Plaster cast bust of Thucydides (in the Pushkin Museum) from a Roman copy (located at Holkham Hall) of an early fourth-century BC Greek original
Born
c. 460 BC[1][2]
Halimous, Athens (modern Alimos)
Died
c. 400 BC
Occupation(s)
Historian, general
Notable work
History of the Peloponnesian War
Relatives
Oloros (father)
Thucydides (/θ(j)uːˈsɪdɪˌdiːz/, thew-SID-ih-deez; Ancient Greek: Θουκυδίδης, romanized: Thoukudídēs[tʰuːkydǐdɛːs]; c. 460 – c. 400 BC) 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 gods, as outlined in his introduction to his work.[3][4][5]
He also has been called the father of the school of political realism, which views the political behavior of individuals and the subsequent outcomes of relations between states as ultimately mediated by, and constructed upon, fear and self-interest.[6] His text is still studied at universities and military colleges worldwide.[7] The Melian dialogue is regarded as a seminal text 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 behavior in such crises as plagues, massacres, and wars.[8]
^Virginia J. Hunter,Past and Process in Herodotus and Thucydides, (Princeton University Press, 2017), 4.
^Luciano Canfora,'Biographical Obscurities and Problems of Composition', in Antonis Tsakmakis, Antonios Rengakos (eds.), Brill's Companion to Thucydides, Brill, 2006 ISBN 978-9-047-40484-2, pp. 3–31.
^Cochrane, Charles Norris (1929). Thucydides and the Science of History. Oxford University Press. p. 179.
^Meyer, p. 67; de Sainte Croix.
^Korab-Karpowicz, W. Julian (26 July 2010). "Political Realism in International Relations". In Edward N. Zalta (ed.). The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2013 ed.). Retrieved 2016-03-23.
^Strauss, p. 139.
^Harloe, Katherine, Morley, Neville, eds., Thucydides and the Modern World: Reception, Reinterpretation, and Influence from the Renaissance to the Present. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press (2012). p. 12
^"What Thucydides Teaches Us About War, Politics, and the Human Condition". War on the Rocks. 2017-08-09. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
The Thucydides Trap, or Thucydides' Trap, is a term popularized by American political scientist Graham T. Allison to describe an apparent tendency towards...
has argued that Thucydides has a strong pro-Athenian bias. In keeping with this sort of doubt, other scholars claim that Thucydides had an ulterior motive...
Scholars regard Thucydides as reliable and neutral between the two sides. A partial exception are the lengthy speeches he reports, which Thucydides admits are...
Euselasia thucydides is a species of metalmark butterfly, Riodinidae. It is found in Brazil. Subspecies thucydides is found in eastern Brazil, ranging...
Allison, Graham (June 9, 2017). "The Thucydides Trap". FP. FP. Ben Schott (January 31, 2011). "The Thucydides Trap". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-06-07...
his policies. He was often depicted in a negative way, predominantly by Thucydides and the comedic playwright Aristophanes, who both represent him as an...
yearns for knowledge." Eventually, Thucydides and Herodotus became close enough for both to be interred in Thucydides' tomb in Athens. Such at least was...
2019-10-28. Thucydides (2009-06-11), Hammond, Martin; Rhodes, P. J. (eds.), "History of the Peloponnesian War", Oxford World's Classics: Thucydides: The Peloponnesian...
says Once Again for Thucydides is pleasing and the way it shows Handke from a different, less austere side is refreshing. Thucydides Callanan, Liam (22...
140. Ehrenberg 2002, p. 159. Thucydides; Mynott, Jeremy (2013), "Third year of the war, 429–28 [II 71–103]", Thucydides, Cambridge: Cambridge University...
Matthew Craske, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2004. ISBN 9780754608080. Thucydides, Thucydides translated into English; with introduction, marginal analysis, notes...
Retrieved 2021-12-04. Thucydides. The Peloponnesian War. 1.98. Thucydides. The Peloponnesian War. 1.99. Brand 2020, p. 28. Thucydides. The Peloponnesian...
by Thucydides (Thuc. iv. 84-89). It appears that Brasidas's un-Spartan virtues raised jealousy and suspicion in Sparta. (See in particular Thucydides; what...
Peloponnesian War, 5.4 Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War 6.6 Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War, 6.8 Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War, 6.46 Thucydides, The Peloponnesian...
drawn from Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War, 3.5-6. Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War, 3.5 Kagan, The Peloponnesian War, 102 Thucydides, The Peloponnesian...
been criticized as the "father of lies". Along with his contemporary Thucydides, he helped form the foundations for the modern study of past events and...
written by Thucydides, is considered a foundational text of the realist school of political philosophy. There is debate over whether Thucydides himself was...
Athenian historian Thucydides included a dramatization of the negotiations between the Athenian emissaries and the rulers of Melos. Thucydides did not witness...
rationalism under Aristotle, Socrates and Plato; in history with Herodotus and Thucydides; in dramatic and narrative verse, starting with the epic poems of Homer;...
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