for quick navigation provided. The maps are definitely helpful, but after a while become redundant. The same goes for footnotes themselves - they constantly provide redundant information while failing to clarify difficult places. I don't need to be reminded what a proxenus is each time the word is mentioned - once is enough. But I would like to be reminded who the person I've last seen mentioned a hundred pages ago is and how did they come to their current situation, but this is usually not covered by footnotes.
However, somewhere after the first 1/3 of the
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book my opinion changed. I hardly know enough of history to judge Thucydides on his accuracy on these matters, but he is certainly a talented writer. His writing is subtle, elegant and powerful, invoking a great tragedy about pride, fall and the price of power.The effect is reached by foreshadowing, by subtly but constantly recurring themes and by the composition itself rather than colorful statements. To illustrate what I am talking about: a "pure" dispassionate historian would simply describe the events and left finding similarities between the expansion, overreach and fall of Athens and defeat of Persia earlier to the discretion of the reader. A somewhat talented author would have spelled it out explicitly and drew analogies in author's voice. But Thucydides makes Athens reference their own defeat of Persia as a justification to their deeds over and over again, even as they are about to commit the very same mistakes, both marking the similarity, underscoring dramatic irony and foretelling an inevitability of defeat.
On the same note, the passionate plea for justice followed by a few short sentences to the effect "and then they got killed" is often more powerful than a vivid description would have been.
A few words about the edition: While Landmark edition is probably the best one so far, Kindle version has serious issues. Namely, it was next to impossible to navigate between the footnotes while reading - they are all concentrated at the end of the chapter with no hyperlinks for quick navigation provided. The maps are definitely helpful, but after a while become redundant. The same goes for footnotes themselves - they constantly provide redundant information while failing to clarify difficult places. I don't need to be reminded what a proxenus is each time the word is mentioned - once is enough. But I would like to be reminded who the person I've last seen mentioned a hundred pages ago is and how did they come to their current situation, but this is usually not covered by footnotes.
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LibraryThing member sarathena1
This book is terrific. I re-read it yearly. I don't really know what else to say about it except that it is generally easy to follow and an over-all fantastic read, especially for summer.
LibraryThing member datrappert
This well-edited edition, with lots of footnotes and maps is about the only way for a non-classically educated reader to appreciate Thucydides' account of the horrors of the Peloponnesian War. But while there are some things to admire about the Greeks, this story of mass murder masquerading as war
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and the endless stupidity that destroyed Athens won't raise your opinion of the Greeks or the Ancients in general. Show Less
LibraryThing member CurrerBell
I'm rating this at 5***** primarily for the quality of this "Landmark" edition edited by Robert B. Strassler. Personally, I find most of Thucydides a very tedious read because of the "chronicle" style in which he writes, which follows the history of the Peloponnesian War in strict chronological
What makes it possible to get through this lengthy history is the high quality of annotations and the numerous maps included in this edition (which seems typical of "Landmark" editions). If you read straight through, you'll find much of the footnoting repetitive, as are the numerous maps, but the editor's goal is to protect the reader from the need to flip back and forth to a "maps section" by providing a new map, however repetitive, within a couple of pages of the referring text. Also, the repetitiveness of the annotations (I don't know how many times the terms "hoplite" and "pelast" are footnote-defined) makes the text readable for someone who is not going through sequentially from start to finish, which makes this a useful edition for classroom use. The excellent maps are particularly helpful in a text that concentrates so much on military history, both land and naval warfare.
This "Landmark" edition also includes eleven appendices on such subjects as Athenian and Spartan society, military and naval warfare, religion, coinage, and other topics.
I'm not at all urging the reading of Thucydides, but if you're going to read him, use this "Landmark" edition (ISBN 978-0684827902).
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order and fails to give a good presentation of the overall strategy of individual land and naval campaigns. (Book VI, the history of the Sicilian Campaign, is an exception, probably because not much else occurred in other combat theaters during that period so that the Sicilian events proceed largely uninterruptedly.) My own particular interest was the "treason of Alcibiades," considering his involvement with Socrates and his presence in Plato's dialogues.What makes it possible to get through this lengthy history is the high quality of annotations and the numerous maps included in this edition (which seems typical of "Landmark" editions). If you read straight through, you'll find much of the footnoting repetitive, as are the numerous maps, but the editor's goal is to protect the reader from the need to flip back and forth to a "maps section" by providing a new map, however repetitive, within a couple of pages of the referring text. Also, the repetitiveness of the annotations (I don't know how many times the terms "hoplite" and "pelast" are footnote-defined) makes the text readable for someone who is not going through sequentially from start to finish, which makes this a useful edition for classroom use. The excellent maps are particularly helpful in a text that concentrates so much on military history, both land and naval warfare.
This "Landmark" edition also includes eleven appendices on such subjects as Athenian and Spartan society, military and naval warfare, religion, coinage, and other topics.
I'm not at all urging the reading of Thucydides, but if you're going to read him, use this "Landmark" edition (ISBN 978-0684827902).
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LibraryThing member Sandydog1
This bad-boy took me literally years, off-and-on, to finish, a true exercise in patience. The annotations, especially the summaries in the margins were extremely valuable, as were the interesting glossary chapters. If you're going to read Thucydides, read this wonderful edition. Only Strassler
What an amazing civil war! Imagine a 3-decade long war with NYC against Boston. Yonkers, Queens, Newark, Hartford, Lawrence, and Lowell side with Boston. Cambridge, Providence, Worcester, New Haven Albany, Brooklyn, Staten Island and Cincinnati side with New York. A full-out civil war, with cruelty, deceit, bullying, scheming and conniving at every turn. What a slog. I'm very happy that I finished it.
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could make this palatable. What an amazing civil war! Imagine a 3-decade long war with NYC against Boston. Yonkers, Queens, Newark, Hartford, Lawrence, and Lowell side with Boston. Cambridge, Providence, Worcester, New Haven Albany, Brooklyn, Staten Island and Cincinnati side with New York. A full-out civil war, with cruelty, deceit, bullying, scheming and conniving at every turn. What a slog. I'm very happy that I finished it.
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LibraryThing member Smiley
The definitive edtion. Still a difficult read, but this is the most help the reader is going to get outside of a classroom. Should be read along with Donald Kagan's one volume edition, "The Peloponnesian War".
LibraryThing member gmenchen
The very model of an scholarly, annotated text.
LibraryThing member gradvmedusa
The best guide to the Peloponnesian war, period.
LibraryThing member Alex1952
This is a good translation with lots of maps and other helpful material.
LibraryThing member jerry-book
This is the classic. The battle between Athens and Sparta. The downfall of one of history's most famous civilizations.
LibraryThing member sashame
If read for its rhetorical content, as "propaganda" of a sort, then this otherwise dry piece of intellectual history becomes a fascinating work focused on creating cultural meanings.
Language
Original language
Greek (Ancient)
Original publication date
411 BC
1996
Physical description
xxxiii, 713 p.; 24 cm
ISBN
9780684827902
Local notes
BB