Image of Thucydides

Timeline

Lifetime: 460 BCE - 400 BCE Passed: ≈ 2423 years ago

Title

Historian, General

Country/Nationality

Greece
Wikipedia

Thucydides

Thucydides was an Athenian historian and general. His History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of "scientific history" by those who accept his claims to have applied strict standards of impartiality and evidence-gathering and analysis of cause and effect, without reference to intervention by the deities, as outlined in his introduction to his work.

He also has been called the father of the school of political realism, which views the political behaviour of individuals and the subsequent outcomes of relations between states as ultimately mediated by, and constructed upon, the emotions of fear and self-interest. His text is still studied at universities and military colleges worldwide. The Melian dialogue is regarded as a seminal work of international relations theory, while his version of Pericles' Funeral Oration is widely studied by political theorists, historians, and students of the classics.

More generally, Thucydides developed an understanding of human nature to explain behaviour in such crises as plagues, massacres, and civil war.

Books by Thucydides

The History of the Peloponnesian War Cover image

The History of the Peloponnesian War

History Non-Fiction
Military Empire Earth Science Neutrality

The History of the Peloponnesian War is a historical account of the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), which was fought between the Peloponnesian League (led by Sparta) and the Delian League (led by Athens). It was written by Thucydides, an Athenian his...

Ιστορίαι (Histories) Βιβλίοv 1 (Book 1) Cover image

Ιστορίαι (Histories) Βιβλίοv 1 (Book 1)

History Political Science War
History Warfare Strategy Philosophy Ancient Greece Military History Political science Peloponnesian War

Thucydides' Histories is a seminal work of historical scholarship that chronicles the first 20 years of the Peloponnesian War, a devastating conflict between Athens and Sparta that raged from 431 to 404 BC. Written by the Athenian historian Thucydide...

Ιστορίαι (Histories) Βιβλίοv 2 (Book 2) Cover image

Ιστορίαι (Histories) Βιβλίοv 2 (Book 2)

History Political Science Non-Fiction War
History Warfare Politics Human Nature Ancient Greece Peloponnesian War Athens Sparta Thucydides Ancient Text

Thucydides' Histories is a seminal work of historical literature that chronicles the first 20 years of the Peloponnesian War, a devastating conflict between Athens and Sparta that engulfed ancient Greece in the 5th century BCE. Written by Thucydides,...

Ιστορίαι (Histories) Βιβλίοv 3 (Book 3) Cover image

Ιστορίαι (Histories) Βιβλίοv 3 (Book 3)

History Political Science Non-Fiction War
History Military Warfare Politics Civilization Diplomacy Strategy Human Nature Ancient Greece Peloponnesian War Athens Sparta

Thucydides' *Histories* is a seminal work of ancient Greek historiography, focusing on the first 20 years of the Peloponnesian War, a devastating conflict between Athens and Sparta. The work goes beyond a mere chronicle of events, offering insightful...

Ιστορίαι (Histories) Βιβλίοv 4 (Book 4) Cover image

Ιστορίαι (Histories) Βιβλίοv 4 (Book 4)

History Political Science Non-Fiction War
History Warfare Politics Diplomacy Society Strategy Ancient Greece Military History Peloponnesian War Athens Sparta Classical Antiquity

Thucydides' *Histories* offers a profound and meticulously researched account of the Peloponnesian War, a devastating conflict that pitted Athens against Sparta. Focusing on the first twenty years of the war, from 431 to 404 BCE, Thucydides provides...

Ιστορίαι (Histories) Βιβλίοv 5 (Book 5) Cover image

Ιστορίαι (Histories) Βιβλίοv 5 (Book 5)

History Political Science Non-Fiction War
History Warfare Politics Diplomacy Ancient Greece Greek History Classical Period Peloponnesian War Ancient History Military Strategy Athens Sparta

Thucydides' *Histories* is a seminal work of ancient Greek history, focusing on the first twenty years of the Peloponnesian War, a conflict between Athens and Sparta. It offers a detailed account of the war's events, including battles, political man...

Ιστορίαι (Histories) Βιβλίον 6 (Book 6) Cover image

Ιστορίαι (Histories) Βιβλίον 6 (Book 6)

History Philosophy Political Science War
History Military Politics Human Nature Philosophy Ancient Greece Peloponnesian War

Thucydides' Histories is a seminal work of historical scholarship and a cornerstone of Western literature. Written in the 5th century B.C., it chronicles the first 20 years of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta. Thucydides' work is notab...

Geschichte des Peloponnesischen Kriegs Cover image

Geschichte des Peloponnesischen Kriegs

History Political Science Non-Fiction War
History Military Politics Conflict Strategy Ancient Greece Siege Peloponnesian War Antike Geschichte Athens Sparta Thucydides Attischer Seebund Peloponnesischer Bund Peloponnesischer Krieg Thukydides Griechenland Historiker Objektivität Menschliche Natur

Die Geschichte des Peloponnesischen Krieges von Thukydides ist ein bedeutendes Werk der antiken Geschichtsschreibung. Thukydides beschreibt darin den Verlauf des Krieges zwischen dem von Athen geführten Attischen Seebund und dem Peloponnesischen Bund...

Ιστορίαι (Histories) Βιβλίον 7 (Book 7) Cover image

Ιστορίαι (Histories) Βιβλίον 7 (Book 7)

History Political Science Non-Fiction
History Warfare Classics Ancient Greece Historiography Political science Peloponnesian War Non-Fiction Military Strategy Thucydides Athenian Empire Spartan Empire

Thucydides' Histories is a seminal work of historiography that recounts the first 20 years of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta. Written by the Athenian historian Thucydides, it is considered one of the earliest scientific and objective...