What Is This?

The Thucydides Daily Reader is a 506-day journey through one of history's most important texts: Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War.

Written in the 5th century BCE, this work chronicles the conflict between Athens and Sparta that reshaped the ancient Greek world.

Rather than presenting the complete text at once, this project releases one passage per day, beginning November 25, 2025.

Each passage is enriched with modern translation, historical context, scholarly annotations, and connections to other ancient sources.

Taking "Thucydides on War" at the SAIS Bologna Center was one of the richest intellectual experiences I've had the fortune to savor. I want to share my passion for this book with the world at large, and encourage more people to engage with Thucydides.

Why Thucydides?

Thucydides is often called the first "scientific" historian. Unlike his predecessors, he:

• Rejected mythological explanations in favor of rational analysis
• Investigated underlying causes rather than accepting surface narratives
• Sought eyewitness testimony and tested evidence
• Examined human nature and power dynamics with an attuned appreciation for psychology

His work remains relevant today, and will in perpetuity.

The Peloponnesian War offers lessons about imperial overreach, democratic fragility, leadership failures, and the human costs of conflict that resonate across millennia.

What's Included Each Day?

Every daily passage features:

• Side-by-side translations: The original 1910 Crawley translation alongside a modern rendering (via Claude) that makes Thucydides accessible to contemporary readers
• Historical context: Explanation of what's happening in the narrative, why it matters, and how it fits into the broader arc of the war
• Scholarly annotations: Links to academic resources, archaeological evidence, and detailed explanations of key terms and concepts
• Parallel ancient sources: Related passages from Herodotus, Plutarch, Xenophon, and other ancient historians who covered the same events or themes
• Thematic connections: Links to other passages exploring similar themes like power, rhetoric, justice, or naval warfare
• Discussion prompts: Thoughtful questions to deepen understanding and encourage reflection on contemporary parallels

How It Was Made

This project uses AI (Claude by Anthropic) to enrich the public domain Crawley translation with modern scholarly insights. The enrichment process involved:

• Parsing the complete text into 506 manageable daily passages
• Generating sophisticated modern translations that preserve Thucydides' style
• Adding historical context drawn from contemporary scholarship
• Identifying connections to other ancient sources
• Creating thematic links across the entire work

All code and enriched content is open source on GitHub under the MIT license.

Why Read It Daily?

The daily format serves several purposes:

• Digestibility: Breaking the History into 507 passages makes this challenging text manageable, even for busy readers
• Contemplation: Time between passages allows for reflection on themes and parallels to contemporary events
• Community: A shared reading schedule creates a community of readers moving through the text together
• Cumulative understanding: Daily engagement builds familiarity with Thucydides' cast of characters and the complex web of alliances and conflicts

Further Reading

For those interested in learning more about Thucydides and the Peloponnesian War:

• Complete Crawley translation at Perseus Digital Library
• Rex Warner translation (Penguin)
• Overview of the History on Wikipedia
• A Historical Commentary on Thucydides by David Cartwright
• Raymond Aron, "Thucydides and the Historical Narrative"
• Martin Ostwald, Anangkê in Thucydides
• Donald Kagan, The Peloponnesian War

About the Creator

Mike Casey is a Managing Partner at Portico Advisers, where he works with technology investors tackling planetary challenges. You can find more of his work at caseyjr.org and bits.caseyjr.org.