For more information
Call 1-800-351-0222
Call 1-800-351-0222
Thucydides: HISTORY OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR
Term Paper ID:27256
Get This Paper Free! or
Essay Subject:
Discusses Thucydides' HISTORY OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR. Focuses on how Thucydides approaches the study of history from a methodological standpoint.... More...
7 Pages / 1575 Words
1 sources, 9 Citations,
MLA Format
$28.00
More Papers on This Topic
Paper Abstract:
Discusses Thucydides' HISTORY OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR. Focuses on how Thucydides approaches the study of history from a methodological standpoint.
Paper Introduction:
War is a devastating human activity, one that decimates populations, destroys property, and alters political and social structures for both victor and vanquished. The history of mankind has been a history of warfare to a great extent, and few civilizations have been able to avoid war for long. At certain points in history war has been aggrandized as a glorious effort to promote a social or political agenda, while at other times society has frowned on war and has resorted to it only when all else fails. The world of ancient Greece produced some of the most important philosophical concepts in human history, ideas that have continued to prevail to this day. Yet, the Greeks as well were subject to war both with outside forces and among themselves. An example of the latter was the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta, an event that had major consequences for the development of the ancie
Text of the Paper:
The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper.
. Thucydides began writing his History of thePeloponnesian War in 431 when the great war broke out. The Peloponnesian War (431-4 4 BC) was a struggle between Athens andSparta and their respective allies. He believed that the war wouldprove epochal and that his account would possess permanent value becausesuch significant conflicts were bound to occur in future epochs "so long as human nature remained the same," and he was clearly correct in theseassessments. He says that his own history may not be as entertaining as somebecause it does not have myth in it: But those who want to look into the truth of what was done in the past--which, given the human condition, will recur in the future, either in the same fashion or nearly so--those readers will find this History valuable enough, as this was composed to be a lasting possession and not to be heard for a prize at the moment of a contest. The war itself has remained in our consciousness in part because ofthe work of Thucydides in writing his History of the Peloponnesian War.Thucydides lived c.46 -c.4 BC and was an Athenian. Work CitedWoodruff, Paul. The history of mankind has been a history ofwarfare to a great extent, and few civilizations have been able to avoidwar for long. An example of the latter was thePeloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta, an event that had majorconsequences for the development of the ancient world. He believes that the Peloponnesian War exemplifies generaltruths about human nature, he does not develop an explicit theory (x). (12)In discussing his own approach, Thucydides says he does not believe it isright simply to accept the word of other people as to events or to reportwhat he merely believes to be true. This fact alone shows some of the characteristics that he wouldascribe to history and the study of history. Although an admirer of Pericleandemocracy, Thucydides was not a democratic ideologue. Paul Woodruff emphasizes some of the values that Thucydides brought tohis writing and notes first that in some ways he resembles a writer ofhistorical fiction (ix). It is more important as an example of what a history can be. Much of the evidence offered in this way cannot betested. The writing of history was anew activity in his time, and he helped develop the idea of what history isthrough the method he used, which included a philosophical bent that triedto explain events and relate them to a larger consciousness of the worldand of human aspirations. Inanalyzing the issue of war, and specifically of this war, Thucydides placesan emphasis on the elements of justice, power, and human nature, and heilluminates his ideas on each of these in the course of his narrative.These are elements that operate in human affairs and that can be seen in aparticular light in the development of a war such as the Peloponnesian War. He notes it was difficult to findout what happened because people who were present so often give differentaccounts, and their accounts are colored by which side they favor and howwell they remembered events taking place some time before they made theirreport. They are rather literatureand lack the necessary historical analysis. Instead, he proposes tracking downdetailed information from other sources. He served as ageneral in 424 but was banished from Athens in that same year for hisfailure to protect Amphipolis from the Spartans. He hasrather considered the issue based on all the evidence he has accumulated.This does not mean he is correct, and indeed other historians have come todifferent conclusions based on the same and added evidence. History is a writtenproposition, and this means writings specifically on the subject ofhistory. Rather, itshows that he is applying a method that produces valid results--notnecessarily true, but valid in terms of what the evidence at the timeproves. Thucydides says of thehistorical method that it involves doing what most people fail to do--theytake in stories of the past without testing them. In some ways, hewas as much a journalist as a historian. Yet, the Greeks as well were subject to war both withoutside forces and among themselves. In statesmen he valued aboveall intelligence and foresight, qualities possessed by his heroesThemistocles and Pericles. The archaeology section is his reconstruction of the prehistory ofGreece. Thucydides accepted the state of war as something that was natural andthat would develop again. There is also a certain sense of drama in the wayThucydides' presents paired speeches throughout his History (ix). Doing so is more difficult because he was not present for thoseearlier events, but he states that he has looked into the evidence to thedegree possible and is confident that he knows what was important and whatwas not (1). There are aspects of the method of Thucydides which hedid not fully elaborate and which remain uncertain to us, but generallyseeking the truth is the essential purpose of the historian according toThucydides. The fact that he had ajournalistic tendency is indicated by the fact that he started to writeabout the war as soon as it started claiming that he expected it would turnout