“History is philosophy teaching by examples.” as the great historian Thucydides proclaimed, and he’s absolutely right. Throughout history, there have been many different people from all backgrounds there to record it. These historians input their own views and thoughts into their work to help the reader perceive the events as they saw them. Through reading about the Greek empire one could see how the Greeks have cast the mold for future societies. Thucydides, a historian of the time, recognized this and recorded history as a way to foreshadow the future. Furthermore, a biographer named Plutarch also saw this connection and wrote a biography displaying parallels between the Greeks and the leaders of his day. These men understood that the Greeks …show more content…
Ancient Greece was known for many things. Some of these included massive wealth, advanced culture, and expert military. However, Thucydides and Plutarch found that modern civilizations could learn from Greece’s history. What these historians tried to do was help the next generations make important decisions. These men share many of the same characteristics in their writing despite being hundreds of years apart. Both men shared the same language which displays the importance of Greek culture even after the Romans took over. Furthermore, these historians told history as they saw it. Thucydides recorded most of what he heard but would use his own words at times to convey a stronger message. Even though Thucydides filled in some gray areas he still had many first-hand accounts of the events that took place. Plutarch also had questionable sources using legends in his biography because of the lack of documents found on Alexander. In addition, Thucydides and Plutarch shared the same unifying message. In “Pericles’ Funeral Oration”, Thucydides quotes Pericles stating “Make up your minds that happiness depends on being free, and freedom depends on being courageous.” This quote was meant to create a sense of patriotism