Der Peloponnesische Krieg

Saga Pelópsskagastríðsins sem sem geysaði á milli grísku borgríkjanna árin 431-404 f.Kr., http://visindavefur.hi.is/svar.asp?id=4579, er að mörgu leyti heillandi lesning. Ekki síst er hrífandi að hlýða á yfirvegaða og greinargóða lýsingu Þúkýdídesar sem er höfundur frásagnarinnar og hefur jafnan verði nefndur fyrsti sagnfræðingurinn fyrir það hvernig hann segir frá viðfangsefninu.

Mér veittist hins vegar dálítið erfitt að fylgjast með atburðarásinni því að ritstjórar þessarar hljóðbókar ákváðu að láta hana hljóma án innsetninga og skýringa. Eingungis var boðið upp á formála og eftirmála þar sem helstu atburðir og perónur voru settar í samhengi. Fyrir vikið var oft á tíðum erfitt að átta sig á því hvar borgríkin og staðir voru staðsettir í nútímanum og ef þeir voru þekktari undir öðrum nöfnum. Í raun hefði þurft kort eða lýsingarinnskot lesara. Nokkuð sem mér fannst draga útgáfu sögunnar nokkuð niður. ( )

I've read (and taught) this book multiple times, but it had been a while since I read all of it straight through. The intricacies of the war are pretty tedious, but the observations about war and deliberation are fascinating.

This book was a difficult read and a long read.

If this was a 10-star rating system I'd rate it 5 out of 10 stars.

You could read it but it's ancient history. ( )

The first book of the History, after a brief review of early Greek history and some programmatic historiographical commentary, seeks to explain why the Peloponnesian War broke out when it did and what its causes were. Except for a few short excursuses (notably 6.54–58 on the Tyrant Slayers), the remainder of the History (books 2 through 8) rigidly maintains its focus on the Peloponnesian War to the exclusion of other topics.

While the History concentrates on the military aspects of the Peloponnesian War, it uses these events as a medium to suggest several other themes closely related to the war. It specifically discusses in several passages the socially and culturally degenerative effects of war on humanity itself. The History is especially concerned with the lawlessness and atrocities committed by Greek citizens to each other in the name of one side or another in the war. Some events depicted in the History, such as the Melian dialogue, describe early instances of realpolitik or power politics.

The History is preoccupied with the interplay of justice and power in political and military decision-making. Thucydides' presentation is decidedly ambivalent on this theme. While the History seems to suggest that considerations of justice are artificial and necessarily capitulate to power, it sometimes also shows a significant degree of empathy with those who suffer from the exigencies of the war.

For the most part, the History does not discuss topics such as the art and architecture of Greece. ( )

Obviously one of the ornaments of Classical History, this Penguin edition, translated by Rex Warner has been on my shelf, and occasionally been referred to for the last sixty years. Though not as lively as the Plutarch biographies dealing with some of the popular figures of this war, or as simple in approach as Herodotus, this is a basic book in historical education. While Thucydides was a participant in some of the events he describes, the author, probably a minor commander on the Athenian side of the struggle,does make efforts to seem even handed in his account of a brutal and exhausting struggle. Rex Warner's translation seems readable. The Mapping is sparse and not really adequate. For those desiring to discover how the war eventually ended, there is a book by Xenophon describing the final years of the war. The Penguin edition of that work is called "A History of My Times." While this 551 page edition does have an index, it is a fairly sketchy effort. I note the ISBN cited here is of an E-book edition. ( )