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A Commentary on Thucydides: Volume I: Books I - III
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.
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.
560 pages, Paperback
First published November 28, 1991
45 people want to read
About the author
Simon Hornblower
38 books22 followersSimon Hornblower is Professor of Classics and Grote Professor of Ancient History at University College London.
Born in 1949, he was educated at Jesus College, Cambridge, and Balliol College, Oxford, where he took a DPhil in 1978.
In 1971 he was elected to a Prize Fellowship of All Souls College, which he held until 1977. From 1978 until 1997, he was University Lecturer in Ancient History at the University of Oxford and Fellow and Tutor in Classics at Oriel College, Oxford, including one year, 1994/95, in which he was a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. He moved to University College London in September 1997, where he was Senior Lecturer before being appointed Professor of Classics, then Professor of Ancient History in 2006.
He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2004.
His current focus is classical Greek historiography (especially Herodotus and Thucydides) and the relation between historical texts as literature and as history. He has published two volumes of a historical and literary commentary on Thucydides (Oxford University Press, 1991 and 1996) and the third and final volume will be published in late 2008. His latest book is Thucydides and Pindar: Historical Narrative and the World of Epinikian Poetry (2004). He is also co-editor, with Professor Cathy Morgan of King's College London, Pindar's Poetry, Patrons, and Festivals: From Archaic Greece to the Roman Empire (Oxford University Press, 2007).
Since 1979 he has been involved with the ongoing project Lexicon of Greek Personal Names and in 2000 co-edited a book called Greek Personal Names: their Value as Evidence (Oxford University Press for the British Academy).
He co-edited the new (3rd edn, 1996) Oxford Classical Dictionary.
Born in 1949, he was educated at Jesus College, Cambridge, and Balliol College, Oxford, where he took a DPhil in 1978.
In 1971 he was elected to a Prize Fellowship of All Souls College, which he held until 1977. From 1978 until 1997, he was University Lecturer in Ancient History at the University of Oxford and Fellow and Tutor in Classics at Oriel College, Oxford, including one year, 1994/95, in which he was a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. He moved to University College London in September 1997, where he was Senior Lecturer before being appointed Professor of Classics, then Professor of Ancient History in 2006.
He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2004.
His current focus is classical Greek historiography (especially Herodotus and Thucydides) and the relation between historical texts as literature and as history. He has published two volumes of a historical and literary commentary on Thucydides (Oxford University Press, 1991 and 1996) and the third and final volume will be published in late 2008. His latest book is Thucydides and Pindar: Historical Narrative and the World of Epinikian Poetry (2004). He is also co-editor, with Professor Cathy Morgan of King's College London, Pindar's Poetry, Patrons, and Festivals: From Archaic Greece to the Roman Empire (Oxford University Press, 2007).
Since 1979 he has been involved with the ongoing project Lexicon of Greek Personal Names and in 2000 co-edited a book called Greek Personal Names: their Value as Evidence (Oxford University Press for the British Academy).
He co-edited the new (3rd edn, 1996) Oxford Classical Dictionary.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 24, 2014
A brilliant commentary on Thucydides; the scholarly work that has been done with extreme care to the detail mirrors the intellectual personality of its author. For the students of Thucydides this is the best treat that they can get.
Displaying 1 of 1 review