Posted on 04/21/2021 12:31:26 PM PDT by AlienCrossfirePlayer
While listening to The Peloponnesian War translated by Benjamin Jowett and narrated by Charlton Griffin, I was puzzled by the way dates descended as time advanced. The dates were recalculated to reference a marking event more familiar to modern listeners (Anno Domini). My question: What was the marking event Thucydides used in his original?
The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC).
He started count when the war started and counted forward.
Very interesting! Very logical! Thanks.
and it reads better that way too
At the time Thucydides was writing, each city-state had their own method of placing events in a timeline, involving references to religious or political leaders. He marks the beginning of the war in reference to events in Argos, Sparta, and Athens, so that it would be understood by as wide an audience as possible.
https://erenow.net/ancient/the-landmark-thucydides-a-comprehensive-guide-to-the-peloponnesian-war/24.php
Message from a Time Traveler
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1610142/posts
Afraid I can’t answer your question.
But I have read at least 3 translations of Thucydides’ The Peloponnesian War and the Benjamin Jowett translation you reference is BY FAR the best.
The answer to your question is complicated. Ancient Greeks used lunar months, and solar years, but Athenians had several “calendars” that started at different times of the year (a Festival calendar; a Political calendar (starting approx. midsummer when the new archon was installed), and Military, which started in Spring. The ancient Greeks in general reckoned dates in relation to 4 year Olympiads and who was in power or other “fixed” events. Exactly which of these Thucydides used in The Peloponnesian War or whether he was “consistent” is way beyond me. Hats off to the scholars who have related it all to modern systems, even if the result is imperfect.
Maybe this will help.
I remember a Mad Magazine gag from a few decades ago that had cheerleader-type cheers for an Ivy League school. Here it goes :
Themistocles
Thucydedes
Peloponesian War
X-squared
Y-squared
H 2 S O 4
Well, I suppose this probably won’t help.
How the hell did I miss that? Thanks for posting a link to it.
It was a long time ago. I’m glad I saved the link to the FR thread. I don’t think the authors website is still there.
Sadly the link in that post is no longer active.
Year One, Fall
Year Two, Winter
I might need to haul my copy out and do a re-read.
This is a pretty common question, and the answer is perhaps a bit complicated. Around about 431 BC, the Athenians invented central heating, where buildings were warmed by heated air that was circulated through flues laid in the floor (see for example, the Great Temple of Ephesus). Certain Greek philosophers including Aristotle speculated that the warm air emerging from these buildings would eventually cause the world to reach a “vrasmós” or boiling point which would extinguish all life in approximately 12 years. So each time Thucydides wrote of another event in the war, he referenced the number of years left.
The entire story is in the FR thread. It’s a good one.
Greeks dated everything from the first Olympiad (776 B.C).
I went looking for the story on line else where and found it linked in this article back to the post. You linked to
https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-mystery-of-dan-simmons-5058996
FR must be the only place it’s available online.
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