Thucydides?

[Matryoshka]

I was thinking of having the kids some of Thucydides history of the Peloponnesian War, but don't think we have the time or level of interest for them to read the whole thing.

 

Anyone have an opinion on which book/chapter/episode might be the most interesting for 13yo girls? I might well read it aloud to sweeten the pill...

[regentrude]

Well.. we did have Thukydides on our reading list, and it was the only book we dropped - DD13 could absolutely not get into it, despite enjoying Homer and Herodotus and Greek tragedies, so it was not a question of reading level. She just could not stand his dry style of writing.

Just to give you a heads-up. (I expect my son to like it when it is his turn.)

[Candid]

My dad who has a PhD told me he found this dull (and he reads tons of military history). I also think I've read that it is fairly biased as well. You might be better off to study the war with a current book and Thucydides and the beginning of historians as subject rather than source.

[SailorMom]

If you aren't necesarrily looking for the Peloponnesian war - I would recommend Herodotus over Thucydides.

He's a bit easier to read, and actually has quite a good sense of humor :)

I recommend, as a modern guide, Donald Kagan's book on the Pelo War - it's great.

As for Thucydides, for one "chapter" try The Sicilian Expedition. I ca't recall which volume of his book it is in, but I'm sure it is "google"able.

Edited August 23, 2011 by SailorMom

[SailorMom]

My dad who has a PhD told me he found this dull (and he reads tons of military history). I also think I've read that it is fairly biased as well. You might be better off to study the war with a current book and Thucydides and the beginning of historians as subject rather than source.

 

He is rather biased, but he is also one of the only sources modern authors have to go on.... Modern scholarship does attempt to take the bias out :)

I think understanding the historiography at the time is helpful to understanding the books. He was one of the first "historians", and considered more accurate than Herodotus, but still influenced by more traditional narrative styles that used non-truths to make points.

Still - much of what he wrote has been backed up my archaeology and inscriptions.

[Aquinas Academy]

If you aren't necesarrily looking for the Peloponnesian war - I would recommend Herodotus over Thucydides.

He's a bit easier to read, and actually has quite a good sense of humor :)

.

:iagree:DD 15 tried Thucydides and just couldn't get into it. Herodotus, however, was a hit.

[Yabusame]

Self-educating here and I have an interest in military history too, so my bias is very different to that of your daughter's but I read the Landmark edition of Thucydides and I found the many maps relating to the text extremely useful in understanding the events that took place. I would suggest that book for anyone that wants to study the work, rather than simply read it and tick it off a reading list.

 

Following from Landmark Thucydides, I also read Kagan's The Peloponnesian War too. That gave me a little more of the academic background to the events too.

 

The above was read during my Ancient/Classical year a couple of years ago so I can't remember specifics but Thucydides impressed me enough that I wanted to learn more about the wars and so I followed it up with Kagan.

 

There are many episodes during the war between Athens & Sparta that could be studied individually. Alternatively, you could approach it from the point of view of the women of the two peoples involved. Just a thought.

[flyingiguana]

If you go with Herodotus instead, Elizabeth Vandiver has a nice series of lectures on him (Teaching Company). At least, that's what I recall. I might be wrong in the details.

 

However, in searching to see if I was right, I ran into this:

http://www.mp3s.pl/mp3/Elizabeth_Vandiver/Herodotus,_The_Peloponnesian_W/1335315

 

I haven't yet tried it, so I don't know if it's legit or legal (aren't these under copyright? Or is there a small charge for these?)