Thucydides: The War of the Peloponnesians and the Athenians (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought)

I read Thucydides for two different classes at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. One professor assigned the classic Landmark translation while the other assigned this newer, Cambridge version.As someone who read both versions, I recommend newcomers to Thucydides start with THIS version by Cambridge. It was translated by Jeremy Mynott and released in 2013, while the Landmark version was translated by Richard Crawley in 1874. Now, I love Victorian literature as much as the next guy, but Crawley’s phrasing is dense and at times impenetrable. Sentences drag on for line after line; single paragraphs span pages.Here's an example from the famous “Melian Dialogue.” In this scene, Athenian emissaries confront representatives from the small island of Melos, insisting they join Athens as allies (and taxpayers) or suffer the consequences. The Melians resist these strong-arm tactics, declaring that justice is on their side, and that they will not abandon hope.Landmark’s rendition of the Athenian response:"Hope, danger’s comforter, may be indulged in by those who have abundant resources, if not without loss, at all events without ruin; but its nature is to be extravagant, and those who go so far as to stake their all upon the venture see it in its true colors only when they are ruined."Cambridge version:"Well, hope is certainly an encouragement in time of danger, and those who rely on hope when they have other resources may be damaged but are not destroyed by it. Hope, however, is prodigal by nature, and those who stake everything they have on it see the truth only at the moment of disaster."As you can see, the Cambridge version is easier to read.That said, the Cambridge version sometimes loses some of Landmark’s oratory power, as in this translation of one of Thucydides’s most famous lines (also from the Melian Dialogue):“…the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.” -- Landmark“…the possibilities are defined by what the strong do and the weak accept.” -- CambridgeIt’s sad to lose out on lyricism, but the Cambridge version makes up for any losses with plain old readability. Besides, the Cambridge version still achieves plenty of drama, whether describing the final tragedy at Melos, the breakdown of civil order in Corcyra, or the complete destruction of the Athenian army in Sicily. Frankly, I would have zoned out through many riveting battles and speeches had I been trudging through the Landmark version.A few other pros and cons:The Cambridge editor and translator, Jeremy Mynott, helps out the reader with abundant footnotes. His asides are interesting and even funny (in a restrained, British way, of course). His maps are less numerous than Landmark’s, but do the job. The font is sharp enough for those who refuse to buy reading glasses. Landmark wins on cover design and paper texture, but who cares about cosmetics?In the end, I have Dr. Mynott and Cambridge to thank for enriching my life with Thucydides’s history and insights. Spend a few hours in 400 B.C. with this Greek soldier, and the way you see the world will change forever.

This is a foundational text to Western Civilization. Although the book can be dense in many areas (not always intellectual complexity), the book has been incredibly helpful for seeing the beginnings of political, international relations, and warfare thoughts put into text. Although, it must be said, I’m not expert on any of these matters or of classic. I’m just a man who loves to read.

My book club decided to read The Peloponnesian War for its January 2016 meeting, and I selected this edition of Thucydides since I wanted to have the most modern version available. Since this is the only translation of Thucydides that I've read, I can't say how it compares to the others. All I know is that it was very easy to read and did such a good job of bringing to life the events and people of this ancient conflict that it was like reading about something that took place a couple of years ago. This is thanks in part to the magnificent job of translation, thanks in part to a great introductory section that does a very good job of explaining what the book is about and why it's significant, and thanks in part to a book that was highly innovative to begin with. This is not some dry treatise about one battle after another. It's the original clash of democracy versus oligarchy, empire versus empire, Greek versus Greek, and the complicated people who brought it about and fought it on battlefields from Asia Minor to Sicily. For me, it was one of the great reading experiences of my life.

I looked at a couple of translations available for free or nearly free in various corners of the internet. You get what you pay for and much more with Mynott's translation. I would have never gotten anywhere in this book if it were not for the lucid prose and helpful commentary of Mynott's. Now I can appreciate the timelessness of Thucydides' achievement, and I am a better man for it.

Excellent background for anyone who really wishes to watch the development of political writing, and the history of political science.

Haven't read many translations from ancient Greek, but this is among the best of what I have read. The Landmark edition seems to be the standard in college classics courses, so I compared a few pages. I found this Cambridge edition very readable, with helpful footnotes and maps that clarify ambiguities, geography and other anomalies in this impressive history. Lots of names, places, battles, speeches, tactics, strategies and attitudes. It's one of the earliest recorded histories and it's fairly comprehensive. Sometimes hard to follow all the detail and names but it's the primary source historians have used for charting that tumultuous period.

I think this is BY FAR the best translation of Thucydides into a modern language that I know of. I am acquainted with several English, French and Spanish translations, plus one German one (Landmann) and one Italian one (Piccolo). I've had to compare them in specific places, as I prepare my own Spanish translation of the Melian dialogue. Mynott is faithful, concise, agile and writes in today's English.

Extremely readable, contributed greatly to my understanding of the Peloponnesian War.