Who was Thucydides?

Biography: Pick out 10 key facts!

Thucydides the son of Olorus was born probably about 460 BC and died about the year 400 BC. When the Peloponnesian War broke out in 431 B.C Thucydides probably took part in some of its early actions. Some time between 430 and 427 he fell ill in the plague, but recovered.

In 424 he was appointed general, but his small squadron of ships arrived too late to save the important Athenian colony of Amphipolis from the Spartan commander Brasidas, though he successfully held the nearby port of Eion against Brasidas's attacks. In consequence he was exiled, not returning until twenty years had passed, only to die a few years later.

Outline of his ‘Historia’For much of the period he describes The Peloponnesian War is the only source that survives. The verity of his reports and the justice of his perceptions have been the cause of controversy amongst scholars for centuries. But it is certain that he used his historical imagination to reconstruct only as a last resort. When the various parts of the history were composed, which of these he revised, and whether their chronological inconsistencies are due to later editing — these questions are still unsolved.

The growth of the Athenian Empire and the power accruing to Athens aroused the fears of Sparta and other mainland states, especially Corinth, whose trade interests seemed to be threatened by Athens's control of the sea and so many of the islands and ports of the Aegean Sea. The Greek world split into two blocks of states, Athens and her Empire on one side, Sparta and her allies on the other. Both sides expected war, and it broke out in 431 over incidents in Corcyra and Potidaea (in northern Greece). Known as the Peloponnesian War, the conflict lasted (off and on) until 404, when Athens was defeated.

Exile and the writing of his HistoriaThucydides, an Athenian aristocrat, was probably in his late twenties at the time the War began; he realized its importance from the start and began to plan to write its history.

In 424 he was elected one of the Athenian generals, and for failing to prevent the loss of an important city to the Spartans was exiled from Athens. He spent the rest of the War collecting evidence and talking with participants in the various actions. Herodotus, writing a few decades earlier than Thucydides, recorded almost all he heard, whether he believed it himself or not. Thucydides stands at the other pole; he gathers all available evidence, decides what he thinks is the truth, then shapes his presentation to emphasize that truth. We see everything through his eyes, and his views on the forces which shape human events emerge on every page.

Answer the following questions:

1. Who was Thucydides?2. What is the source material for Thucydides’ work?3. Why is he different from Herodotus?

4. Use two examples from Herodotus and the following quote from Thucydides to demonstrate the points made in answer 3.

“The absence of romance in my history will, I fear, detract somewhat from its interest; but if it be judged useful by those inquirers who desire an exact knowledge of the past as an aid to the interpretation of the future, which in the course of human things must resemble if it does not reflect it, I shall be content. In fine, I have written my work, not as an essay which is to win the applause of the moment, but as a possession for all time." 1.22.

5. What does this suggest about Thucydides’ own opinion on his work?