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Introduction
There are many books which contain historical accounts and provide readers with information on how certain events occurred in the past. One of the most notable examples of such books is The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides. Written more than two thousand years ago, the book still remains popular to this day because of its content and the unique perspective of its author. The book talks in detail about the causes and other aspects of the Peloponnesian War between the Delian League, led by Athens, and the Peloponnesian League, led by Sparta. In the book, Thucydides presents his view that the analysis and description of historical events must always be based on facts and states that self-interest was the main motivation for the two sides.
Summary of Content
Thucydides begins the story by declaring that the period of the war was not beneficial for both Athens and Sparta. Thucydides also provides his historical research methodology and compares his approach to the traditional ones. For instance, he assures the readers that he “made it a principle not to write down the first story that came my way” (Thucydides 48). Thucydides also notes that his approach differs from those of poets and chronicles who exaggerate facts (Thucydides 41). As a result of his approach, Thucydides states the clear causes of the war and the motivations of both sides. Specifically, Thucydides argues that the primary reason why the war started was the growing influence, power, and wealth of Athens. Additionally, Thucydides insists that self-interest was the key motivation for both Athens and Sparta to begin the war. Thucydides clearly defines Athens’ motivation as their belief that the weak must always obey the strong (Thucydides 402). In contrast, Sparta’s motivation was to save Greece from the tyranny of Athens (Thucydides 18). Thus, Thucydides provides a comprehensive and relatively accurate account of the Peloponnesian War.
Critical Comments
As mentioned above, the purpose of Thucydides is to present an objective historical overview of the events of the Peloponnesian War. Moreover, Thucydides seeks to list all of the aspects of conflict impartially and without demonstrating his allegiance to any of the sides. Moreover, the approach of Thucydides to historical research was truly revolutionary for his era because it relied on the principle of accuracy and truth. Therefore, I am certain that Thucydides’ treatment of the subject of the Peloponnesian War is both appropriate and sufficient, especially when taking into consideration the context. First of all, Thucydides achieves the purpose of the writing by presenting facts which can be verified. When describing the reporting on historical events, Thucydides states that he thoroughly checked all the information (Thucydides 48). The factual approach of Thucydides nowadays is considered the primary method of conducting research.
Another purpose of Thucydides’ writing is to show how self-interest was the core motivation for both Athens and Sparta to start the war. In order to prove his point, Thucydides includes the speeches of the Athenian spokesmen who openly articulate the official stances of the Athenian state. According to Thucydides, one of the key ideas of Athens is imperialism which is based on the concept of weak and strong, which promotes their self-interest. Thucydides manages to demonstrate the motivation of the Athenians for the war in the Melian dialogue, a debate between Athens and Melians. The debate shows that the city-state believes in its own version of reality and is guided in its actions by its own interests (Thucydides 403). It is also worth noting that Thucydides does not follow the traditional description of the conflict motivations such as Gods’ will and rather presents natural causes.
Thucydides provides the facts in their entirety without omitting any evidence and does int an objective manner. Although it is possible that Thucydides did not include certain evidence, it can be considered normal since he did not possess the modern technology to document the events effectively. The primary data used by Thucydides in his writing is the accounts of the participants of the events covered in the book. Additionally, Thucydides also mentions that he relies on his own knowledge and memory of the events to which he was an eye-witness (Thucydides 48). The data featured in the book can be generally interpreted to alternate ends. For instance, the reader may view Athens’ motivation to wage the occupational war on Sparta. The History of the Peloponnesian War certainly raises numerous topics of discussion, and the most important one is the boundaries of self-interest in foreign policy. Essentially, Thucydides shows how the continuous pursuit of self-interest by countries can lead to wars. Therefore, an issue of the possible limitations of self-interest which countries should impose to prevent tragedies.
Conclusion
The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides constitutes the first attempt of ancient authors to present an objective account of historical events and demonstrate the problem of self-interest on the level of states. Thucydides embraces a revolutionary approach to describing a historical event by relying on facts and accounts of eye-witnesses to present correct evidence on the topic. Thucydides shows how self-interest can be the guiding motivation in foreign policy with the example of Athens and demonstrate how it can lead to wars.
Work Cited
Thucydides. History of the Peloponnesian War. Penguin Books, 2000.
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