Author Description

History of the Peloponnesian War Thucydides Thucylides himself was an Athenian general who personally bore witness to the various skirmishes of the war. Ordering all of the events chronologically - a first for any work of history - he offers a straightforward account of the conflict, straying little to personal opinions or permitting his history to be influenced by the prevailing politics of the era. For this, Thucylides' is lauded for his methodical telling of each battle, which offers the reader unequaled insight into Greek and Spartan military tactics and cultures. Throughout the history, we are given transcripts of various speeches. Although the inclusion of such lengthy quotations of sources is unheard of in modern history books, the presence of lengthy oratory in Thucylides' history is considered to be a cultural trait: speech and rhetoric were prized in Greece as the prime means of transferring knowledge. To this end we may read the words of Greek and Spartan generals, and the goings in within the political factions of the time.