How Did Thhucydides Contribute To His Life?

Through the works of the Athenian historian, Thucydides, a myriad of information is shared pertaining to not only to his own life, but to the society and culture of Ancient Greece as well. He was born around 460-455 BC and through his life he wrote one of the most in depth recordings of the Peloponnesian War entitled, History of the Peloponnesian War. Not only did Thucydides live within the wartime period, he also fought in this war as well as a military general. The efforts that Thucydides contributed during his life, make his works, even now so important in order to understand the lifestyle and civilization of the Ancient Greeks.

It is very difficult to trace the early life of Thucydides because of the lack of evidence found specifically on this one man. In any case,
One instance of this is seen with his views in politics. Through his aristocratic upbringing, he did not favour democracy. Instead, Thucydides was a supporter of restrictive oligarchy so, that only the more successful Athenian males were able to vote in elections. Furthermore, Thucydides had a lot of beliefs for his writings as well. Unlike the majority of Greeks at the time, Thucydides dismissed the gods for events that would happen in Greece. He saw that the universe worked as a machine and that everything was led by a cause and an effect. One of the main motives that drove this historian into writing was his belief that human kind is bound to repeat itself with the course of their actions. In his book on the Peloponnesian War he writes, “I have written not for immediate applause but for posterity, and I shall be content if the future student of these events, or of other similar events which are likely in human nature to occur in after ages, finds my narrative of them useful.” (Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, Book I) All of these beliefs are deeply rooted within Thucydides’