Name: History of the Peloponnesian War
ISBN: 9780140440393

History of the Peloponnesian War

Written four hundred years before the birth of Christ, this detailed contemporary account of the long life-and-death struggle between Athens and Sparta stands an excellent chance of fulfilling its author's ambitious claim. Thucydides himself (c.460-400 BC) was an Athenian and achieved the rank of general in the earlier stages of the war. He applied thereafter a passion for accuracy and a contempt for myth and romance in compiling this factual record of a disastrous conflict.

What Hacker News says

asimpletuneJul 2023

For anyone who may be interested, my friends and I have a book club called Public Works, where we only read stuff that’s in the public domain, and we just began an arc on antiquity.

Right now we’re reading “History of the Peloponnesian War” by Thucydides, which is amazing, and the plan is to go in chronological order until the fall of the western Roman Empire. So after this, got example, we’ll probably do Xenophon, Plato, some of the plays, and then Aristotle, before moving on to studying Alexander.

It’s all really interesting stuff and the works are by excellent writers, so they’re relatable and easy to read. I think a big benefit comes from reading primary sources, versus, say for example, taking a class in college.

If anyone is interested now is a perfect time to join, as we’ve just begun book 2 of Thucydides. We also need new members because we’re looking for help with writing content about our readings into the site. Helping us optional though of course.

https://r33d.org/

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joyeuse6701Dec 2022

1. Breathe - James Nestor I was a lifelong nighttime mouth breather due to a very dry winter climate growing up in Chicago, clogged up my sinuses. The book inspired me to look into solutions for this problem and now wake up with considerably less brain fog than I did before.

2. War and Peace / Anna Karenina - I wanted some sort of insight into Russian Imperialism and was surprised by how much my father was like some of the characters (his grandfather was a 'count'). I thought his personality was just a quirk of his since he was unlike anyone I knew growing up. He fit the Tolstoyan characterization of a noble like a glove, warts and all.

3. History of the Peloponnesian War - So many of the conflicts today are exemplified in the ancient Greek world and the relationships between the city states as described in the book. Hard to believe (I don't believe) that Thucydides could remember these lengthy speeches given by emissaries in various scenarios, but what is written is nonetheless riveting. It's great context for my current read, Plato's Republic, which was heavily influenced by the Athenian (democracy's) defeat against the Spartan oligarchy.

4. Come As You Are - Emily Nagoski

Shedding light on different sexual perspectives and experiences for something that is usually kept deep in the dark.

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ibgeekDec 2021

The Motivation Myth https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B06ZYFR2CL/ref=tmm_kin_swatch...

First Things First https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00V1XGKJK/ref=tmm_kin_swat...

The Now Habit https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001QNVP7M/ref=tmm_kin_swat...

Chaos https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0143113453/ref=tmm_pap_swat...

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00B1FG8RW/ref=tmm_kin_swat...

My side of the mountain https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0525463461/ref=tmm_hrd_swat...

The Histories https://smile.amazon.com/Histories-Penguin-Classics-Deluxe-e...

The History of the Peloponnesian War https://smile.amazon.com/History-Peloponnesian-War-Thucydide...

The Social Contract https://smile.amazon.com/Social-Contract-Other-Political-Wri...

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YeGoblynQueenneOct 2021

The article you link is the worst kind of telling of history: overflowing with bias, preaching and pontificating and making moral judgments left and right about things that happenned more than 2000 years ago. It is an internet rant, designed to provoke clicks and outrage, and its only reason of existence is the existence of the film, 300, a fantasy, that presents a fantastical image of Sparta, that the author then proceeds to deconstruct as if it were reality, or as if anyone claimed was reality. It is one gigantic straw man.

Instead of consuming one person's opinion, second-hand, why not read the original historical sources?

For example:

The Polity of the Athenians and the Lacedaemonians, by Xenophon

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1178

The History of the Peloponnesian War, by Thucydides

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/7142

History, by Herodotus

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2707 (Volume 1) https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2456 (Volume 2)

On Sparta, by Plutarch

https://www.amazon.com/Sparta-Penguin-Classics-Plutarch/dp/0...

And so on. Read history; and make up your own mind.

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bigdictDec 2020

Chronologically, The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides makes most sense. It's a shift from the Greek-Persian conflict to Athens vs. Sparta.

You can read Plutarch's Lives in parallel (no pun intended), it's pure entertainment.

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aestetixJul 2019

I was very pleasantly surprised to see Don Kagan's "Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War" in the list. His "Introduction to Ancient Greece" class is really good (and available online for free).

I'd also strongly suggest anyone interested in that topic to read Thucydides' original "History of the Peloponnesian War," which is probably the most influential history book ever written.

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