Thucydidean Historiography

Question 1

In what way does Thucydides differ in periodic views to his contemporaries?

Answer 1

constructs idea of one long and broader conflict - the Peloponnesian war - as opposed to 1st phase then 2nd being made up of Archidamian war, choppy period of peace, then Ionian war

Question 2

When is the generally agreed decade in whihc Thuc was born?

Answer 2

460-50 BCE

Question 3

When is Thuc believed to have started writing? Evidence?

Answer 3

late 430s
he himself asserts (1.1) that his writing began when the war began

Question 4

What is a major omission in Thuc’s narrative? Why would this have been left out?

Answer 4

Peace of Kallias
Could have been a move to emphasise the importance of his own subject matter rather than the Persian wars which precedes his period

Question 5

Why are the problems w Thuc as a source difficult to accept and amend?

Answer 5

He provides the most complete evidence for the period

Question 6

What is Thuc’s stated purpose for his work? What appears to be his rhetorical purpose?

Answer 6

record the greatest war that has ever occured (1.1)
build a narrative to suit his preconceived ideas and arguments

Question 7

What personal characteristics appear to have affected Thuc’s rhetoric?

Answer 7

aristocratic background and subsequent oligarchic tendencies

Question 8

What is the main method Thucydides has used that distorts reality in his narrative?

Answer 8

selectivity

Question 9

In what way was Thuc and Hdt similarly distinct from the contemporary historical/memorialising forms?

Answer 9

designed a new genre of LITERARY history (methodological similarity)

Question 10

In what ways was Thuc different from Hdt? (3)

Answer 10

He openly endeavoured to distinguish himself from what he thought of as inadequate traditional forms of public historical thought whereas Hdt embraced them more.
Linearization as opposed to Hdt’s far more frequent chronological deviations
Lack of a narrator which enhanced the authority of the piece, especially when a narrator is referred to in the process of research
PRESENTATIONAL DISSIMMILARITY

Question 11

In what ways does Thuc’s work stand apart from a modern idea of history? (2)

Answer 11

He starts with his own knowledge and preconceptions then builds up with evidence rather than starting with the latter.
Lack of overall cause and effect thinking

Question 12

What does Thuc say about the accuracy of his record of speeches?

Answer 12

they are generally in line with the overall intent of the speech within its context but he couldn’t promise the reproduction of the exact words used

Question 13

Why are speeches an important part of the recon of ancient history? (2)

Answer 13

contribute to an understanding of the feelings of an individual/audience at the time
they acted as key causal factors in the ancient world as they impacted important agents and events

Question 14

What does Macleod say on the accuracy and reality of the speeches in Thuc?

Answer 14

They are not direct reproductions of the reality but rhetorical distillations of the significant points of the speech and characteristics of the individual

Question 15

What is Hdt’s the first of alongside being the first historical work?

Answer 15

earliest prose piece that we have

Question 16

When was Thuc general? Major event of career?

Answer 16

424/3
failure to keep Amphipolis from Brasidas

Question 17

In what period was Thuc exiled? Where did he likely spend this time? Evidence?

Answer 17

423-404
Corinth, there is a lot of info on the state in his work AND he says during his exile he was able to talk to ppl w anti-athenian views

Question 18

On what grounds does Thuc appear to have liked Pericles?

Answer 18

Personal (likely due to aristocratic links) rather than ideological admiration

Question 19

What type of source did Thuc have to largely rely on? Why?

Answer 19

oral accounts
Documents could only really give figures or dates rather than the happening of an event

Question 20

What important document in Thuc do we have epigraphic evidence for?

Answer 20

Ath-Argive alliance in 420 BCE

Question 21

What are the 3 occasions in which Thuc refers to physical evidence as to elements of his account?

Answer 21

When correcting public memory that Hippias was elder of Peisistratus’ sons shown by an inscrip listing him first
Serpent column grafitti by Pausanias
letters exchanged betw Xerxes and Pausanias

Question 22

What distinguishes Thuc from Hdt in their use of speeches?

Answer 22

Thucydides claims a degree of authenticity and uses them as to a degree historically souns
Hdt makes no such claim and rather they appear to be a tool as part of his storytelling approach

Question 23

What 2 characteristics of the speeches in Thuc suggest they are more complimentary of his narrative than historically accurate?

Answer 23

similarity to contemporary dramatic speeches
dominance of Ath power that appears to have been a somewhat unique obsession of Thuc’s

Question 24

How does Rhodes interpret Thuc’s claim of the accuracy in overall intent of speeches included? What does St Croix say on the same matter?

Answer 24

The speeches Thuc provides are more or less the line of argument the speaker was known to have taken or could reasonably be expected to have taken
It refers to no more than the main point of the speech

Question 25

What are the two main elements of ‘narratology’ seen in Thuc’s work? Why should one be cautious in approaching Thuc like this?

Answer 25

focalization - perspective given from multiple ppl involved
‘seeds’ - details included to give the reader an initial indication that later becomes important
It is an unfinished work with certain parts of it clearly unedited.

Question 26

What kind of composition, often associated w classical writing, is apparent in Thuc? What does it involve? Example?

Answer 26

ring composition
Using a sequence of motifs or themes to narratively move into and out of a digression A-B-C-C-B-A
Intro on greatness of Pelo war begins and ends with comments on the difficulty of finding the truth in history

Question 27

What is an indication consistently of a lack of religious beliefs on behalf of Thuc?

Answer 27

lack of religion and presentation of anything that could be construed as such in that way (e.g. funeral speech is more of social significance)

Question 28

What appears to have been a matter of internal conflict for Thuc w regard to Ath Empire?

Answer 28

he was patriotic but saw the rise of arche as immoral due to its unrestrained conduct

Question 29

What was the end of the civil war in Corcyra? Signif in Thuc’s narrative?

Answer 29

torture to death of oligarchs, who had been captured by Athenians, by corcyrean democrats
acted as an example of the degrading impact on individuals and politics of stasis - ‘the civil strife which had grown so violent ended in this’

Question 30

What does Thuc believe an arche comes from? Result in?

Answer 30

lust for power, greed, and ambition
disorder and violence
arche has NEGATIVE meaning throughout Thuc

Question 31

What does Thomas suggest the effect of exile was on Thuc’s views on Ath oligarchy?

Answer 31

takes a longer, less flattering view of individuals involved whom he had previously praised

Question 32

What rhetorical interest does Thuc appear to have had that could explain his use of speeches?

Answer 32

the use and/or misuse of language

Question 33

What does Thuc identify as the main issue in the understanding and study of history?

Answer 33

widespread uncritical acceptance of oral traditions that obscure the truth

Question 34

What is the line that indicates Thuc has a recognition of historical paradigms and the likelihood of history repeating itself?

Answer 34

‘such is the human condition, will happen again at some time in the same or a similar pattern’

Question 35

What has come to be known in modern political theory as the Thucydides Trap?

Answer 35

war being somewhat inevitable when an emerging power threatens the status of another power