'The greatest historian that ever lived' Such was Macaulay's verdict on Thucydides (c.
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.
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.
Of his own work Thucydides wrote: 'I shall be content if [my history] 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 .
It was composed as a permanent legacy, not a showpiece for a single hearing.
' So it has proved.
Of the prose writers of Greece and Rome Thucydides has had more lasting influence on western thought than all but Plato and Aristotle.
This new edition combines a masterly translation with comprehensive supporting material.
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