to be a great war and so one that would deserve to be recorded: He made this prediction because both sides were at their peak in every sort of preparation for war, and also because he saw the rest of the Greek world taking one side or the other, some right away, others planning to do so. Generally, his History is remarkable for itsobjectivity, although his treatment of Sparta and Athens shows that hegreatly admired the qualities attributed to the Athenians--inventiveness,daring, and aggressiveness. He returned from exileafter the war ended in 4 4. Prehistory has to be reconstructed on the basis of evidence thatcan include writing, though it is not writing about history but aboutevents, poetry, drama, culture, philosophy, and so on. (13) Thucydides applies this method to his analysis of the PeloponnesianWar. This is all part of his method of testing each report and eachelement in history to ascertain the truth. While heincluded philosophical speculations, he is not a philosopher but ahistorian. Thucydides: On Justice, Power, and Human Nature. There are also biases that creep into suchaccounts: People always think the greatest war is the one they are fighting at the moment, and when that is over they are more impressed with wars of antiquity; but, even so, this war will prove, to all who look at the facts, that it was greater than others. At certain points in history war has been aggrandized as aglorious effort to promote a social or political agenda, while at othertimes society has frowned on war and has resorted to it only when all elsefails. The speeches he inserted into his history, brilliantlyconceived and written, probe deeply into human motivation and explain thepolicy of states in terms of human psychology. The details of thiswar have been reported to the ages by the historian Thucydides, and hisapproach to history would influence later writers and stand as one of themost important histories of the Greek world. He notes that the speeches selected by the author are part of alarger project of bringing submerged realities to the surface, and herelates this to the statement above as to what the real reason for the warwas: Generally, Thucydides wants to bring the darker side of human nature to light by revealing motives such as fear that speakers would want to conceal in real life (xxiii).Here again the historian seeks the truth beneath the surface and bases hisview on evidence found in the text of the speeches, the circumstances oftheir delivery, and related matters. Indianapolis, Indiana: Hackett, 1993. . War is a devastating human activity, one that decimates populations,destroys property, and alters political and social structures for bothvictor and vanquished. (1)Thucydides realizes that it is important to know why these events came topass and so to look to the era before the war, perhaps some distance backin time. Thucydides discusses his historical method and related issues in theearly section, known as the "Archaeology" section. He considered the issue as theevidence showed him the war must have developed but also considered whatwas being said at the time and at later times as to the reason. Thucydides was the firstGreek to write contemporary history but was deeply indebted to Herodotusfor his conception of the fundamental importance of historical writing.Unlike Herodotus, however, who considered it his duty to repeat whatpeople said without necessarily subscribing to it, Thucydides made everyeffort to authenticate the facts he reported; he shows unusualsophistication in his awareness of the way that witnesses oftenmisremember what they have seen. Although hewas a relative of the great soldier and statesman Cimon, Thucydides wasalso an admirer of Cimon's political opponent, Pericles. Woodruff finds that Thucydides has other intentions as well and thathe has certain idea about human nature which he wants to bring out in hisnarrative. Clearly, Thucydides has practicedwhat he said before and has not accepted either side at face value. The inclusion of the speeches allows the historian to analyze the speakersand to show the operation of human nature in the debates and arguments ofthe era. The world of ancient Greece produced some of the most importantphilosophical concepts in human history, ideas that have continued toprevail to this day. His ownhistory, he felt, would enable people in the future to have a betterunderstanding of the development of this particular war, and he saw historyas a compendium of knowledge of events so that the evidence could beassessed and compared by future historians seeking to understand their ownpast and how whatever conflict they were chronicling might have developedfrom tensions started in the time of Thucydides. (15-16)Thucydides, however, presents other points of view, notably those offeredat the time in the Debate at Sparta in which different speakers offeredtheir views of the growing conflict. Thucydides stated in his great history of thewar that the underlying cause was Spartan fear of Athens's expansive power: I believe that the truest reason for the quarrel, though least evident in what was said at the time, was the growth of Athenian power, which put fear into the Lacedaemonians and so compelled them into war. He did not ask why war was fought butonly why this particular war came to be. The History is incomplete as far as the war isconcerned because it ends abruptly with the narrative of the events of 411BC. The speeches, says Woodruff, containsome fiction, but they also contain truth and illuminate the desire on thepart of the historian to bring the truth to light and to be faithful to theoriginal situation. He studied it but did not seem to believeanything could be done to stop it. He is considered bymany to be the greatest of the ancient Greek historians, and his work had aprofound influence on the development of historical writing. People listen tostories, to the epics, to poetry, to drama, and accept these stories as ifthey were fact. He approved of thecurtailment of the democracy in 411, for instance, and he even found theoligarchic constitution of Chios admirable. They do not examine and test one against the other toascertain the truth. The war resulted in Athens beingdefeated and stripped of its empire and in Sparta becoming the acknowledgedleader of the Greek world. Many of the accounts are not credible, but they have achieved thestatus of myth over time. The Trojan War hasbeen recorded by Homer and is embodied in a wide variety of other sorts ofwritings, but these do not constitute history. History as elucidated by Thucydides is a process which if followedleads closer to the truth than when some other approach is tried.
If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again:
or
We can write a Custom Essay just for you.
Browse Essays by Subject