Thucydides

Historian

Born: c. 459 b. c.e.; probably Athens, Greece Died: c. 402 b. c.e.; place unknown Category: Historiography

Life Little is known about the early life of Thucydides (thew-SIHD-uh-deez). His father was named Olorus, and from him Thucydides inherited an estate and gold mine in Athens. He was a privileged youth and most likely traveled extensively. During his minority, he heard the historian Herodotus recite tales of distant lands and was animated with an interest in history. He was therefore aware of the historical opportunity provided when the Peloponnesian War (431-404 b. c.e.) erupted and began to collect information immediately. As a wealthy young man, he was expected to join the Athenian campaign, not just study it, but he contracted the plague sometime between 430 and 427 b. c.e. and initially was prevented from joining the war effort. Upon his recovery, he was appointed general and given command of a small squadron of ships. This command was short-lived, however, as his squadron failed to protect the Athenian colony Amphipolis from a Spartan invasion. For this failure, he was exiled in 424 b. c.e.

He lived comfortably from the wealth of his mines and spent his time in exile researching the events and characters ofthe Peloponnesian War. With access, time, and money, Thucydides gathered an immense amount of information about the war and spent the rest of his life writing its history. With the end of the war, he returned to Athens to complete his work but died before so doing.

Although incomplete, the result of Thucydides’ study was the Historia tou Peloponnesiacou polemou (431-404 b. c.e.; History of the Peloponnesian War, 1550). In eight sections, it tells the history of this conflict from its distant origins to 411 b. c.e. To do this, Thucydides relied on information gleaned from participants and observers, as well as his own knowledge and experience. The book begins with an analysis of the fear and mistrust between Athens and Sparta. A discussion on how these feelings led to war in 431 b. c.e. follows, and the remainder of the book details the participants and their battles in great depth. Although it breaks off seven years before the conclusion of the war and is laced throughout with admittedly fabricated speeches, Thucydides’ work is a seminal study of the Peloponnesian War and has earned him recognition as one of the greatest historians.

Influence Although not the first historian, Thucydides made major advances in the field. Rather than present all opinions regarding an event, he included only those he believed. He was the first to tell contemporary history and the first to tell any type of history without recourse to the influence of the gods. He thus made history a solely human forum and blamed the Peloponnesian War on human failings. Finally, his ability to tell military history and to recite the actions of politicians set the stage for future historians to focus their attention on the great personages and events of history.

Thucydides.

(Library of Congress)

Further Reading

Conner, W. Robert. Thucydides. 2d ed. Princeton, N. J.: Princeton University Press, 1985.

Debner, Paula. Speaking the Same Language: Speech and Audience in Thucydides’ Spartan Debates. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2001.

Gomme, Arnold W. A Historical Commentary on Thucydides. 5 vols. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1945-1981.

Gustafson, Lowell S., ed. Thucydides’ Theory of International Relations: A Lasting Possession. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2000.

Hornblower, Simon. Thucydides. 2d ed. London: Duckworth, 1987.

_. Thucydides and Pindar: Historical Narrative and the World of

Epinikian Poetry. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.

Luginbill, Robert D. Thuycidides on War and National Character. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1999.

Marincola, John. Greek Historians. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2001.

Price, Jonathan J. Thucydides and Internal War. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001.

Zagorin, Perez. Thucydides: An Introduction for the Common Reader. Princeton, N. J.: Princeton University Press, 2005.

Gregory S. Taylor

See also: Herodotus; Historiography; Literature; Peloponnesian Wars.