Thucydides and the Ancient Simplicity

Thucydides'' History of the Peloponnesian War is the earliest surviving realist text in the European tradition. As an account of the Peloponnesian War, it is famous both as an analysis of power politics and as a classic of political realism. From the opening speeches, Thucydides'' Athenians emerge as a new and frightening source of power, motivated by self-interest and oblivious to the rules and s...