Thucydides’ History and Political Philosophy What we are presented with in the pages of Thucydides is actual cities engaged in “real” or ”power” politics. Consequently his cities are not so harmonious as those we find in the descriptions of the best regimes in Plato’s Republic, or Laws and in Aristotle‘s Politics. Thucydides, however, examines political life on its own terms and examines actual cities, primarily Athens and Sparta. This orientation leads to the deprecation of actual political life, since this life, when seen in the light of the best regime, cannot but appear deficient. The Republic deals chiefly with the best political order, the best regime. If we compare Thucydides’ History with the classic of political philosophy, Plato’s Republic, we may be struck by the gulf that seems to separate them.
His History is a painstaking description of the events of the war between Athens and Sparta, which he describes as the greatest and most terrible war known to him (I.I, I.23). Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.Thucydides wrote only one work, the remarkable History of the Peloponnesian War. This new edition combines a masterly translation with comprehensive supporting material.ĪBOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Of the prose writers of Greece and Rome Thucydides has had more lasting influence on western thought than all but Plato and Aristotle. It was composed as a permanent legacy, not a showpiece for a single hearing.' So it has proved. Of his own work Thucydides wrote: 'I shall be content if is judged useful by those who will want to have a clear understanding of what happened - and, such is the human condition, will happen again. Thucydides himself was a participant in the war to his history he brings an awesome intellect, brilliant narrative, and penetrating analysis of the nature of power, as it affects both states and individuals.
460-400 BC) and his history of the Peloponnesian War, the momentous struggle between Athens and Sparta as rival powers and political systems that lasted for twenty-seven years from 431 to 404 BC, involved virtually the whole of the Greek world, and ended in the fall of Athens. Such was Macaulay's verdict on Thucydides ( c.
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