The Online Library of Liberty
A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.
About Liberty Fund:
Liberty Fund, Inc. is a private, educational foundation established to encourage the study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals.
Fair use statement:
This material is put online to further the educational goals of Liberty Fund, Inc. Unless otherwise stated in the Copyright Information section of the individual titles, this material may be used freely for educational and academic purposes. It may not be used in any way for profit.
Thucydides on Empire, War, Democracy, and Liberty
This List Is By:
Liberty Fund Staff
Liberty Fund, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
In the following discussions we wish to discuss Thucycdides’ History of the Peloponnesian Wars by exploring some of the following topics: the origins of the war, the different strategies of the Spartans and the Athenians, human nature, civil war, justice, peace and diplomacy, imperial overstretch, statesmanship, and morality.
For further reading at this website see:
- Authors: Ancient Greece
- Subject Area: War and Peace
- Subject Area: History
- Thucydides
Session I: Origins
Read sections 1.1–1.7, 1.13–1.55, 1.66–1.97, and1.139–1.146
Thucydides, 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. Chapter: THE FIRST BOOK of the HISTORY OF THUCYDIDES.
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/771/90126 on 2008-01-30
The text is in the public domain.
Session II: Spartan and Athenian Strategy
Read sections 2.1, 2.8–2.27, and 2.34–2.65
Thucydides, 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. Chapter: THE SECOND BOOK of the HISTORY OF THUCYDIDES.
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/771/90127 on 2008-01-30
The text is in the public domain.
Session III: Human Nature, Civil War, and Justice (Reading 1)
Read sections 3.1–3.85
Thucydides, 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. Chapter: THE THIRD BOOK of the HISTORY OF THUCYDIDES.
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/771/90128 on 2008-01-30
The text is in the public domain.
Session III: Human Nature, Civil War, and Justice (Reading 2)
Read sections 4.2–4.23, 4.26–4.31, and 4.35–4.41
Thucydides, 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. Chapter: THE FOURTH BOOK of the HISTORY OF THUCYDIDES.
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/771/90129 on 2008-01-30
The text is in the public domain.
Session IV: Peace, Diplomacy, and the Melian Dialogue
Read sections 5.6–5.24, 5.35–5.49, and 5.74–5.116
Thucydides, 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. Chapter: THE FIFTH BOOK of the HISTORY OF THUCYDIDES
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/772/90131 on 2008-01-30
The text is in the public domain.
Session V: Imperial Overstretch and the Sicilian Expedition
Read sections 6.1, 6.6–6.52, 6.60–6.61, and 6.88–6.93
Thucydides, 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. Chapter: THE SIXTH BOOK of the HISTORY OF THUCYDIDES.
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/772/90132 on 2008-01-30
The text is in the public domain.
Session VI: Statesmanship, War, and Morality
Read sections 7.1–7.3, 7.10–7.19, 7.27–7.30, 7.37–7.49, and 7.72–7.87
Thucydides, 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. Chapter: THE SEVENTH BOOK of the HISTORY OF THUCYDIDES.
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/772/90133 on 2008-01-30
The text is in the public domain.