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	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Sebastian Ritscher
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Politics & government

HISTORY OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR

Polly Low Robin Waterfield

Thucydide's History of the Peloponnesian War is one of the most famous texts of Western political thought. For nearly 2500 years, politicians, military leaders, and political thinkers across the political spectrum have turned to Thucydides for his pollical realism and profound understanding of human nature. However, the original Greek is infamously complex and thus existing translations, in attempt to be faithful to the original syntax, are awkward and create a hard to follow narrative. Robin Waterfield takes a different approach and captures both the intent and drama of the original but creates an easy to follow narrative that is both clear and fun to read. With an introduction from Polly Low designed to guide readers on how to read and understand Thucydides, we believe that this will become the go to translation for years to come.

Robin Waterfield's translation of Thucydides's sweeping narrative vividly depicts the events of the war between Athens and Sparta that began in 431 BCE and would continue until 404, a conflict that embroiled not only mainland Greece but Greek states from the eastern Mediterranean and as far west as Italy and Sicily. The only extant contemporary narrative of this conflict, Thucydides's History brims with military, moral, and political reflections, offering critical commentary 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.

Thucydides died before completing the accountit ends in 410but his legacy is timeless. One of the great masterpieces of classical Greece, The History of the Peloponnesian War offers an incisive and timely window into the conflicts of the past.

Robin Waterfield is an independent scholar and translator. He lives with his wife, the writer Kathryn Waterfield, on a small olive farm in southern Greece.

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Book Published 2025-09-01 by Basic Books

Comments

Robin 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.

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.

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.