Thucydides, to me, is one of the most important historical figures of all time. Not only did he take part in one of the world’s greatest wars, but he also provided an extremely accurate historical account from both sides of the conflict (war and history: my two favorite subjects to read about).
During the Peloponnesian war, Thucydides wrote the History of the Peloponnesian War, the world’s first accurate historical narrative. Accurate, because it contained no tales of the relations between gods and men. He wrote only about the deeds of mortals, and recorded exactly what happened from both sides of the conflict.
Thucydides had many powerful family connections, putting him in constant contact with important historical figures and giving hi first hand experience to record in his journals. In 424 B.C., he was made General and placed in charge of seven ships to aid in the defence of the coast. However, he failed to save the city of Amphipolis from Spartan attack and it was destroyed. Soon after, Thucydides was exiled for his failures, which allowed him to freely travel between both sides of the war. Having no allegiance, neither army thought of him as a threat, and he was able to write accounts from every angle, telling stories from both sides.
Not much is known of the death of Thucydides. His narrative ends very abruptly in the year 411 B.C., leading many people to believe that he was killed and his accounts rescued before he could finish them. However, the story ends very soon after the end of the war, not during it, and so there are those who believe he just stopped writing.
His accounts paved the way for historians everywhere to stop muddling up their accounts with sweeping tales of gods and heroes and false stories that never happened. He began a movement to record the truth, the beginning of a reliable recorded History. As a lover of history, how could he not be important to me?
