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The Peloponnesian War

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I have extensively studied Thucydides over the past few months, and have read four different translations: Hobbes twice and three other translations once each. No other translation captures the justice and fluidity of Ancient Greek eloquence as naturally as Hobbes. I thank Grene for such an honest gift to scholarship. The Hobbes version is the best translation you will find in english, accept it. If you cannot get past the now esoteric 17th contrary prose, I recommend the Walter Blanco translation. The Blanco translation is superb, but i will warn you of the concrete dust dryness embedded in each and every sentence, it makes you cough and turn your head from the page.

For all we know, Thucydides was the first real historian in the Western world, and possibly the first in the world, period. Unlike Homer (a poet, not a historian) and Herodotus, who mixed folk tales and myths with factual reports, Thucydides sticks to facts, with the advantage of having been a contemporary and even a participant himself in the Peloponnesian War. So it makes for a credible reading. But this book is also important for other reasons. This war terminated the glory of Athens and in fact precluded its development as an empire. The war between only two "superpowers" and their allies has also served to illustrate bipolar conflict, such as the Cold War, and there are even whole courses about this book to illuminate a bipolar situation.

This translation by master political thinker Thomas Hobbes ("Leviathan") is not an easy read, yet it conveys the power of Thucydides's prose. Famous episodes of the war include, of course, Pericles's funeral oration, one of the best speeches ever recorded (if T. made it up, then he was one of the best speechwriters); the plague in Athens, a most unfortunate development for their side; rebellion in Corcyra; and the disastrous and worth-learning-from invasion of Sicily. One of the best history and politics books you can read.

Homer filled his pages mostly with myth, with some general facts which remotely relate to history. Herodotus wrote mostly history, with a few myths and prophecies interspersed here & there.

With Thucydides, we get the first book in western culture that is 100% purely devoted to history. The historian expresses his disinterest in speculation about the will of the gods while turning his attention solely to factual accounts of the Peloponnesian War.

The present text discloses T's history, all dressed up in the eloquent, occasionally verbose prose of the 17th century philosopher, John Hobbes. David Grene of the university of Chicago does a credible job of auditing Hobbes' translation, pointing out errors, mis-interpretations & omissions in the text.

This work contains all of the most salient episodes of the war, from the funeral oration of Pericles (Book II), the unsteady truce between Athens & Sparta (Book V) and the disastrous Sicilian expedition (VI & VII). The latter proved to be the crippling blow which sealed the defeat of Athens. Less known, but equally poignant, is what Princeton's Michael Sugrue would call the "Big Fish Eat Little Fish" oration which the Athenians deliver to the Melians (Book V) before wiping them out.

Hobbes metes out ample attention to each major event, carefully crafting his diction with the efficacy of delivering the desired effect. However, there are times when his sentences get a bit syrupy & are a bit long. It does not help matters that Thucydides constantly skips around to diverse engagements, both major & minor, not always making it clear whom or what he is referring to. While it is fairly simple to keep track of the major players in the war (i.e.: Athens, Sparta, Argos, Syracuse, Corinth, Thebes, etc) it becomes increasingly difficult to follow all of the minor provinces involved as the war goes on. Of course, the people in T's day were already familiar with whom was aligned with whom, so detailed explanations of Greek alliances are omitted. This can be a obstacle for the modern reader.

All in all, tho, this is a credible translation to one of the most monumental works of history ever composed. Within these pages we discover the nobility and wisdom of Pericles, the treachery of Alcibiades, the violence and short-sightedness of Cleon and the effective generalship of Nicias. The most poignant aspects of the period all surface without any ambiguity; the arrogant hubris of the Athenians, the resilience of the Lacedaemonians and the determination of the Syracusians. Hobbes should be applauded for pulling off one of the best English translations of Greek history ever recorded.

The Hobbes translation and David Grene's intelligent and relevent notes make this the best version of Thucydides I have yet read. While I am not a scholar in this area, I feel that this is probably the grandest history ever written and that the Hobbes translation does it justice. It has been said that at best a translator is not merely changing the work from language to language but giving it a new life. Hobbes succeeded briliantly in this, and I feel that through Mr. Grene's notes, the translation is as near to the original as one can get.

This is really a great book. Considered a classic of historic writing, Thucydides continues to be fresh and contemporary. If you read too much Plato and are bored with the ancient greeks, here's the antidote! Wonderful reading. And this Hobbes translation is incredible. A masterpiece, timeless. Don't hesitate; every educated person should read it.

A classic that directly connects today's people with the those thousands of years ago. A true time machine that lends incite into human nature and conflict that exist even today. I found this book to be a great mirror that we can see ourselves in if one cares to change names and places to find similarities.

Although very long and documentary in style, it is a Maciavellian account of the human societal animal. When one puts history like this into perspective with the growth of city states into nation states, one can see that although we may advance technologically - people haven't really changed all that much.

Warning: Be prepared to be dragged through account after account of historical events and long speeches. Nevertheless, a classic one will be happy to read.