Thucydides

Thucydides (c. 460 BC – c. 395 BC) was an ancient Greek historian, and the author of the History of the Peloponnesian War. Thucydides has been regarded as the father of scientific history because of his strict standards of gathering evidence and his analysis in terms of cause and effect without reference to intervention by the gods. He also has been considered as the father of the school of political realism that views the relations between nations as based on might rather than right. More generally, he shows an interest in developing an understanding of human nature to explain human behavior in such crises as plague and civil war. Other scholars lay greater emphasis on the History’s elaborate literary artistry and the powerful rhetoric of its speeches and insist that its author exploited non-"scientific" literary genres no less than newer, rationalistic modes of explanation.

Considering his stature as a historian, we know comparatively little about Thucydides' life. The most reliable information comes from his own History of the Peloponnesian War, and consists of his nationality, paternity, and native locality. Thucydides also tells us that he fought in the war, contracted the plague, and was exiled by the democracy.

Although there is no certain evidence to prove it, the rhetorical character of his narrative suggests that Thucydides was at least familiar with the teachings of the Sophists.

It has also been asserted that Thucydides' strict focus on cause and effect, his fastidious devotion to observable phenomena to the exclusion of other factors and his austere prose style were influenced by the methods and thinking of early medical writers such as Hippocrates. These theories are inferences from the perceived character of Thucydides' History.

Inferences about Thucydides' character can only be drawn from his book. Occasionally throughout The History of the Peloponnesian War his sardonic sense of humor is evident.

Thucydides admired Pericles, approving of his power over the people, and shows a palpable distaste for the more pandering demagogues who followed him. Thucydides did not approve of the democratic mob or the radical democracy Pericles ushered in but thought that it was acceptable when in the hands of a good leader. Also, Thucydides was clearly moved by the suffering inherent in war and concerned about the excesses to which human nature is apt to resort in such circumstances. This is evident in his analysis of the atrocities committed during civil conflict on Corcyra, which includes the memorable phrase "War is a violent teacher".

The History of the Peloponnesian War Thucydides wrote only one book; its modern title is the History of the Peloponnesian War. His entire contribution to history and historiography is contained in this one dense history of the twenty-seven year war between Athens and its allies and Sparta and its allies.

Thucydides is generally regarded as one of the first true historians. Like his predecessor Herodotus, Thucydides placed a high value on autopsy, or eye-witness testimony to events, and writes about many episodes in which he himself probably took part. He also assiduously consulted written documents and interviewed participants in the events that he records. Unlike Herodotus, he did not recognize divine interventions in human affairs. Certainly he held unconscious biases — for example, to modern eyes he seems to underestimate the importance of Persian intervention — but Thucydides was the first historian who attempted something like modern historical objectivity.

One major difference between Thucydides' history and modern historical writing is that Thucydides' history includes lengthy speeches which, as he himself states, were as best as could be remembered of what was said. These speeches are composed in a literary manner.

Classical scholars pointed out that one of Thucydides' central themes was the ethic of Athenian imperialism. So, many scholars have studied the theme of power politics, i.e. realpolitik, in Thucydides' history.

On the other hand, some authors reject the common perception of Thucydides as a historian of naked real-politik. They argue that actors on the world stage who had read his work would all have been put on notice that someone would be scrutinizing their actions with a reporter's dispassion, rather than the mythmaker's and poet's compassion and thus consciously or unconsciously participating in the writing of it. Thucydides' Melian dialogue is a lesson to reporters and to those who believe one's leaders are always acting with perfect integrity on the world stage.

Thucydides does not take the time to discuss the arts, literature or society in which the book is set and in which Thucydides himself grew up. Thucydides was writing about an event and not a period and as such took lengths not to discuss anything which he considered unrelated.

Leo Strauss argued that Thucydides had a deeply ambivalent understanding of Athenian democracy. More conventional scholars view him as recognizing and teaching the lesson that democracies do need leadership - and that leadership can be dangerous to democracy.