The Landmark Ancient Histories is a series of annotated editions for ancient history textbooks, edited by

Robert B. Strassler Robert B. Strassler (born c. 1937) is a businessman, book editor, and unaffiliated scholar. He is best known for his work on the Landmark Ancient Histories series. Strassler's editions of classical texts, such as those by Herodotus, Thucydides ...

, and published by

Pantheon Books Pantheon Books is an American book publishing imprint. Founded in 1942 as an independent publishing house in New York City by Kurt and Helen Wolff, it specialized in introducing progressive European works to American readers. In 1961, it was ...

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

imprint).

Volumes

As of 2024, six volumes were published in this series: # ''The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War'' (1996), an edition of

Thucydides Thucydides ( ; ; BC) was an Classical Athens, Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts Peloponnesian War, the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been d ...

History of the Peloponnesian War The ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' () is a historical account of the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), which was fought between the Peloponnesian League (led by Sparta) and the Delian League (led by Classical Athens, Athens). The account, ...

, translated by

Richard Crawley Richard Crawley (26 December 1840 – 30 March 1893) was a Welsh writer and academic, best known for his translation of Thucydides's ''History of the Peloponnesian War''. Life Crawley was born at a Bryngwyn rectory on 26 December 1840, the ...

. , xxxiv+713 pages. # ''The Landmark Herodotus: The Histories'' (2007), an edition of

Histories Histories or, in Latin, Historiae may refer to: * the plural of history * ''Histories'' (Herodotus), by Herodotus * ''The Histories'', by Timaeus * ''The Histories'' (Polybius), by Polybius * ''Histories'' by Gaius Sallustius Crispus (Sallust) ...

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

, translated by Andrea L. Purvis, edited and annotated by Strassler. , lxiv+959 pages. # ''The Landmark Xenophon's Hellenika'' (2009), an edition of

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; ; 355/354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian. At the age of 30, he was elected as one of the leaders of the retreating Ancient Greek mercenaries, Greek mercenaries, the Ten Thousand, who had been ...

Hellenica ''Hellenica'' () simply means writings on Greek (Hellenic) subjects. Several histories of the 4th-century BC Greece have borne the conventional Latin title ''Hellenica'', of which very few survive.Murray, Oswyn, "Greek Historians", in John Boardma ...

, translated by

John Marincola John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

, edited and annotated by Strassler. , lxxxii+585 pages. # ''The Landmark Arrian: The Campaigns of Alexander'' (2010), an edition of

Arrian Arrian of Nicomedia (; Greek: ''Arrianos''; ; ) was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander, and philosopher of the Roman period. '' The Anabasis of Alexander'' by Arrian is considered the best source on the campaigns of ...

Anabasis of Alexander The ''Anabasis of Alexander'' (, ''Alexándrou Anábasis''; ) was composed by Arrian of Nicomedia in the second century AD, most probably during the reign of Hadrian. The ''Anabasis'' (which survives complete in seven books) is a history of th ...

, translated by Pamela Mensch, edited and annotated by James Romm. , l+503 pages. # ''The Landmark Julius Caesar: The Complete Works'' (2017), an edition of the works ascribed to

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

, including The Gaelic War, The Civil War, The Alexandrian War, The African War, and The Spanish War, translated, edited, and annotated by

Kurt A. Raaflaub Kurt Arnold Raaflaub (15 February 1941 – 12 September 2023) was a Swiss historian and Emeritus Professor of Classics and History at Brown University, where he taught Greek and Roman history. He was the brother of conductor Beat Raaflaub. Life ...

. , xcii+804 pages. # ''The Landmark Xenophon's Anabasis'' (2021), an edition of Xenophon's

Anabasis Anabasis (from Greek ''ana'' = "upward", ''bainein'' = "to step or march") is an expedition from a coastline into the interior of a country. Anabase and Anabasis may also refer to: History * '' Anabasis Alexandri'' (''Anabasis of Alexander''), ...

, translated by David Thomas, edited and annotated by Shane Brennan and David Thomas. , lxx+601 pages. Each volume contains a translation of the ancient text, detailed annotations, a large number of maps, extensive footnotes and margin notes, summaries of each "book" (chapter) of the text, numerous appendixes, and an index. The translation, with the exception of Crawley's translation of Thucydides, are new translations commissioned specifically for these editions. An additional volume is in preparation as of 2024: ''The Landmark Polybius''. As of 2024, that volume is scheduled for publication in 2026.

Reception

The series was received with appreciation and positive reviews from both scholars and book reviews. For example, Edward Rothstein wrote in the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

that "the publication of 'The Landmark Herodotus' (Pantheon) which includes a new translation by Andrea L. Purvis, and extensive annotation by scholars is such a worthy occasion for celebrating Herodotus' contemporary importance." Michael Kulikowski wrote, in the

London Review of Books The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published bimonthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews. History The ''London Review of Book ...

, comparing ''The Landmark Julius Caesar'' to a later translation, wrote that:

"the ''Landmark Julius Caesar'' that appeared just three years ago ... includes the whole Caesarian corpus, as well as hundreds of maps and illustrations. In contrast to he newer translation it has a dozen meaty footnotes on every page, with a running chronology and summary glosses in the margin. One could teach its schematic battle plans at West Point. And the translation dramatically bulks out Caesar's own words."

Describing the series as a whole, James Romm wrote, in the

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

"Beginning with 'The Landmark Thucydides,' published by the Free Press in 1996, Mr. Strassler showed his determination to leave no reader behind. He supplied detailed maps on nearly every third page of text and clear, full annotation that removed potential stumbling blocks. Headings kept readers oriented in time and space, as did brief summaries, running down the book's generously wide margins, of each stage of the action. Well-curated photographs of objects and sites turned a mere encounter with the Peloponnesian War into an immersion in classical Greece. Appendix essays set new standards for readability and point. An opening chronology laid out the events of the text in sequence, and a closing index, done in unprecedented detail, provided a precise means of finding whatever item one might be looking for."

The series also sold well; Rothstein notes that as of 2007, eleven years after its publication, ''The Landmark Thucydides'' "sold an astonishing 30,000 copies in hardcover and more than 40,000 in paper".

References

{{Reflist Series of history books Translations into English Book series introduced in 1996