Greek
Thucydides was an ancient Greek historian, author of the History of the Peloponnesian War, often regarded as the father of scientific and political history.
Thucydides (c. 460–400 BCE), an Athenian general who was exiled after a military failure, devoted himself to chronicling the great war between Athens and Sparta with unprecedented rigor.
His History of the Peloponnesian War set new standards for historical writing, emphasizing evidence, causation, and human nature over myth and divine intervention. Its analysis of power, fear, and self-interest — including the famous Melian Dialogue and Pericles’ Funeral Oration — has made it a foundational text not only of history but of political science and international relations.
Thucydides is honored as a founder of rigorous history and political realism, his unflinching study of war and power still studied in classrooms and war colleges today.
by Thucydides
Thucydides's account of the war between Athens and Sparta (431-404 BCE) that ended Athenian power. The first work of rigorous political and military history — including Pericles's Funeral Oration, the Melian Dialogue, and the catastrophic Sicilian Expedition.
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