A definitive and refreshingly readable new translation of Thucydides’s History of the Peloponnesian War, paired with a brilliant introduction on how to read and understand Thucydides

Thucydides called his work a “possession for all time,” and his History of the Peloponnesian War has been essential reading for generals and politicians for centuries.

Robin Waterfield’s translation of Thucydides’s sweeping narrative vividly depicts the events of the war between Athens and Sparta that began in 431 BCE and would continue until 404, a conflict that embroiled not only mainland Greece but Greek states from the eastern Mediterranean and as far west as Italy and Sicily. The only extant contemporary narrative of this conflict, Thucydides’s History brims with military, moral, and political reflections, offering critical commentary on challenges that still dominate our world today, from the strife of civil war to the devastation of widespread plague to the nature of political power.

Thucydides died before completing the account——but his legacy is timeless. One of the great masterpieces of classical Greece, The History of the Peloponnesian War offers an incisive and timely window into the conflicts of the past.