Thucydides

Thucydides (between 460 and 455 BC–circa 400 BC, Greek ??????????, Thoukudídês) was an ancient Greek historian, and the author of the History of the Peloponnesian War, which recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens. This work is widely regarded a classic, and represents the first work of its kind.

Life

Almost everything we know about the life of Thucydides comes from his own History of the Peloponnesian War. Thucydides father was Olorus,{{rf|1|Thucy_4.104.4}} a name connected with Thrace and Thracian royalty.{{rf|2|Herod_6.39.1}} He was a man of influence and wealth. He owned gold mines at Scapte Hyle, a district of Thrace on the Thracian coast opposite the island of Thasos.{{rf|3|Herod_6.46.1;Thuc_4.105.1;Plut_Cim_4.1}}

Related Topics:
Olorus - Thrace - Scapte Hyle - Thasos

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Thucydides, born in Alimos, was connected through family to the Athenian statesman and general Miltiades, and his son Cimon, leaders of the old aristocracy supplanted by the Radical Democrats. Thucydides lived between his two homes, in Athens and in Thrace. His family connections brought him into contact with the very men who were shaping the history he wrote about.

Related Topics:
Alimos - Miltiades - Cimon - Aristocracy - Democrats - Athens

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He was probably in his twenties when the Peloponnesian War began in 431 BC. He contracted the plague{{rf|4|Thuc_2.48.1-3}} that ravaged Athens between 430 and 427 BC, killing Pericles, in 429 BC, along with thousands of other Athenians.{{rf|5|Thuc_3.87.1-3}}

Related Topics:
Peloponnesian War - 431 BC - 430 - 427 BC - Pericles - 429 BC

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 424 BC he was appointed strategos (general), and given command of a squadron of seven ships, stationed at Thasos, probably because of his connections to the area. During the winter of 424/3 BC, the Spartan general Brasidas attacked Amphipolis, a half-days sail west from Thasos on the Thracian coast. Eucles, the Athenian commander at Amphipolis, sent for assistance to Thucydides.{{rf|6|Thuc_4.104.1}}

Related Topics:
424 BC - Strategos - Brasidas - Amphipolis

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Brasidas, aware of Thucydides' presence on Thasos and his influence with the people of Amphipolis, and afraid of help arriving by sea, acted quickly to offer moderate terms to the Amphipolitans for their surrender, which they accepted. Thus when Thucydides arrived Amphipolis was already under Spartan control{{rf|7|Thuc_4.105.1-106.3}} (see Battle of Amphipolis).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Amphipolis was of considerable strategic importance, and news of its fall caused great consternation in Athens.{{rf|8|Thuc_4.108.1-7}} Because of his failure to save Amphipolis, Thucydides says:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:It was also my fate to be an exile from my country for twenty years after my command at Amphipolis; and being present with both parties, and more especially with the Peloponnesians by reason of my exile, I had leisure to observe affairs somewhat particularly.{{rf|9|Thuc_5.26.5}}

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Using his status as an exile from Athens to travel freely among the Peloponnesian allies, he was able to view the war from the perspective of both sides. He may have travelled to Sicily for the Sicilian Expedition, as there are excellent examples of local knowledge. During this period of time he conducted important research for his history.

Related Topics:
Sicily - Sicilian Expedition

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

According to Pausanias, someone named Oenobius was able get a law passed allowing Thucydides to return to Athens, presumably sometime shortly after Athens' surrender and the end of the war in 404 BC.{{rf|10|Paus_1.23.9}} Pausanias goes on to say that Thucydides was murdered on his way back to Athens. Although some doubt this account, seeing evidence to suggest he lived as late as 397 BC. In any case although he lived past the end of the war, he did not complete his history.

Related Topics:
404 BC - 397 BC

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The abrupt end of his narrative which breaks off in the middle the year 411 BC, suggests that he may have died while writing the book.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

His remains were returned to Athens and were laid in Cimon's family vault.{{rf|11|Plut_Cim_4.1}}

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~