3/31/2024 0 Comments Viki ancient wars spartaThucydides and the History of the Peloponnesian War Since his history makes no mention of events after 411, it is likely Thucydides died before Athens’ final surrender in 404. Estimates for Thucydides’ date of birth (c.460) hinge on his probable age upon entering military service. During 20 years of exile, he worked on his history-collecting information, writing and revising. He wrote of his exile: “It was…my fate to be an exile from my country for twenty years after my command at Amphipolis and being present with both parties, and more especially with the Peloponnesians by reason of my exile, I had leisure to observe affairs more closely.” In 424, he was given command of a fleet, but was then exiled for failing to reach the city of Amphipolis in time to prevent its capture by the Spartans. He was born in the Athenian suburb of Halimos and was in Athens during the plague of c.430 B.C., a year after the war began. His father’s name was Olorus, and his family was from Thrace in northeastern Greece, where Thucydides owned gold mines that likely financed his historical work. Little is known about Thucydides’ life apart from the few biographical references in his masterwork. 2 Thucydides and the History of the Peloponnesian War.
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