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Thucydides

Richard Cowdrey

The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War Hardcover – September 18, 1996

by Robert B. Strassler (Editor), Victor Davis Hanson (Introduction)

764 ratings

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Chronicles two decades of war between Athens and Sparta

Print length

711 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Free Press
Publication date

September 18, 1996
Dimensions

8 x 1.75 x 9.75 inches
ISBN-10

0684828154
ISBN-13

978-0684828152
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Amazon.com Review

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 readers and added dozens of maps for easy reference. A helpful introduction places Thucydides in proper historical context and a series of short appendices focus on particular aspects of life and war during the period. But the bulk of the book itself, where Thucydides chronicles the long struggle between Athens and Sparta, enjoys an unexpected freshness on these pages--partly due to Strassler's magnificent editorial labors, but mostly because it's a great story resonant with heroes, villains, bravery, desperation, and tragedy. Every library should have a copy of Thucydides in it, especially libraries on military history, and The Landmark Thucydides is without question the best version available.

From Library Journal

Strassler, an unaffiliated scholar of classical studies, has remedied many of the flaws of Richard Crawley's 1874 translation of The Peloponnesian War. He has added descriptive paragraph-by-paragraph synopses, topic headers on every page, numerous maps keyed to the adjoining text, explanatory footnotes, an extensive index, an excellent introduction by Victor Davis Hanson (California State Univ.), and 11 appendixes (by various scholars) on politics, warfare, and society in the Greece of the fifth century B.C.E. What the editor has done he has done well, creating a valuable basic reference for students of ancient history. His work has only two flaws: it lacks a substantial bibliography, having only a two-page "concise" one; and the price will put it out of reach of many institutions. For academic libraries and others with large history collections.?James F. DeRoche, Alexandria, Va.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Free Press (September 18, 1996)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 711 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0684828154
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0684828152
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.17 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8 x 1.75 x 9.75 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,863,715 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,062 in Ancient Greek History (Books)
- #48,711 in Military History (Books)

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4.8 out of 5

764 global ratings

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TSKJR

The Kindle Version is Not an Issue!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 29, 2022

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As a history buff, I have found Thucydides fascinating since I was first introduced to him in college. I studied Latin (not Greek) for four years but am not a scholar of the classics or an academician and cannot comment “technically” on the readability of the translation, but I have not found anything to criticize. My comments are directed toward those who have criticisms of the Kindle version. I have been reading this on the Kindle Fire HD 10 and the iPad and I haven’t found any formatting problems, nor do I have issues with the size or clarity of the maps. (On the iPad, whenever you want to enlarge a map or a photo, all you have to do is to place two fingers on the screen and spread them apart over the image you want to enlarge.) And I like being able to click on foot notes and see them immediately without having to look them up. In conclusion, if you like history and are looking for something really good to read, try this! Both the hardback or Kindle version are a little pricey, but do as I did: save your Kindle Rewards and get a discount.

One person found this helpful

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Brian

probably the best version of the best greek classic

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 12, 2022

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When you read the Greek classics you can often feel confused as to why the ancient Greeks are held in such high self esteem as many of the Greek classics seem to fall short of their reputation. This doesn't happen with Thucydides, who lives up to the lofty reputation of the ancient Greeks. This is the best version of the best Greek classic.

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Anders

Wonderful supplementary material, needlessly difficult translation

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 9, 2020

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The Landmark editions of various classics--including Herodotus, Xenophon, more recently Caesar’s writings, as well as, I presume, the upcoming Polybius (I'm particularly looking forward to this one)--are fantastic editions of each respective text, perfect for readers who may need help keeping track of the chronology, geography and personages mentioned in these extensive, millennia-old works. They come complete with copious footnotes and appendices rich with additional information and context written by an assortment of scholars, some of whom I'm not particularly fond of, but that's a digression for another day. They really are great. However, I really can’t recommend The Landmark Thucydides due to the translation, which in this case dates form 1876 and will likely seem very opaque, if not downright difficult, to the 21st Century reader. The at times ambiguous phrasing of Crawley, the translator, compounds Thucydides’s own knack for dense, difficult prose, making for quite a slog. Because of this I’d recommend attempting a more modern translation supplemented by Google/Wikipedia searches for when you get lot regarding where a particular city is.

