What was Thucydides writing style?

In its chronologies and narrative, the “History of the Peloponnesian War” is a marvel of direct prose, as Thucydides combines multiple sources into a single compelling voice. In the completed sections of the work, the narrative is interrupted by speeches from the warring sides’ principal leaders.

What is Thucydides best known for?

Thucydides, (born 460 bc or earlier? —died after 404 bc?), greatest of ancient Greek historians and author of the History of the Peloponnesian War, which recounts the struggle between Athens and Sparta in the 5th century bc. His work was the first recorded political and moral analysis of a nation’s war policies.

How did Thucydides approach the writing of history?

Thucydides wrote only about events that occurred during his lifetime that he could verify through examination of written records and eyewitness accounts. He strived for complete objectivity, and in this way he pioneered the historical method used by historians today.

Did Thucydides write on papyrus?

He did not finish his life’s work until he moved to Thurii, a Greek colony in southern Italy. It was first “published” on papyrus scrolls in Athens, probably in a series, starting around 430 B.C. Herodotus died in Thurii about 425 B.C. He wrote The Histories in prose.

What did Thucydides believe in?

Thucydides believed that the Peloponnesian War represented an event of unmatched importance. As such, he began to write the History at the onset of the war in 431 BC. He declared his intention was to write an account which would serve as “a possession for all time”.

What is meant by Thucydides Trap?

The Thucydides Trap, also referred to as Thucydides’ Trap, is a term popularized by American political scientist Graham T. Allison to describe an apparent tendency towards war when an emerging power threatens to displace an existing great power as a regional or international hegemon.

What is the meaning of Thucydides Trap?

Why is Thucydides called the father of scientific history?

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.

Who is the first father of history?

Herodotus
Herodotus has been called the “father of history.” An engaging narrator with a deep interest in the customs of the people he described, he remains the leading source of original historical information not only for Greece between 550 and 479 BCE but also for much of western Asia and Egypt at that time.

Who won in the war between Sparta and Athens?

Finally, in 405 BC, at the Battle of Aegospotami , Lysander captured the Athenian fleet in the Hellespont. Lysander then sailed to Athens and closed off the Port of Piraeus. Athens was forced to surrender, and Sparta won the Peloponnesian War in 404 BC.

Who is the greatest historian of all time?

Who was Thucydides and what did he write?

It was written by Thucydides, an Athenian historian who also happened to serve as an Athenian general during the war. His account of the conflict is widely considered to be a classic and regarded as one of the earliest scholarly works of history. The History is divided into eight books.

When did Thucydides die in the Peloponnesian War?

Since his history makes no mention of events after 411, it is likely Thucydides died before Athens’ final surrender in 404. Did you know? Historians suggest that Pericles’ funeral oration, as recounted in the “History of the Peloponnesian War,” was a model for Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address.”

How does thucydides’account differ from Herodotus’?

What stands out throughout is the sharpness with which Thucydides reports. In contrast to Herodotus, he no longer includes alternative viewpoints and traditions but offers a strong, singular explanation of events.

Where did Thucydides go on his way back to Athens?

Pausanias goes on to say that Thucydides was murdered on his way back to Athens, placing his tomb near the Melite gate. Many doubt this account, seeing evidence to suggest he lived as late as 397 BC, or perhaps slightly later.