Thucydides: An Introduction for the Common Reader

by Perez Zagorin

This book is a concise, readable introduction to the Greek author Thucydides, who is widely regarded as one of the foremost historians of all time.


Why does Thucydides continue to matter today? Perez Zagorin answers this question by examining Thucydides' landmark History of the Peloponnesian War , one of the great classics of Western civilization. This history, Zagorin explains, is far more than a mere chronicle of the conflict between Athens and Sparta, the two superpowers of Greece in the fifth century BCE. It is also a remarkable story of politics, decision-making, the uses of power, and the human and communal experience of war. Zagorin maintains that the work remains of permanent interest because of the exceptional intellect that Thucydides brought to the writing of history, and to the originality, penetration, and the breadth and intensity of vision that inform his narrative.


The first half of Zagorin's book discusses the intellectual and historical background to Thucydides' work and its method, structure, and view of the causes of the war. The following chapters deal with Thucydides' portrayal of the Athenian leader Pericles and his account of some of the main episodes of the war, such as the revolution in Corcyra and the Athenian invasion of Sicily. The book concludes with an insightful discussion of Thucydides as a thinker and philosophic historian.


Designed to introduce both students and general readers to a work that is an essential part of a liberal education, this book seeks to encourage readers to explore Thucydides--one of the world's greatest historians--for themselves.

Genres: History, Classics, Nonfiction, Ancient History, Greece

208 pages, Hardcover

First published October 17, 2005

About the author

Perez Zagorin was an American historian who specialized in 16th- and 17th-century English and British history and political thought, early modern European history, and related areas in literature and philosophy. From 1965 to 1990, he taught at the University of Rochester, New York, retiring as the Joseph C. Wilson Professor of History Emeritus.

Reviews

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Introduces Thucydides, then does a detailed summary and ends by looking at the importance of Thucydides within the discipline of politics and history. Pretty good!

[Dan Ust · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Thucydides' famous history years ago and the first book of Kagan's quadrology soon after. This book was a great refresher for me. And I can see how it would definitely help someone who's either reading the original history or planning to.

Zagorin manages to put the work into perspective without burdening the reader with too much scholarship -- just enough to give you a sense of the debates from ancient times to today. The notes are helpful to those who get bitten by the scholar bug.

Some will cry it's no substitute for reading Thucydides himself. That's true, but this book will give you enough details about the war, its causes and results, and why Thucydides is worth reading that you're not simply overwhelmed by the source text. (That said, my recollection of Thucydides -- in English translation -- is of a lucid, engaging, no nonsense writer. One reason he's still popular after all these centuries.)

[Lazaros · Rating 4 out of 5]

Το βιβλίο που με έκανε να διαβάσω τον Θουκυδίδη για πρώτη φορά!

[Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good book for the topic. Suggested reading at the US Army War College I picked this up for a paper and it proved very useful.

[Regina Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good and short description of the Thucydides work. I do want to read original work, before going any further into praising the book.