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Somewhat OT: Does anyone have any good recommendations on what to read next, chronologically speaking, after finishing Herodotus's Histories? I had in my mind t

Somewhat OT: Does anyone have any good recommendations on what to read next, chronologically speaking, after finishing Herodotus's Histories? I had in my mind to try out Thucydides, Xenophon, and Plutarch. I'm interested in learning more about the rise of Hellenism, as well as anything related to Ptolemaic Egypt, since I know nothing about either. Herodotus has scratched an itch I never knew I had wrt. history

bigdict 6y ago
Chronologically, The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides makes most sense. It's a shift from the Greek-Persian conflict to Athens vs. Sparta. You can read Plutarch's Lives in parallel (no pun intended), it's pure entertainment.
- colomon 6y ago
  I think Thucydides is exactly what we read next in 1st semester Great Books.
Amezarak 6y ago
Seconding the Thucydides recommendation, but check out the Landmark Ancient Histories editions of these books. You can also get Xenophon's Hellenika to follow that up, as he continues directly where Thucydides left off and goes up to the Theban triumph over Sparta. Where Xenophon really shines though, is Anabasis, the story of his own campaigning. I have the Loeb version of this and it's good. Landmark Ancient Histories also have an edition of Arrian's Alexander you may like, which would begin just a few decades after the end of Hellenika. I prefer this when they're available - they are very richly annotated with maps and other supplementary information to help you keep on track. For Hellenism and Ptolemaic Egypt, Polybius is probably worth a shot. I can't think any other ancient writers that really go into detail on them.
- jihadjihad 6y ago
  This is exactly what I was looking for, thanks so much. Excited to get some good reading done this winter. Do you know of any other, non-ancient sources to look into for Hellenism/Ptolemaic Egypt?
  - cafard 6y ago
    Peter Green's Alexander to Actium: The Historical Evolution of the Hellenistic Age strikes me as very good. It should keep you reading through a long winter (600 pages before the notes). Green wrote a shorter book on Hellenistic history and culture also, but I haven't read it.

bigdict 6y ago

Chronologically, The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides makes most sense. It's a shift from the Greek-Persian conflict to Athens vs. Sparta. You can read Plutarch's Lives in parallel (no pun intended), it's pure entertainment.

colomon 6y ago
I think Thucydides is exactly what we read next in 1st semester Great Books.

Amezarak 6y ago

Seconding the Thucydides recommendation, but check out the Landmark Ancient Histories editions of these books. You can also get Xenophon's Hellenika to follow that up, as he continues directly where Thucydides left off and goes up to the Theban triumph over Sparta. Where Xenophon really shines though, is Anabasis, the story of his own campaigning. I have the Loeb version of this and it's good. Landmark Ancient Histories also have an edition of Arrian's Alexander you may like, which would begin just a few decades after the end of Hellenika. I prefer this when they're available - they are very richly annotated with maps and other supplementary information to help you keep on track. For Hellenism and Ptolemaic Egypt, Polybius is probably worth a shot. I can't think any other ancient writers that really go into detail on them.

jihadjihad 6y ago
This is exactly what I was looking for, thanks so much. Excited to get some good reading done this winter. Do you know of any other, non-ancient sources to look into for Hellenism/Ptolemaic Egypt?
- cafard 6y ago
  Peter Green's Alexander to Actium: The Historical Evolution of the Hellenistic Age strikes me as very good. It should keep you reading through a long winter (600 pages before the notes). Green wrote a shorter book on Hellenistic history and culture also, but I haven't read it.