Publisher's Synopsis
Thucydides boasted that his account of the Peloponnesian War between the Athenians, the Spartans and their respective allies was "a possession forever". Certainly, his work is no bare chronicle of events. It explores themes of lasting significance concerning relations between states and political behaviour within states, under the severe stresses of a long war.
Books III-V, covering the years 428 to 416 B.C., contain some of Thucydides' finest narratives and analyses, whether he is exposing tyrannical and cynical behaviour on both sides of the conflict, the horrors of civil strife, or the manipulation of a sovereign citizen-assembly by an unscrupulous politician.
This commentary elucidates for Greek-less readers the historical and literary aspects this fine example of historical writing.
