Bob Strassler's Q&A session with the Thucydides reading group

Bob Strassler, editor of the Landmark Thucydides, held a wonderful Q&A session tonight, Monday, June 15 at 8pm eastern with the Thucydides reading group.

- Audio

You can Download BobStrassler-June15-2009-Thucydides-QNA here.

- Twitter

You can see the comments on Twitter made by the listeners (led by Dan and Tim).

And in the comments below you can see some of the questions that readers asked.

I want to thank each of the readers for tackling this great book over the last six months. If they are like me, reading it has changed the way they see and think. 

And I want to thank Andre for his work as the moderator. He really cares about creating a good experience for the readers and his efforts deserve our applause.

Phil 

Comments

[Jim Janicki]

I'd enjoy Bob's perspective on the following questions:

1) If Bob envisioned himself as Thucydides then how would he handle the challenges of collecting, recording, and verifying the information he put in his history? How would he handle this challenge while leading a military force and then having to travel due to being ostracized?

2) Is there any evidence about where Thucydides spent his time after leaving Athens and if he moved around?

Thanks,

Jim

[Dan Gabree]

I would like to hear Mr. Strassler's comments regarding the following:
 
Timeframe - how and when did T get the detailed information for this history (note his comments in 5.26).  Were there perhaps periods of active writing and then lulls? His details in sections almost sound like someone who was present firsthand, but he also makes many comments that indicate he was reporting from other sources, as in section 8.87, "Accounts differ, and it is not easy to ascertain...".  Book 7 also seems at times to suggest that the history was compiled well after the events took place, and if so, how might the details be impacted by who his sources were? Finally, the speeches he presents are certainly wonderful examples of oratory to this day. How were these passed along since he was probably not present for them all.
 
Bias - T often makes personal comments and provides his analysis/opinions about people and events.  At the same time, he often appears very unbiased in his story telling, giving equal/appropriate value to all participants.  Can you share your ideas about T's position throughout this history?  Did it shift as he was exciled? How did the poilitics of Athens affect him toward the end?  One example of T's analysis comes in section 4.65, "So thoroughly had the present prosperity persuaded the Athenians that nothing could withstand them, and that they could achieve what was not possible,and what was impracticable alike, with means ample or inadequate it mattered not. The reason for this was their general extroardinary success, which made them confuse their strength with their hopes."  Another, in 8.96, "But here, as on many other occasions, the Spartans proved the most convenient people in the world for the Athenians to be at war with. The wide difference between the two characters, the slowness and want of energy of the Spartansas comtrasted with the dash and enterprise of their opponents, proved of the greatest service, especially to a maritime empire like Athens."
 
Thank you.
 
Dan

[Tim Albright]

Agree with Dan's. Couple of my own:

1. Very few people have worked as closely as you have with the text, detailing maps, sorting out contradictions, et cetera. What most surprises you about the work after that experience? How did your own views of T. change during the process? What would your first question be to T. at dinner tonight?
2. The Corcyraean Revolt and the Sicilian Campaign both have strong moral overtones as the respective books close, strong enough to impact me greatly. Any insights into these episodes? What other parts of the text have this kind of gravity in your opinion?
3. Alcibiades!! As I read book 8 in particular, I couldn't help but gasp: "Alcibiades, really? Again?" After Pericles, Alcibiades emerges as an almost unbelievably protean character who seems to move with real ease in all three major parties: Athens, Sparta, and Persia (and all points in between). I found his antics to be quite Shakespearian really. What are your thoughts on Alcibiades and what would your first dinner question be to Alcibiades?
4. Has your recent Xenophon work changed any of your thinking about T. and/or Herodotus?

Can't wait. :-)

Tim

[Carol Curtis]

Contemporary America is often seen through the lens of ancient Athens. (We are also an imperial power that can arbitrarily impose democracy on friends and foes alike, for example.) What comparisons would you make -- if any --between the role of Athens in the P. war, and America's role in ongoing conflicts today? What lessons can be drawn for America?
Carol Curtis

[Tim Albright]

I've had the privilege of meeting Bob Strassler twice: once at a book release party for the Landmark Herodotus, and a second time for dinner and discussion with Paul Cartledge at the Met. Still, the call we had with him last night was astonishing.

If there was a Pulitzer prize for revealing complex texts via love, scholarship, and the the humble, nimble ability to keep learning and growing, Strassler would win it. Hands down. I really, really think so.

[Cathryn Cranston]

Dear Bob,

Herodotus and Thucydides created and established the craft, discipline, and art of recording and writing history., You are now the leading scholar for these two masters of the craft. Your devotion to the answers they gave, the questions they left, and the geopolitical context they knew, provides me and other members of The Reading Odyssey with an intensely rewarding, relevant, and challenging intellectual experience.

With gratitude,

Cathryn Cranston