Thucydides: War, Empire, and Liberty

This is a Reading List based upon a Liberty Fund Conference on “Thucydides on Empire, War, Democracy, and Liberty.”

Thucydides on Empire, War, Democracy, and Liberty

Guide to the Readings

Editions used:

• Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War Part I, in The English Works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury; Now First Collected and Edited by Sir William Molesworth, Bart., (London: Bohn, 1839-45). 11 vols. Vol. 8.
• Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War Part II, in The English Works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury; Now First Collected and Edited by Sir William Molesworth, Bart., (London: Bohn, 1839-45). 11 vols. Vol. 9.

See also:

• Authors: Ancient Greece
• Collections: War and Peace
• Collections: History

For additional reading see:

• Thucydides
• Thomas Hobbes

Session I: Origins

Thucydides’ Peloponnesian War

• Book I, 1.1–1.7, 1.13–1.55, 1.66–1.97, and1.139–1.146

Session II: Spartan and Athenian Strategy

Thucydides’ Peloponnesian War

• Book II, 2.1, 2.8–2.27, and 2.34–2.65

Session III: Human Nature, Civil War, and Justice

Thucydides’ Peloponnesian War

• Book III, 3.1–3.85
• Book IV, 4.2–4.23, 4.26–4.31, and 4.35–4.41

Session IV: Peace, Diplomacy, and the Melian Dialogue

Thucydides’ Peloponnesian War

• Book V, 5.6–5.24, 5.35–5.49, and 5.74–5.116

Session V: Imperial Overstretch and the Sicilian Expedition

Thucydides’ Peloponnesian War

• Book VI, 6.1, 6.6–6.52, 6.60–6.61, and 6.88–6.93

Session VI: Statesmanship, War, and Morality

Thucydides’ Peloponnesian War

• Book VII, 7.1–7.3, 7.10–7.19, 7.27–7.30, 7.37–7.49, and 7.72–7.87