Thucydides

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

Visiting Scholars

Open House | Thucydides’ Melian Dialogue and its Reception, with Ivan Matijašić

We were excited to welcome Ivan Matijašić for an Open House entitled “Thucydides’ Melian Dialogue and its Reception.” The event took place on Friday, April 14 at 11:00 a.m. EDT and was recorded. To get ready for the event, you might like to read the PDF handout linked below: Thucydides Melian Dialogue and its Reception Handout You can watch the recording on our YouTube channel or below. Ivan Matijašić Ivan… Read more

Ancient Greek language,  Video

The language and style of Thucydides, with Jeffrey Rusten

We are pleased to share the following video in which Jeffrey Rusten, of Cornell University, provides some suggestions on how to analyze the language of Thucydides, different types of sentence structure, patterns of contrast and comparison, the use of phrases, and word order. He demonstrates a method of visualizing the structure of a sentence through the use of layout. He also discusses the style of Thucydides compared with other Greek… 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