Thucydides (460-400):
Ancient Greek Historian

Assignment:

• What are Thucydides's reasons for writing his History? What do those reasons tell us about the nature of his History? or
  
• What was Thucydides' conception of history?

he Greek historian of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides was the son of Olorus, an aristocrat, and was born near Athens around 460 B.C. He derived considerable wealth from the possession of the gold mines on the coast opposite Thasos. Thucydides by birth enjoyed two homes, one in Athens and the other in Thrace, and a position in society giving him access to the leading figures of his time.

Thucydides was in Athens when the Peloponnesian war broke out in 431 B.C. Soon after the war began, Thucydides perceived that it would be a conflict on a scale without precedent and he would become its historian. He thus began writing the History of the Peloponnesian War to which he devoted most of his life. Thucydides believed that there were patterns of behavior which emerged during the war, and that they could be repeated in the future. He was a mechanist in that he believed that when faced with similar problems, similar people would react in similar fashions. Believing that one may change immediate situations, the end products of large-scale enterprises are the result of mechanical forces present in nature and in man.

In 430, Thucydides suffered in the plague that devastated Athens, but he managed to recover.

In 424 B.C., Thucydides attained a position of significance. He was one of two generals appointed to guard Athenian interests in regions around Thrace. Eucles, his colleague, commanded the land forces while Thucydides commanded the navy. One of the major strongholds in the Athenian region was the town of Amphipolis. To that fact, a Spartan leader by the name of Brasidas was making rapid gains in the vicinity to capture Amphipolis. Thucydides with the seven ships under his control anchored at the isle of Thasos, half a day's sail away from Amphipolis. Thucydides thought Brasidas would not be so bold to try and take the town knowing help could arrive by sea from Thasos and Thucydides' great influence over the people. However, by offering generous terms and aiding the disaffected part of the population, Brasidas succeeded in his intentions before Thucydides could bring relief. Failing to prevent the capture of the city of Amphipolis by the Spartans, Thucydides was recalled, tried, and sentenced to exile. He took refuge in exile and retired to his Thracian estates. Thucydides lived in exile for the next twenty years, away from Athens for most of the rest of the war, and did not return to Athens until 404.

Living in the Athens of Pericles, Thucydides regarded the motives of statesman and the actions of government as the essence of history. He did not simply categorize facts. Instead, Thucydides sought out those general principles that those facts illustrated. He searched for the truth underlying historical events and learned that the motives of men follow certain patterns. Thucydides' 'History' treats all aspects of the war: its technical problems, logistics, sieges, and other military features. It is also about the personalities, the political and military leadership, and, significantly, about the behavior of peoples as the long war dragged on. Through his writings, the proper analysis of the Peloponnesian War would reveal those general principles that also govern human behavior.