Description

This is the third and final volume (Vol. I 1991, Vol. II 1996) of a historical and literary commentary on the history of the first 20 years of the twenty-seven-year 'Peloponnesian War' (between the Athenians and Spartans and their respective allies) written by the great fifth-century BC historian Thucydides. The present volume of commentary covers the ten closely-narrated years 421-411 BC, and nearly half of the total of eight 'books' (subdivisions) of Thucydides' work. It includes one of the most famous sections of ancient Greek literary writing, the lengthy and supremely dramatic account of the disastrous Athenian expedition against Sicily (415-413) in Books 6 and 7; but also the Melian Dialogue (Book 5), a notorious document of Athenian imperialism; and the account of the oligarchic revolution at Athens in 411 (Book 8). All Greek is translated. There is a thematic General Introduction and two Appendixes.

Features

• The third and final volume of the only commentary in English by a single author on the complete writings of Thucydides, the great fifth-century BC historian of the Peloponnesian War
  
• Contains many new interpretations of well-known passages and problems, as well as providing full bibliographical orientation in the copious modern literature on Thucydides
• Includes a full thematic introduction discussing a variety of topics
• All Greek is translated, so readers without Greek can appreciate the detail of Thucydides' thought and his subject-matter

Reviews

"In short, regardlesss of the angle from which students and scholars come to Thucydides, they will find stimulating material in Hornblower's comments, which both reflect and encourage the disciplinary flexibility of current Thucydidean studies." --New England Classical Journal

Product Details

1128 pages; Frontispiece, 6 figs., 8 maps; ISBN13: 978-0-19-927648-6ISBN10: 0-19-927648-X

About the Author(s)