History Profiles

Historian · 460 BC – 400 BC

Thucydides

Little-Known Facts

  • He was exiled from Athens after failing as a general, which gave him time to write his history.
  • The 'Thucydides Trap', describing the danger when a rising power challenges a ruling one, is named after him.

Myths & Misconceptions

How is Thucydides different from Herodotus?

Where Herodotus included myth and digression, Thucydides focused strictly on verifiable events, causes and human motives, making him the more 'scientific' historian.