To illustrate my point, compare the translation used here to the one found in the Penguin Classics edition, translated by English novelist and classicist Rex Warner in the 1950s. The passages in question are from book three, wherein Athenians Cleon and Diodotus publicly debate whether or not the Mytilenians should be executed for their revolt. Both men go on a bit of a digression regarding the purpose of political debate. Here Diodotus justifies the need for reasoned, public debate to inform democratic decision making, and criticizes Cleon’s insinuation that political speakers and advisors are primarily motivated by self interest.

Here is the Crawley translation included in the Landmark edition:

‘As for the argument that speech ought not to be the exponent of action, the man who uses it must be either senseless or interested: senseless if he believes it possible to treat of the uncertain future through any other medium; interested if wishing to carry a disgraceful measure and doubting his ability to speak well in a bad cause, he thinks to frighten opponents and hearers by well-aimed calumny.’

Compared to Warner’s translation in the Penguin edition:

‘And anyone who maintains that words cannot be a guide for action must be either a fool or one with some personal interest at stake. He is a fool if he imagines that it is possible to deal with the uncertainties of the future by any other medium, and he is personally interested if his aim is to persuade you into some disgraceful action, and, knowing that he cannot make a good speech in a bad cause, he tries to frighten his opponent and his hearers by some good-sized pieces of misrepresentation.’

Later in the same speech compare Crawley:

‘The good citizen ought to triumph not by frightening his opponents but by beating them fairly in argument; and a wise city, without over-distinguishing its best advisers, will nevertheless not deprive them of their due, and, far from punishing an unlucky counselor, will not even regard him as disgraced. In this way successful orators would be least tempted to sacrifice their convictions for popularity, in the hope of still higher honours, and unsuccessful speakers to resort to the same popular arts in order to win over the multitude.’

...to Warner:

‘The good citizen, instead of trying to terrify the oppression, ought to prove his case in fair argument; and a wise state, without giving special honours to its best counsellors, will certainly not deprive them of the honour they already enjoy; and when a man's advice is not taken, he should not even be disgraced, far less penalized. In this way successful speakers will be less likely to pursue further honours by speaking against their own convictions in order to make themselves popular, and unsuccessful speakers, too, will not struggle to win over the people by the same acts of flattery.’

I find Warner’s translation much clearer and easier to follow: compare the very dated sounding "speech ought not to be the exponent of action" to the more direct and modern "words cannot be a guide for action," as well as the nearly euphemistic "popular arts" to the single word "flattery." On several occasions while reading the Landmark edition I had to go over passages multiple times to discern exactly what was being said or relayed. It was worse for the long orations, which are particularly wordy.

As for Thucydides’s histories itself, we’re so very lucky that the text has survived to be read--and published--into our century. And though I do much prefer Herodotus, in part because of my own interest in the Achaemenid Empire and in part because it’s simply more fun to read, the political discussions and events of Thucydides, despite being 2500 years past, still bare a powerful and at times startling relevance to our modern world. I recommend reading Thucydides, just not this particular translation.

34 people found this helpful

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Mark

FASCINATING !

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 28, 2022

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quite interesting to read how life was in Greece around 420 B.C
wasn't history buff till I read Thucydides

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David Montgomery

A Possession For All Time

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 24, 2006

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Thucydides understood the importance of the events he both witnessed and took part in and for that reason he understood why others should know about them. It is quite remarkable to think that twenty-five hundred years later, Thucydides's account of the Peloponnesian War is still being widely read. But I suppose that's natural considering his account provides so much of the fairly limited evidence we have of the events of that tragic period. We can be thankful for his foresight and appreciation of educating those of us who came much later.

