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Thucydides

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"Thucydides, an Athenian, wrote the history of the war."

Thucydides was one of those shining stars of ancient Athens. Among his peers in that elevated group were:  

Imagine a scene where these these illustrious men could meet one another as they strolled down the stoned paved streets of Athens.  They lived during a time when Athens was at its height.  It dominated its 'world' commercially, politically, militarily, and culturally.  At the heart of the century was ' the Golden Age ' of Athens. The Golden Age lasted 28 years and is defined by the period when Pericles was influential in the public affairs of Athens (457 to 429 B.C.). Western civilization was born in 400's B.C. Athens.

While dominance might be enjoyed by those who have it, dominance creates enemies.  Enemies who are envious of or fear that dominance.

The Work:

We know it as The History of the Peloponnesian War.   Thucydides himself never gave a title to his work; he only referred to it as 'the history.'  As Thucydides told the tale, the dominance that Athens enjoyed was shattered. Sparta won the war.

His 'history' was a careful and precise chronology of the political and military events of his day.  He had access to both sides in the war and gathered notes for years. The actions and consequences of the war were not the work of gods or mythical creatures.  Unlike much of earlier Greek literature, this was a true story about real people making real choices.  As inovative as that was, it was much more than just that. It is an excellent piece of literature.  His writing style had strength and energy.  He included dramatic, memorable dialogue into the text like Pericles' Funeral Oration (2.1-46.2). It was one of the first reads that captured the readers' imagination and kept them turning the pages.

Click here to see maps of the war

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Then is Now:

ven more to the point, though, Thucydides had a reason in mind when he took the trouble to write an account of the Peloponnesian War.  He had an agenda. He was an accurate researcher because he wanted others to know the facts. He believed there was value in taking the time to read his work. He wanted his readers to gain lessons from them.  He wrote the story as a guide for his readers to follow (1.22.4-5; 2.48.3).  He wrote it

"not as an essay which is to win applause of the moment,
but as a possession for all time ..."  (1.22.4).

Thucydides' outlook on life was that human experience is constant.  He thought behaviors are repeatable and, therefore, predictable.  So, whenever other people find themselves
in similar situations as the ones in his story, he believed, they will probably have the same choices to make and behave in the same way.  People in any age and place.
In order to be of help, he wrote his account of the war so that a reader could do some research to find out how the Athenians and Spartans acted in any given situation.
And, then choose well and act appropriately (1.22.4-5; 2.48.3[?]).  Then is now.

Thucydides emphasized the duality of human experience.   His story was influenced by the dualistic outlook of the Persian Zoroaster and the Greek Anaxagoras.  He never let
an opportunity pass where he could spotlight opposites, contradictions, contrasts, and poles found in the human experience.
 

But, it also dealt with the contrasts and contradictions of issues that a modern-day reader has to deal with.
 

That's part of the reasoning behind why 'Thucydides' is the title of this web site. Accurate research.  Precise facts.  Lessons for future generations.  Be forewarned. Don't repeat the mistakes of the past as Santayana advised.  Then is now.

Many of this web site's pamphlets have the same agenda.  Of those that are designed like that, each is a case study of a historical event which serves as a forewarning to us today or else serves as a parallel to current events.  History keeps repeating itself. Then is now.

Aristocratic Youth--

hucydides was born in 464 at Halimus in Attica to Olorus and Hegeoipyle (4.105.1).  The young Thucydides spent much of his time, however, in Trace. His aristocratic family owned gold mines in Trace.  The miners were slaves. Between 25 and 35 percent of the population of Athens (and its surrounding lands) were slaves. Slaves did not meet the Athenian definition of 'citizen'.  When you hear of the birth of democracy in Athens and Cleisthenes' promise of 'equality for all', keep in mind that only citizens could participate.  The large slave minority was not included. In the internal politics of Athens, his family backed the aristocratic faction that favored the older, conservative oligarchic form of government.  It was opposed by the newer, liberal democratic faction.  Democracy was too egalitarian to suit their aristocratic tastes.

