Thucydides’HistoryofthePeloponnesianWarisoneoftheearliestandmostinfluentialworksinthewesternhistoriographicaltradition.ItprovidesanunfinishedaccountofthewarbetweenAthensandheralliesandSpartaandherallieswhichlastedfrom431to404BC,andisamasterpieceofnarrativeartandofpoliticalanalysis.ThetwentychaptersinthisCompanionofferawiderangeofperspectivesondifferentaspectsofthetext,itsinterpretationanditssignificance.Thenatureofthetextisexploredindetail,andproblemsofThucydides’historicalandliterarymethodologyareexamined.OtherchaptersanalysethewaysinwhichThucydides’workilluminates,orcomplicates,ourunderstandingofkeyhistoricalquestionsforthisperiod,aboveallthoserelatingtothenatureandconductofwar,politics,andempire.Finally,thebookalsoexploresthecontinuinglegacyofThucydides,fromantiquitytothepresentday.