Strassler has put together a very accessible book on studying both Thucydides's own account (the most valuable part of the book) as well as adding to it with maps of the areas in question, notes, and appendices following the text that help illuminate some of the military, political, some social and economic aspects of the Greek world. Thucydides's account covers mainly the military side of the twenty-seven year long conflict known as the Peloponnesian War, although his account ends in 411 BC, some seven years before Athens's ultimate defeat. But his narrative gives us at least some important glimpses of other aspects of life in the Hellenic world at that time, though precious little especially on the social side.

There is so much to learn in this narrative, despite the horrendous conflict that engulfed nearly twenty-seven years between the two chief city-states, Athens and her allies versus Sparta and her allies. We learn very little of the author; he seems to believe that his part is very minor compared to everything else that occurred and therefore is not worth discussing. As others have noted, he seems not to have had a profound religious side, at least it seems the notions of oracles and omens and the likes aren't as widely discussed as others have written, e.g. Herodotus's Histories. The author displays a fairly balanced view of the conflict, though he was an Athenian.

The speeches that he includes are quite remarkable, though you have to doubt the veracity of all of these in terms of word for word accuracy, maybe some were conjured, but who can say for sure, we weren't there. It seems hard to find fault with his careful examination of events and his efforts to provide a fairly accurate account of that tragic war. He was a participant, and like any writer of history, is influenced by his own prejudices and his own experiences, to some extent at least. Without his account we would know far less.

There are many memorable and very human episodes that will strike you in this account, such as the effects of the Plague on Athens's population, the oratory of Pericles, the Athenian disaster at Sicily, the civil strife erupting between people who shared the same homeland, and so forth. You'll learn of the growth of the Athenian empire and the problems possessing an empire can lead to, the nature of the Spartan military, the strategies and battles fought, public leaders like Pericles, Hermocrates, Nicias, Cleon, Brasidas, Alcibiades and so many others.

Accounts like Thucydides's prove that human nature doesn't really change that much, despite all the evident technological, political, economic and cultural changes that have occurred, we still possess the same strengths and weaknesses innate to human nature from time immemorial. This account is invaluable and this edition by Strassler makes it imminently accessible. A true classic.

10 people found this helpful

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David Disley

Ancient History for Modern Readers...........

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 25, 2017

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All I can say is, "WOW - What a book". If, like me, you always wanted to read Thucydides' "The Peloponnesian War" but just couldn't quite get to grips with it, then this is the version you need. As well as the text, the author has had the presence of mind to include sidebar notes, maps and footnotes to explain the history of the time, which is very useful to the layman. I like it so much that I'm going to order the books in this series. Highly recommended.

13 people found this helpful

M.I.

Lessons to be learned

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 16, 2018

Verified Purchase

The Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE) is little known in present times, yet we could learn so much from it. The historian, the first in Europe, Thucydides, served in it and was exiled for failure to hold a fortress. It can be difficult reading (I've translated it), mainly because so many place names are now unfamiliar. Strassler does much to help with this. We don't know why the author never finished the work, after eight volumes in great detail. Books 6 and 7 are especially valuable in warning us against the urgings of charlatans, even now. I recommend this along with Kagan's work on the subject and Hutchinsons' 'Attrition'. Brutal as the conflict was, what followed was arguably worse still under a puppet government.

5 people found this helpful

MR

Just what I was looking for

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 13, 2021

Verified Purchase

A translation which contains references and maps to all the events and places.
This saves the time looking every single place name. Very well organised.
There were one or two missing references even though they had been subscripted otherwise it would have received 5 stars.
It is still the best of its type.

3 people found this helpful

Mr Wood

book could be in better condition

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 16, 2021

Verified Purchase

The copy of the book I received was heavily marked and the text underlined so wasn't exactly in good condition.

Robert Rivers

Perfect for students!!!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 6, 2016

Verified Purchase

As a student at uni currently studying ancient history, I found this translation of Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War to be incredibly helpful in understanding the chronology and the characters of the Peloponnesian War, and hugely useful for revision, what with the summaries, maps, references, index, and editing. Just sad there couldn't be more landmark histories for everything I'm studying!

5 people found this helpful

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