Thucydides Biography

Thucydides was a 5th century BC Greek historian and a famous general who is often regarded as “the father of scientific history.” He wrote ‘History of the Peloponnesian War’ which recounts the struggles between Athens and Sparta in the 5th century BC. Even today, many experts believe that Thucydides' work was the first-ever recorded political and moral analysis of any nation’s war policies. He only gave accounts of wars that happened in his own time, unlike his predecessor Herodotus who also wrote about ancient Greek history. While writing about the wars, Thucydides had focused more on the testimonies of eyewitnesses. Being a general during the war also helped him write a first-person account of it, as he had been taking notes from the very beginning. Many historians have noted that although Thucydides tried to remain objective in his writing, he often wrote based on his personal judgment. For instance, in his work on the “Plague of Athens,” his account slowly develops into a story on moral corruption. According to modern historians, his writings on people like Pericles, Cleon and Nicias are hardly accurate. Nonetheless, his work ‘History of the Peloponnesian War’ is considered to be one of the greatest texts from antiquity.