Description

SHORTLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL HELLENIC PRIZE

A HISTORY TODAY BOOK OF THE YEAR

An authoritative translation of Thucydides’s masterpiece.

Thucydides has been essential reading for centuries. A sweeping narrative of the war between Athens and Sparta that began in 431 BCE and would continue until 404. The only existing contemporary narrative of this conflict, Thucydides’s words brim with military, moral and political reflections on challenges that still dominate our world today, from the strife of civil war, to the devastation of widespread plague to the nature of political power.

In this dazzling new translation of one of the great masterworks of classical Greece, Robin Waterfield’s version of The History of the Peloponnesian War offers an incisive and timely window onto the nature and causes of warfare.

Publisher Review

Athenian historian (if that’s what he was) Thucydides is a notoriously gritty and gristly writer. Even his fellow ancient Greeks found translating him hard going. For a happy combination of accuracy (prime Thucydidean quality), literary fluency, and interpretative skill, this new translation by super-experienced Robin Waterfield with the assistance of distinguished ancient historian Polly Low will be far more than a transient showpiece of the sort Thucydides abhorred — Paul Cartledge, author of DEMOCRACY: A LIFE Waterfield has a track record of marvelous translations of Herodotus, Plato, and others, and now his Thucydides is just as good, extremely readable and accessible without any dumbing down of this demanding author. It is enhanced by the introduction and notes by Polly Low, telling readers exactly what they need to know to make the most of a perpetually engrossing text — Christopher Pelling, Professor of Greek Emeritus, University of Oxford Waterfield’s elegant, modern translation of Thucydides will serve both scholars and general readers exceptionally well, while Low’s introduction and notes offer just the right amount of context and explanation, illuminating the text rather than weighing it down. In their hands Thucydides’ great work shows the same ‘bloom of perpetual newness’ that Plutarch once saw in the Parthenon — Johanna Hanink, Brown University Waterfield’s translation of a bold and powerful writer brimming with creative ideas on matters of language and politics is crisp, readable, and true to the author’s diction. Polly Low’s introduction is accessible and expansive without being pedantic . . . Thucydides is a writer for the ages: Waterfield and Low, his interpreters today — Lawrence A. Tritle, Loyola Marymount University A magnificent achievement, making ancient history live in a vernacular for our time — Kirkus (starred) A superb, fresh translation of Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War by nonpareil translator Robin Waterfield with introduction and notes by Polly Low — History Today, Books of the Year