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Audiobooks > History >  Ancient > The History of the Peloponnesian War
The History of the Peloponnesian War Audiobook, by Thucydides Play Audiobook Sample

Download The History of the Peloponnesian War Audiobook

3.9 out of 53.9 out of 53.9 out of 53.9 out of 53.9 out of 5 (3.90) - 30 customer ratings
The History of the Peloponnesian War Audiobook, by Thucydides Play Audiobook Sample
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Author: Thucydides Narrator: Pat Bottino Publisher: Blackstone Publishing Audio Length: Release Date: January 2006 Format: Unabridged Audiobook Delivery: Instant Download ISBN: 9781455172474
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Publisher Description

Thucydides’ classic chronicle of the war between Athens and Sparta from 431 to 404 BCE persists as one of the most brilliant histories of all time. As one who actually participated in the conflict, Thucydides recognized the effect it would have on the history of Greece above all other wars. With a passion for accuracy and a contempt for myth and romance, he compiled an exhaustively factual record of the disaster that eventually ended the Athenian empire.

Conflicts between Athens and Sparta over shipping, trade, and colonial expansion came to a head in 431 BCE, when the entire Greek world was plunged into twenty-seven years of war. This watershed event concerns not only military prowess but also perennial conflicts between might and right, imperial powers and subject peoples. Extraordinary writing, scrupulous methods, and keen political insight make this account a joy to read.

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Quotes

  • “The most politic historiographer that ever writ.”

    - Thomas Hobbes

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Customer Reviews

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  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " This book has everything: maps, glossaries, etc. Makes Thucydides much more accessible. "

    - Marcus, 2/20/2014
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Written four hundred years before the birth of Christ, this detailed contemporary account of the long life-and-death struggle between Athens and Sparta stands an excellent chance of fulfilling its author's ambitious claim. Thucydides himself (c.460-400 BC) was an Athenian and achieved the rank of general in the earlier stages of the war. He applied thereafter a passion for accuracy and a contempt for myth and romance in compiling this factual record of a disastrous conflict. "

    - Eddy, 2/18/2014
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " Love Thucydides not only for the fact that everyone made great speeches before the big battles. "

    - Mary, 2/18/2014
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " The political speeches of the advocates for war sound incredibly contemporary in light of recent US aggression. "

    - Brad, 2/8/2014
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " Best book I've ever read. Description of the Athenians defeat at Syracuse and the army's subsequent extermination was heart-wrenching. Also life and times of Pericles - good times and bad - were very descriptive. "

    - Dave, 2/6/2014
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " Finished it! Whoo hoo! Happy days are here again! I read it because I wanted to read it. The main thing I learned is that history repeats itself, as our totally ignorant of history leadership is doing right now with our ill-conceived wars. "

    - Mark, 1/29/2014
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " My favorite version of the classic Thucydides text, as what can often be long and very dense passages are interrupted with ample maps and internal references to keep the reader "grounded" in time and place. I found this helped a great deal when fitting the details of particular battles, campaigns, and invasions within the larger framework of the ongoing war. "

    - M., 1/17/2014
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " This is an astounding legacy from two and a half millennia ago which very existence clearly prove that 1. Mankind's intelligence has not increased one iota over the last two centuries, and in most likelihood nor over the preceding centuries prior to these annals of sophistry in which you can find the origin of pretty much every major speech of every major leader of every major (or minor) country or power ever since. 2. Since we clearly never seem to learn anything from history (the very concept which in essence was coined by this text and which simply means something like "the telling of what has happened" but that from the very beginning was mired in sophistry (yes, I used the word twice and if you don't know what it means go look it up), we are truly doomed to repeat it. The only difference between now and then is that nowadays we have the technology to easier ruthlessly kill people while we film the very act of murder through drones with built in cameras, operated from of all places, Nevada, home of the gambling capital of the world. "

    - S.J., 1/16/2014
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " Excellent history, proving that human nature hasn't changed over all these years. Thucydides seems a very modern narrator. "

    - Sally, 1/16/2014
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " This is the best edition of Thucydides' history of the Peloponnesian War available today. A collection of classicists update the Crawley translation and supply commentary of their own, as well as other helpful study guides. "

    - John-paul, 1/11/2014
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " Sometimes used as an international relations text at universities. It covers every facet of this prolonged struggle between fellow Greeks. "

    - José, 12/8/2013
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " It is tough to fight your way through this book, but it was worth the effort for me. "

    - Matthew, 12/4/2013
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " Thousands of years later this is still one of the most gripping histories ever written. That it is also one of the first is astonishing. "

    - Keith, 6/20/2013
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " Very moving work. I almost wept during one massacre. "

    - Peter, 6/12/2013
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " Very interesting history - with a mythic storytelling feel. Lies somewhere between Homer and Bulfinch. "

    - An, 4/21/2013
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " The account of the Peloponnesian War - "

    - Peter, 6/4/2012
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " I was reading this on a self-imposed political science project but I really had no idea it would be so compelling and evocative. There's an incredible sense of immediacy and even suspense. The sophistication and clarity of the writing is just astonishing... Am I gushing?! "

    - Ross, 1/9/2012
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " A hellacious read. Only for the dedicated. "

    - Smith, 9/8/2011
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " I hate to say it, but Steven Pressman was more interesting. "

    - Tara, 7/6/2011
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " It was a bit dry, but if you read it fast, and look for patterns in how they do things it can be very informative, and even a little bit funny. "

    - Rowan, 5/9/2011
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " Didn't read all of it, but what I did read was great. I'd like to spend some more time with this one. The speeches are great. "

    - Arron, 3/27/2011
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " This is the first book I had to read in my quest for higher education! Very interesting, just glad it is over! "

    - Elise, 2/17/2011
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " Total Rating: 5 of 10Characters: 1 of 2Themes/Symbols: 1 of 2Plot: 1 of 2Prose: 1 of 2Wider Influence: 1 of 2 "

    - Michael, 2/8/2011
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " Another book that I need to re-read after many years. The only reason I give it four stars instead of five is because I found it rather tedious. Then again, I was much younger, and I do plan on reading it again soon. "

    - Mark, 2/7/2011
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " I really don't see the point in reading this cover-to-cover. I had to read Woodruff's abridged version during my undergrad, and it was much more to the point and I liked his translation better as well. "

    - Lauriann, 1/19/2011
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " The place to start with the Peloponnesean War. "

    - Mike, 1/1/2011
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Read this and you will think you are reading today's descriptions of the American government's foreign policy. Yet this is (431-404 B.C.E.) Greece...trippy. "

    - Miquixote, 12/16/2010
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " I LOVED this book. I didn't read all of it, but the exerts I read for class I found fascinating. Definitely not a sit-down-and-read-it-to-the-family kind of book, but it's worth picking up and slowly making your way through. "

    - AnnMarie, 11/11/2010
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " A history of the Peloponnesian War. If I were more of an ancient war buff (like George S. Patton Jr. was), I may have gotten into this a lot more than I did. But it doesn't do much for an average person. Reads more like a textbook for grade-schoolers. "

    - Shawn, 10/31/2010
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Read at St. John's College Graduate Institute "

    - Mischke, 9/7/2010

About the Author

Thucydides (460–400 BCE) was an Athenian general of Thracian decent. After failing to prevent the surrender of the city of Amphipolis to the Spartan commander Brasidas during the Peloponnesian War, he was exiled, when he began compiling his history of the war. He is generally acclaimed as the creator of scholarly history as we know it today.