You've no doubt heard that the famous philosopher, Aristotle, taught Alexander the Great.  And, that it was a continuation of a line of education from famous man to famous man.  Aristotle's teacher was Plato and Plato's teacher was Socrates.  Well, Thucydides was also taught by famous, accomplished men.

For more on Socrates, see Xenophon

Just before the war started (fighting never really stopped in Greece), Spartan forces laid waste to the farmland around Athens.  Perhaps as a result, in the early days of the war, a plague swept through the city (430-427).  Thucydides contracted it, but he survived.  Others were not so lucky.   Twenty-five percent, perhaps even as much as 60%, of the Athenians perished. Pericles was among the dead.

Cleon and Demosthenes ran the city.  They reorganized the army and navy.  In 425, an Athenian fleet bottled up a Spartan fleet in Navarino Bay and forced the Spartans to surrender their ships.

On the heels of that success, though, Thucydides was a key part in a 424 B.C. naval defeat. The Spartan army had rapidly advanced northward through Thessaly to Chalcidice. There, Amphipolis fell. Thucydides was a naval commander in his childhood home of nearby Thrace at the time. He was ordered to send his squadron of 7 ships to try to regain Amphipolis.

Herodotus is known as the 'father of history.'  He started the genre. His most famous work is called The History. It was written around 449.  It gave an account of the Persian Wars (490, 480 B.C.) between the Persian empire and the Greek city-states.  He traveled to many of the lands and cultures described in his work and he heard the tales of each land he visited.  Only the last part of it is actually about the Persian Wars.  It's James Michener-like in its vast scope.

Herodotus

Thucydides	In effect, Thucydides picked up the story where Herodotus left off. But, Thucydides' methodology was more disciplined.  His facts more verifiable.  It's in strict chronological order.  He is known as 'the founder of scholarly history.' o
	When Thucydides died, Theopomus finished the account of

When Thucydides died, Xenophon was in Mesopotamia as a Greek mercenary fighting against the imperial forces of Persia.  His side lost at the Battle of Cunaxa  just west of where the Baghdad International Airport is today and the Greek force, The Ten Thousand, had to fight their way out of the empire and hightail it back .  He wrote an account of that heroic flight in a work called Anabasis.  Like Thucydides, Xenophon was banished from Athens for a time.  So, he joined up with the Spartan forces.  He greatly admired the Spartan way of life.

Xenophon

If the Shoe Fits:

Since this is a site dedicated to history, I wanted to name it after a historian. The 'big three' early Greek historians came to mind.  Herodotus, considered to be the 'father of history,' was too obvious a choice.  Besides,  his methodology, or lack of verification and liberal use of myths and legends, left something to be desired.  I wanted Xenophon because he had close ties with the Spartans, whom I admire, he was a warrior, and he employed a more disciplined methodology. Plus the name sounds cool. But, alas, 'xenophon' was already taken at the Netfirms hosting service!

Go get your hands on a translation of Thucydides' The History of the Peloponnesian War for yourself and read parts of it! In parentheses, I've included information on where to find the cited material ( book. chapter. section ).

	by Victor Hanson	Fortress America: On the Front Lines of Homeland Security by Matthew Brzezinski Heavily armed guards at the entrances to malls and restaurants. Citizens deemed “suspicious” taken away without formal charges or legal counsel. Would a “safe” America even look like America anymore?

Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War,ed. by Robert B. Strassler,
NY: The Free Press, 1996.

Everyman's Classical Dictionary, by John Warrington, London:J.M. Dent & Sons, Ltd., 1961.

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate  Encyclopedia, ed. by Mark A. Stevens, NY: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

The People's Chronology:  A Year-by-Year Record of Human Events. . ., by James Trager,
NY: Henry Holt and Co., 1992.

http://historychannel.com/  search for topics like: Thucydides,Peloponnesian War, Xenophon, Herodotus,
historians, Classical Greece, and literature.