History Of The Peloponnesian War

Thucydides book the History of the Peloponnesian War is a well written work of art. It is lacking a bit when it comes to historical accuracy but still has historical uses. It is an interesting and fun book to read but is lacking when is comes to specific events and speeches.

Thucydides had to give up historical accuracies to create a long lasting book. He admits that he would like his book to last through the ages. "My work is not designed to meet the taste of the immediate public, but was done to last forever" p48. For a book to last for any length of time it needs to be readable to many different people including those to come. Thucydides did this in the History of the Peloponnesian war. Is an interesting read and one that can be read by many different people including scholars and interested people.

Even though he wrote for his book to last, that does not mean that he gave up all historical accuracy. Parts of the History of the Peloponnesian War are probably exaggerated to increase the entertainment value of the book as a whole but truth can be found and verified within its pages. This makes the book a work of history also.

The History of the Peloponnesian War can be verified with other documents and plays written about the same time. Each time part of the History of the Peloponnesian War is verified with another reliable source it increases its credibility of the History of the Peloponnesian War. Not all of the book can be verified or proven as an inaccuracy because of the limited amount of documentation that can be compared to the History of the Peloponnesian War.

Thucydides was writing about events that happened in his own time and could collect first hand accounts of battles that occurred and speeches that were given. Battles and military campaigns can be followed through written as well as through interviews with people making the historical fact in this aspect closer to what actually happened. Learning about the military actions is important but the reasoning behind these actions can be harder to get to.

The speeches Thucydides uses are not word for word as he states himself on page 47 "I have found it difficult to remember the precise words used in the speeches which I listened to myself and my various informants have experienced the same difficultly; Ð'... while keeping as closely as possible to the general sense of the words the were actually used, to make the speakers say in what, in my opinion, was called for by each situation." Thucydides speeches are very readable and show great excitement. It shows in them that they were not written word for word as spoken because words that sound good when spoken do not