SOURCE ESSAY
Throughout his text, History of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides superiority in relation to the documentation of history as opposed to other Greek writers such as Herodotus Is visible through the quality and unbiasedness of his accounts. This is something Thucydides believed himself as well and was something he argued throughout his texts indirectly attacking his predecessors for storytelling as opposed to documentation. Thucydides was an Athenian born around 460 BCE he was a historian and a general of the city-state of Athens until he was exiled for allowing the city of Amphipolis to be captured by the Spartans after he failed to reach it in time. Thucydides is also a very elusive historical figure. This is due to the fact
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Thucydides is known as the father of scientific history and this is reflected in the ratio of strengths vs. weaknesses in his work. The first strength of his work is the accuracy of his historical chronicling. As opposed to Herodotus who wrote in a more literary, dramatic style in order to construct a sensationalised narrative. Thucydides on the other hand stuck to the facts as closely as possible regardless of how this would affect the delivery of the work to the reader. This is shown in this passage from the first chapter of the first …show more content…
Another strength within his writing is his use of speeches. Speeches make up 25% of Thucydides writing and they are a positive force for the accuracy of the history within the stories. The speeches allow for both sides of arguments to present their case and they create impartialness amongst Thucydides writing. The speeches however also present one of Thucydides weaknesses.
‘With reference to the speeches in this history, some were delivered before the war began, others while it was going on; some I heard myself, others I got from various quarters; it was in all cases difficult to carry them word for word in one's memory, so my habit has been to make the speakers say what was in my opinion demanded of them by the various occasions, of course adhering as closely as possible to the general sense of what they really said.’
The speeches are never 100 per cent word for word and therefore allow room for inaccuracies in the history. And although Thucydides wrote them as best he could while still adhering to what actually happened there was always something that could have been left out or forgotten. That being said, this one weakness doesn’t discredit Thucydides credibility as his manuscripts still stuck with original proposals and opinions of the speakers he documented and therefore his work is still a more historically accurate reflection of what actually occurred in comparison to other historians
“…and [I] shall first give an account of his deeds at home and abroad, then of his character and pursuits, and lastly of his administration and death, omitting nothing worth knowing or necessary to know.”
An Analysis of Thucydides' Views on the Melian Dialogue The Melian Dialogue is a debate between Melian and Athenian representatives concerning the sovereignty of Melos. The debate did not really occur-the arguments given by each side were of Thucydides own creation. Thus it is reasonable to assume that we can tease out Thucydides' own beliefs.
Disease may primarily be a health deteriorating agents but it will also bring social change. In The Decameron, Giovanni Boccaccio elaborates on the social changes and extraordinary behavior of the people in the City of Florence during the 14th century A.D. Similarly Thucydides tells of his personal experience with the plague in Athens during the 5th century B.C. in "The Plague"; History of the Peloponnesian War. He focuses on the effects it had on peoples behaviors and religious beliefs. By comparing Boccaccio and Thucydides work, one is able to understand the perspective each one has on the links between the spread of the disease and social change, while Boccaccio focuses on the people whose behavior caused them to abandon others to death and this exemplifying a lack of morality, Thucydides is more concerned with the change in religious beliefs caused by the plague.
Both these debates have a background question at hand, whether or not the speakers were presenting their opinions out of honest opinion for the well-being of Athens or self-interest. Out of the four speakers two (Nicias and Diodotus) honestly cared for the future of Athens and did not act on the slightest bit for their self-interest. Cleon also cared about the well-being of Athens but merely gave out the immoral and haste answer to a problem that obviously needed more thought to it. Alcibiades stands alone on this one, being the only one to have acted out of self-interest who only spoke to protect his name and gain a few points of honor here and there. Within the same book Thucydides presents two debates that ask the same question of the speakers where the answer apparently depends on the debate and the text.
What strengths and indeed weaknesses does Thucydides' writings have? Are they of sufficient accuracy to be useful to modern historians? I will be looking principally at the first two books, although I will make references that will encompass the other 6 books that comprise The History of the Peloponnesian War. [IMAGE][IMAGE] First I shall discuss briefly Thucydides' past, as this bears some significant relevance to the way Thucydides was about to write his history, and the expertise he was able to employ.
myself since the war days never to speak of my enthusiasm.” (Davies, 164) For the majority of his life,
...s Henry correct as to when the war may start but he was also correct in that he pointed out to the convention that Britain knew they were weak and vulnerable at the time.
To answer some common question that are ask by the people who do not understand the soldiers. He presupposed that everybody knows the story, in which is not really possible and cannot be proven by any facts or evidence.
Thucydides, considered one of the greatest ancient historians, spent part of his life detailing the war between Athens and Sparta. In his work, The History of the Peloponnesian War, he includes a speech given by Pericles at the first Athenian funeral of the war. Right after the speech by Pericles, Thucydides follows with a description of the plague that cripples the population of the city. Thucydides does this to make a statement on his personal views of the Athenian society.
It seems that Thucydides was aware of the scale of the war while it was happening, and therefore the importance of the history he was recording. He took the "opportunity" of exile, no doubt backed up by his wealth and status, to travel and interview various people involved in significant events of the war. It is cl...
1) According to Thucydides, during the civil war at Corcyra a re-evaluation of values took place in the populace (3.82). Explain the nature of these re-evaluations, and the reason(s) they took place.
The epic poem The Odyssey, written by Homer, centers around the main protagonist Odysseus and his long journey back home. Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, returns home after defeating the Trojans in a ten year war. On his way back, he angers Poseidon, god of the sea, by blinding his son, Polyphemus the Cyclops. Due to Odysseus’ actions, Poseidon refuses to let Odysseus reach home, and Odysseus and his crew are forced to go through a series of obstacles throughout the epic. Through this adversity, Odysseus must show his heroic attributions in order to survive. Homer portrays Odysseus as a hero by giving him characteristics such as: craftiness, loyalty, and bravery.
Thucydides’ version of Pericles’ “Funeral Oration” can be read as more of an ironic rendering of Pericles’ original speech since The History of the Peloponnesian War is not just considered to be a historical account but also a “highly imaginative piece of work” in which Thucydides made characters involved in the war say what he believed they actually meant instead of what they might have originally said (Thucydides Introduction pg. x). In the “Funeral Oration”, Pericles praises certain
...makes to the store of war literature should prove of interest to the student of the specialist mind and of the author’s own personal career. It is of less interest as a study and analysis of German strategy and tactic. ”
Winston Churchill was perhaps one of the greatest public speakers in history. Some of the best speeches have come from being in life or death situations, Winston was known best for this. His small sound clips like, “this was their finest hour”, and “this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning”, encourage his troops and his people that they will win this war and will overcome the greatest odds. Although Churchill told many speeches, his speech on June 18, 1940 showed the most emotion and courage of any other speech he told. In this speech he explained that the war in France is over and the war in Britain would begin. He said that if we fail then the world sink into an abyss. This emotion that he shows would give Britain hope, courage and most of all determination.