A Commentary on Thucydides: Volume I: Books I - III: 1 - Softcover

Hornblower, Simon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0198150997 ISBN 13: 9780198150992

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA, 1997

Synopsis

This is the first volume of a two-volume historical and literary commentary on the eight books of Thucydides, the great fifth-century B.C. historian of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta. Exploring both the historical and literary aspects of the work, this commentary provides translations of every passage or phrase of Greek commented on and allows readers with little knowledge of the language to appreciate the detail of Thucydides' work. Making accessible the detail of Thucydides' thought and subject matter, this is the first complete commentary written by a single author this century.

About this title

Review:

for its attention to detail, its balanced judgements, and its broad scope, this commentary will become a standard work...it is historically authoritative and historiographically penetrating. Readers at all levels have much to learn from this book, and will appreciate its clear and careful discussions of the many literary masterpieces in Thucydides.Classics Journal

a model for anyone who wants to get to grips with that great historian: detailed scholarship combined with breadth and lucidity, and the Greek translated into English, too. It is the model on which all future commentaries should be based.The Times

an excellent commentary...it is also an interesting guide to how ancient Greek literature and history have been read and interpreted in the generation from 1960 to 1990.Times Literary Supplement

A work at the highest scholarly level...it will play an important role in future researchGnomon

Synopsis:

This is the first volume of a three-volume historical and literary commentary on the eight books of Thucydides, the great fifth-century BC historian of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta. Of the three books covered in this volume, Book I presents Thucydides' aims in writing the work and the historical background to the war. Books II and III describe the main events of the first five years of the war (431-426) and include Pericles' funeral oration, the plague of Athens, the revolt of Mytilene, the destruction of Plataea, and civil war in Corcyra. Thucydides intended his work to be 'an everlasting possession' and the continuing importance of his work is undisputed. Simon Hornblower's commentary, by translating every passage or phrase of Greek commented on, for the first time allows the reader with little or no Greek to appreciate the detail of Thucydides' thought and subject-matter. It is the first complete commentary written by a single author this century and explores both the historical and literary aspects of the work. A full index is provided at the end of the volume.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0198150997
• ISBN 13: 9780198150992
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 564