The History of the Peloponnesian War
1972
The History of the Peloponnesian War
1972
Translated by Richard Crawley
This is the book that invented history as we know it. Written by an Athenian general who lived through the conflict, Thucydides discarded the myths and legends that earlier chroniclers embraced, instead pursuing what he called 'a possession for all time' - an exact, dispassionate record of the war between Athens and Sparta that would reshape the Greek world. The narrative spans the conflict's full brutality: the political tensions that ignited hostilities, the devastating plague that ravaged Athens, the catastrophic Sicilian Expedition, and the brutal civil wars that tore cities apart. Yet what elevates this work beyond chronicle is Thucydides' profound analysis of power, human nature, and the inexorable logic of empire. The Melian Dialogue, where Athenian envoys justify conquest through raw strength, remains one of the most cited passages in international relations theory. Still studied in war colleges and political science departments, Thucydides' analysis of how fear, honor, and self-interest drive nations into conflict feels startlingly contemporary. For anyone seeking to understand not just what happened, but why humans act as they do in crisis, this remains the founding text.
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“Self-control is the chief element in self-respect, and self-respect is the chief element in courage.””
— Thucydides
“Most people, in fact, will not take the trouble in finding out the truth, but are much more inclined to accept the first story they hear.””
— Thucydides
“Right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.””
— Thucydides
“For the whole earth is the tomb of famous men; not only are they commemorated by columns and inscriptions in their own country, but in foreign lands there dwells also an unwritten memorial of them, graven not on stone but in the hearts of men. Make them your examples, and, esteeming courage to be freedom and freedom to be happiness, do not weigh too nicely the perils of war."[Funeral Oration of Pericles]””
— Thucydides
“When one is deprived of ones liberty, one is right in blaming not so much the man who puts the shackles on as the one who had the power to prevent him, but did not use it.””
— Thucydides
“War is a matter not so much of arms as of money.””
— Thucydides
“A man who has the knowledge but lacks the power clearly to express it is no better off than if he never had any ideas at all.””
— Thucydides
“Men who are capable of real action first make their plans and then go forward without hesitation while their enemies have still not made up their minds.””
— Thucydides
“My work is not a piece of writing designed to meet the needs of an immediate public, but was done to last for ever.””
— Thucydides
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Thucydides. The History of the Peloponnesian War. Lex, lex-books.com/book/the-history-of-the-peloponnesian-war-e7cef93a-22b3-4ef4-bc17-aed35eb0a56a.Thucydides (1972). The History of the Peloponnesian War. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/the-history-of-the-peloponnesian-war-e7cef93a-22b3-4ef4-bc17-aed35eb0a56aThucydides. The History of the Peloponnesian War. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/the-history-of-the-peloponnesian-war-e7cef93a-22b3-4ef4-bc17-aed35eb0a56a.
