History

History

Women in Diodorus Siculus | part 2: Women Associated with Philip II of Macedon

During the summer of 2023 the Kosmos book club read Chapter 17 of Diodorus Siculus’s Library[1], which described the career of Alexander the Great. I began to research more widely the women mentioned in the account, which involved researching Alexander’s family, background and contexts. Plutarch was also a useful source for this[2]. The first blogpost told of the sources and methodology I used and described some of the social and… Read more

History

Women in Diodorus Siculus | part 1: Introduction and Contexts

This series of blogposts originated in the Kosmos Society’s Book Club reading, in the summer of 2023, of Diodorus Siculus’ Library, Book 17, which concerns the campaigns of Alexander the Great[1] in the fourth century BCE. As we read, it became evident that more contextual material was available in Books 16, 18, 19 and 20 of the Library, and also in the works of Plutarch[2] and Arrian[3]. Wikipedia dates Diodorus… Read more

History,  Texts,  Video

Introducing an augmented translation of Thucydides: Book 1

We are pleased to share in the Text Library a revised translation of the first part of Book 1 of Thucydides’ Peloponnesian War that tracks key terms. The selection, chapters 1-23, includes Thucydides’ opening statement, the ‘Archaeology’, and a Preface in which he outlines his methods. Jeffrey Rusten, Keith DeStone, Janet M Ozsolak, Sarah Scott, Hélène Emeriaud This edition was the result of a community-driven collaborative “augmented translation” project. The group… Read more

History,  Video

Overview of Thucydides’ Peloponnesian War Book 1

We are pleased to share this video in which Jeffrey Rusten, Cornell University, introduces the structure and themes of Thucydides’ Peloponnesian War, Book 1. Mentioned in this video: Low, Polly (editor) 2023. The Cambridge Companion to Thucydides. Cambridge, UK. Diamond, Jared. 1998. Guns, Germs, and Steel. New York. Jeffrey Rusten Jeffrey Rusten has taught at Cornell since 1988, in the Classics Dept, of which he has twice been chair, as… Read more

History,  Texts,  Video

Introducing an augmented translation of Thucydides: Book 2

We are pleased to share in the Text Library a revised translation of selections from Book 2 of Thucydides’ The Peloponnesian War that tracks Key terms. The selected part of Book 2—chapters 34–65—includes some important and famous sections, and within these are particular focus passages indicated by highlighting: Pericles’ Funeral Oration The plague in Athens Pericles’ last speech Thucydides’ assessment of Pericles This edition was the result of a community-driven… Read more