The History of the Peloponnesian War is an account of the 431-404 BC war between Sparta and Athens. It was written by Thucydides, an Athenian historian who also happened to serve as an Athenian general during the war.

Plutarch's Lives is a series of 48 biographies of famous men. The work includes 23 pairs of biographies, each pair consisting of one Greek and one Roman of similar destiny, such as Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar.

The Discourses of Epictetus are a series of practical informal lectures. Epictetus directs his students to focus attention on their opinions, anxieties and desires so they may never fail to get what they desire. Also included is the Enchiridion.

Herodotus was a Greek historian who was born in the 5th century BC in what is now modern-day Bodrum in Turkey (then part of the vast Persian Empire). A contemporary of Thucydides, Socrates, and Euripides he is often called 'The Father of History', initially by no less than Cicero. Herodotus broke from the then tradition to treat history as one of investigation of facts and evidence to present a better whole. The Histories is the only work for which he is known to have produced a record of his inquiry on the origins of the Greco-Persian Wars; In it he deals with the lives of Croesus, Cyrus, Cambyses, Smerdis, Darius, and Xerxes and the battles of Marathon, Thermopylae, Artemisium, Salamis, Plataea, and Mycale. He expands into many cultural, ethnographical, geographical, historiographical, and areas to form a complete cultural landscape. This attention to detail helps The Histories remain a riveting account of this fascinating trime. Whilst some of what he wrote appears inaccurate to modern day historians Herodortus would state that he reports only what he was told. Much of what he wrote has now been confirmed as an accurate distillation of the times. Over the centureries many have translated his works. George Rawlinson was born on 23rd November 1812 at Chadlington, Oxfordshire. He was the younger brother to the eminent Assyriologist, Sir Henry Rawlinson. Rawlinson took his degree at Trinity College, Oxford in 1838. Here he also enjoyed playing cricket and was considered to have been a rare talent at the sport. In 1840 he was elected to a fellowship at Exeter College, Oxford. After being ordained in 1841 he became, from 1842 to 1846, a tutor there as well. In 1846 Rawlinson married Louisa, the daughter of Sir RA Chermside. His progress continued to be rapid and varied in acknowledgement of his undoubted talents. In 1859 he was made a Bampton lecturer, and was Camden Professor of Ancient History from 1861 to 1889. By 1872 Rawlinson was appointed canon of Canterbury, and after 1888 he was rector of All Hallows, Lombard Street. In 1873, he was made proctor in Convocation for the Chapter of Canterbury. As a scholar he produced, either on his own or in collaboration, several works which are greatly thought of even to this day. His translation of the History of Herodotus (in collaboration with Sir Henry Rawlinson and Sir John Gardiner Wilkinson), 1858-60; The Five Great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern World, 1862-67; which was later expanded to include The Sixth Great Oriental Monarchy (Parthian), 1873; and The Seventh Great Oriental Monarchy (Sassanian), 1875. Among his other works were Manual of Ancient History, 1869; Historical Illustrations of the Old Testament, 1871; The Origin of Nations, 1877; History of Ancient Egypt, 1881; Egypt and Babylon, 1885; History of Phoenicia, 1889; Parthia, 1893; Memoir of Major-General Sir HC Rawlinson, 1898. His lectures to an audience at Oxford University on the topic of the accuracy of the Bible in 1859 were published as the apologetic work The Historical Evidences of the Truth of the Scripture Records Stated Anew in later years. Despite this somewhat prodigious output and alongside his other clerical and family duties he contributed to the Speaker's Commentary, the Pulpit Commentary, Smith's Dictionary of the Bible, and various similar publications. George Rawlinson died on 7th October, 1902 in Canterbury.

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

A new translation of Thucydides, a foundational text in the history of Western political thought, with extensive student reference material.

Plutarch, later named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus, c. 46 - 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia. Plutarch lived most of his life at Chaeronea, and his duties as the senior of the two priests of Apollo at the Oracle of Delphi (where he was responsible for interpreting the auguries of the Pythia) apparently occupied little of his time. He led an active social and civic life while producing an extensive body of writing, much of which survived. By his writings and lectures Plutarch became a celebrity in the Roman Empire. At his country estate, guests from all over the empire congregated for serious conversation, presided over by Plutarch in his marble chair. Many of these dialogues were recorded and published, and the 78 essays and other works which have survived are now known collectively as the Moralia. Plutarch's best-known work is the Parallel Lives, a series of biographies of famous Greeks and Romans, arranged in pairs to illuminate their common moral virtues and vices. The surviving Lives contain 23 pairs, each with one Greek Life and one Roman Life, as well as four unpaired single Lives. Some of the Lives, such as those of Heracles, Philip II of Macedon and Scipio Africanus, no longer exist; many of the remaining Lives are truncated, contain obvious lacunae or have been tampered with by later writers. Extant Lives include those on Aristides, Pericles, Pompey, Julius Caesar, Cicero, Cato the Younger, Mark Antony, and Marcus Junius Brutus, all of which are included here.

Plutarch introduces the reader to the major figures of classical Rome. He portrays virtues to be emulated and vices to be avoided, but his purpose is also to educate and warn those in his own day who wielded power.

The History of the Peloponnesian War is an account of the 431-404 BC war between Sparta and Athens. It was written by Thucydides, an Athenian historian who also happened to serve as an Athenian general during the war. His account of the conflict is widely considered to be a classic and regarded as one of the earliest scholarly works of history.