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SOME days later Thymochares arrived from Athens with a few ships, and the Spartans and Athenians immediately fought another naval action in which the Spartans, under the command of Agesandridas, were victorious. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
The sequel to Thucydides,
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This review is from: Penguin Classics History Of My Times (Paperback)
For people who have read Thucydides, this is an exemplary companion to his PELOPONNESIAN WAR. There are likely to be many readers out there who were dismayed at the conclusion of this text as it is incomplete. Of course, this is not the great historian's fault; he died while writing his epic historical treatise.Enter Xenophon. He picks up almost right where Thucydides leaves off and traces the murky Grecian politics over the next 40 years or so, after which time Thebes would assert herself as the foremost power in the Greek world. Along the way, Xenophon painfully recounts the demise of his beloved Spartans. His distaste for the Thebans is readily evident, and one must weigh the veracity of some of his descriptions of battles against his inherent Laconian prejudice. Rex Warner, the translator, does an excellent job of point out specific places where modern scholars have called into question Xenophon's honesty as well as his aptitude as an historian. Nevertheless, for all the Xenophon-bashing that the 20th century has accrued, I still firmly believe he is well worth reading. He is one of the very few primary sources that we have for the demise of Alcibiades, the disastrous 30 Tyrants of Athens, the campaigns of King Agesilaus, the decisive battle of Leuctra and so much more. Hence, the present text is a MUST for the modern classical historian.
2.0 out of 5 stars
Bad paper & ink,
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This review is from: Penguin Classics History Of My Times (Paperback)
Penguin could have used a less rough kind of paper and cleaner printing technologies. I mean, the letters are a mess! They are thick and smudged.Also, Amazon should hire more careful warehouse workers. My book has visible hand smears, and there's a long slit on the spine. I expected better.
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Vagaries of History,
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This review is from: Penguin Classics History Of My Times (Paperback)
The title refers to the complete randomness of the document survival process. We know that only a small fraction of the works of Aristophanes, Euripides, Plato, Livy (the historian), Aristotle and other "greats" survived the ages. The Gospel of Mark, which both Luke and Matthew tries to supplant, survived only because the splinter group that used it was located in the desert and the dryness increased longevity. Thucydides recorded the first part of the Peloponnesian War and Xenophon presents witness to the last few years. Remarkably, both men were participants and their history is based on first-hand knowledge of the events and people. The city-states of Thebes, Athens and Sparta vied for supremacy with shifting allegiances and no clear winner. The writing is good, very good when one considers the various replications and translations that have brought the work to this point. Xenophon introduces speeches and comments of participants and instead of just recording battles and events, he begins the process of writing a moral history - assigning blame, making choices on good and bad, presenting justifications and the reasons why certain people acted as they did. THe author was one of the first of the new breed - those who sought to present human action that was not directed by the caprice of gods or nature. As such he succeeded admirably.
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