Thucydides: General, Historian, and the Father of Scientific History

Thucydides was an Athenian general and historian, most notable for his work known as the History of the Peloponnesian War. Whilst Herodotus, a near-contemporary of his, is often hailed as the Father of History, Thucydides himself has been dubbed the Father of Scientific History. This is due to the methods that Thucydides employed whilst writing his History of the Peloponnesian War.

For instance, Thucydides had strict standards, which included the testimony of eyewitnesses and his own experiences as a general during the war, when it came to gathering evidence. Additionally, Thucydides wrote on events that were contemporary to his life, and he thought that an accurate inquiry into past events is impossible.

In his introduction, Thucydides wrote this (perhaps to implicitly rebuke Herodotus):

“Accurate research into earlier or yet more ancient history was impossible given the great gap of time,”

Herodotus and Thucydides. (Public Domain)