Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War 

Thucydides wrote his History as “a possession for all time” in the belief that the fundamental causes, strategies, hopes, excuses, blunders, abuses, and challenges of the war between Athens and Sparta would be repeated again and again throughout time. And so that belief has been proved. Particularly important for American readers is the vivid portrait of Athens as a brilliant democracy but troubled empire. Each week’s class will read one of the eight major divisions of the work where group discussion is paramount and lecturing is minimal. 

Required Reading: The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War, ISBN 978-0684827902.

Richard Heitman reads Ancient Greek and has studied Thucydides in college, graduate school, NEH seminars, in addition to preparation for an unfinished book. A former playwright and then philosophy professor, he concentrates on Thucydides’ sense of nuance, drama, and oration, as well as political commentary.