Thucydides
The War of the Peloponnesians and the Athenians

A new translation of Thucydides, a foundational text in the history of Western political thought, with extensive student reference material.

Thucydides (Author), Jeremy Mynott (Edited and translated by)

9780521612586, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 28 March 2013

754 pages, 30 maps
21.6 x 13.9 x 3.4 cm, 1.02 kg

'…a fine addition to the Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought series … its excellent footnotes will make it a worthy [addition] to any reading list.' Benjamin Earley, The Classical Review

Thucydides' classic work is a foundational text in the history of Western political thought. His narrative of the great war between Athens and Sparta in the fifth century BC is now seen as a highly sophisticated study of the nature of political power itself: its exercise and effects, its agents and victims, and the arguments through which it is defended and deployed. It is therefore increasingly read as a text in politics, international relations and political theory, whose students will find in Thucydides many striking contemporary resonances. This edition seeks to present the author and the text in their proper historical context. The new translation is particularly sensitive to the risks of anachronism, and the notes and extensive reference material provide students with all the necessary historical, cultural and linguistic background they need to engage with the text on its own terms.

List of maps
Preface
Introduction
Principal dates
Biographical notes
Greek deities, heroes and mythological figures
Greek terms for distances, coinage and the calendar
The War of the Peloponnesians and the Athenians
Appendix 1. Notes on the Greek text: variations from the OCT
Appendix 2. Thucydides in the ancient world: a selection of texts
Bibliography and further reading
Synopsis of contents
Synopsis of speeches
Glossary
Index of names
General index.

Subject Areas: International relations [JPS], Political ideologies [JPF], Political science & theory [JPA], History of ideas [JFCX]