Thucydides Historical Accuracy

Thucydides’ Work as an Accurate Depiction of History

In Thucydides’ historical narrative, The History of the Peloponnesian War, the author shares an account of the struggles ancient Greeks faced to obtain power over both their enemies and allies. Due to Thucydides’ dedication to writing a historically accurate and objective depiction of the Peloponnesian War, the account that he shares is a valuable piece of historical text as it is intended to inform and guide future audiences.

To start, Thucydides created a piece that brought together many different sources, speeches, and points of view into one place. He shares how he was blamed and exiled for the capture of Amphipolis. Thanks to his being exiled, however, he had the opportunity to find

There is no doubt that as an Athenian, Thucydides’ was partial towards his state. Intending to be objective does not mean one forgets everything they were taught growing up to believe in Athens. Thucydides’ portrayal of Athens as being safer and better than all other states and countries even fails to acknowledge many details of the Persian influence. The Persian’s were a great power, arguably greater than Athens at points. Yet, portraying Athens as the greatest, he asserts that it’s power inspired enough alarm to start a war. He also could more thoroughly discuss some aspects of life such as culture and gender roles. Regardless of Thucydides’ biases, he made a deliberate effort to offer an accurate version of history. This is what sets his work apart as an invaluable historical text. Many writers have biases based on stories they hear. Unlike many writers, Thucydides endeavored to avoid them. That’s not to disvalue these writers. One does not need a personal agenda to be biased. It is human nature for all writers of history. However, Thucydides’ recognizes cracks in his argument. When he uses Homeric epics as facts, he includes a disclaimer that, as myths, they may not be the most credible example. This is not to say that Thucydides’ account is not to be taken

Although there were disparities among regions of Greece, Thucydides emphasizes the homologous relationship they shared. He does this by bringing attention to one overarching concept that plagued them all and led to wars: the fight for power. At one point, the Athenians went so far as to say that, by virtue of being strong, they could destroy Melos even though they had done nothing wrong. This supports that having more power gave you an advantage and was something states fought for. When there was a struggle for power between two or more states, other states tended to become involved. Even in modern times, a dispute starting with Germany invading Poland and France, ended up being a war that included nearly every country in the world. However, having power not only helped states, but also people. We learn that by being well-expressed in the assembly, one could gain political power. This was never more evident than during the speeches when Corcyra persuaded Athens to defend them in battle against Corinth, despite never having much of a relationship prior to this moment. Still resonating today, this can have implications for how current political parties gain positions within the government. The History teaches us that desire for money or power brings out one’s weaknesses. This was ironic because the Greeks needed money and power for war; yet, money caused them to become weak. Also, expanding in