Thucydides: The Peloponnesian War Book VI

by: Pelling, Chr.

In Books 6 and 7 Thucydides' narrative is, as Plutarch puts it, 'at its most emotional, vivid, and varied' as he describes the Sicilian Expedition that ended so catastrophically for Athens (415–413 BCE). Book 6 features tense debates both at Athens, with cautious Nicias no match for risk-taking Alcibiades, and at Syracuse, with the statesmanlike Hermocrates confronting the populist Athenagoras. The spectacle of the armada is memorably described; so is the panic at Athens when people fear that acts of sacrilege may be alienating the gods, with Alcibiades himself so implicated that he is soon recalled. The Book ends with Athens seeming poised for victory; that will soon change, and a sister commentary on Book 7 is being published simultaneously. The Introduction discusses the narrative skill and the part these books play in the architecture of the history. Considerable help with the Greek is offered throughout the Commentary.

Guides the reader through the first part of one of the most crucial and dramatic episodes in Thucydides' History: the Sicilian Expedition
The Introduction helps the reader appreciate the narrative skill of the book and its place within the architecture of the wider work
The Commentary provides undergraduate-level students with considerable help with understanding the Greek

Table of Contents
Introduction
Deviations from Alberti
Sigla
THUCYDIDES: THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR BOOK VI
Commentary
Bibliography
Indexes.

Thucydides: The Peloponnesian War Book VI

by: Pelling, Chr.

• ISBN-13: 9781316630211 / 978-1-316-63021-1
• ISBN-03: 1316630218 / 1-316-63021-8
• Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2022