Thucydides (General)

Thucydides , the son of Melesias or Milesios, was an Athenian politician and general. The exact dates of his life are not known, but he was a contemporary and resolute opponent of Pericles (* around 490 BC; † September 429 BC). Thucydides belonged to the aristocracy of Athens and came from the Demos Alopeke , who belonged to the Phyle Antiochis . (He must not be confused with the famous historian of the same name, Thucydides , who was a son of Oloros.)

After the death of the leader of the Athenian aristocracy, Kimon , who died in 449 BC. When the commander of the Athenian fleet died at the siege of Kition in Cyprus , Thucydides became his political successor. The Athenian aristocrats appointed him - as the Pericles biographer Plutarch writes - to their leader because they wanted someone to the overpowering head of the People's Party, Pericles, "to keep the balance in the state and reduce his power, ultimately resulting in a complete monarchy would". According to Plutarch, Thucydides ensured above all an efficient organization of the aristocratic forces by not tolerating “the so-called higher classes mingling and dispersing with the people, as had happened before, where their dignity was slightly obscured by the mob; Rather, he separated them completely, united the power of all into a whole, which gave them great weight, and so, as on a scale, made the difference. "

Thucydides had the advantage over his relative Kimon as the leader of the aristocrats that he was constantly present in Athens and did not, like his predecessor, seek satisfaction in his military ambitions in distant lands. As Plutarch writes, he is said to have been inferior to Kimon in terms of military talent, but surpassed him with his feeling for political tactics. Above all, Thucydides criticized Pericles' excessive spending on the large representative buildings, which were by no means unpopular with the people, who benefited from these public works in many ways.

Pericles finally succeeded in pushing back the aristocratic opposition completely. Because 444 BC BC Thucydides was banished by the judgment of the fragments and had to go abroad. As one can see from an allusion to the comedy writer Aristophanes , he suffered a nervous breakdown during the judgment of the broken glass when he became aware of the impending danger of having to leave his home country and was unable to speak.

Despite his great ability and despite his influence on his family, Thucydides could ultimately reach his opponent Pericles neither in eloquence nor in skill. He is said to have recognized this himself when King Archidamos II of Sparta , with whom he was staying during his exile, asked him whether he or Pericles was the better wrestler. “Even if I throw him to the ground,” was the answer, “he still denies that he fell, he is right, and even persuades those who saw it.” (Translation: Kaltwasser).

In the case of Thucydides, the usual period of banishment of the shards court, which was ten years, seems to have been shortened, because as early as 440 BC. Together with Hagnon and Phormion, he was in command of 40 ships that were sent to reinforce the commander-in-chief Perikles, who was busy with the siege of the island of Samos . The arrival of these ships, along with other reinforcements, resulted in the Samians surrendering.

Thucydides, whose death circumstances are not known, left two sons, Melesias and Stephanos. Melesias, in turn, was the father of a son, whom he also named Thucydides after his grandfather and later, as Plato reports, entrusted the philosopher Socrates for instruction.

Aristotle valued the politician Thucydides highly and, according to Plutarch, counted him with Nikias and Theramenes among the citizens of Athens who "were the best and most excellent who showed true paternal affection and love for the people".

swell

• Aristophanes: The wasps. (Line 947).
• Athenaios (VI. P. 234, e)
• Plato: Meno (p. 94), Theages (p. 130), Laches (p. 179).
• Plutarch: Nikias (chap. 2); Pericles (Chapters 6, 8, 11, 14, 16).
• Thucydides: History of the Peloponnesian War . (Book I., Chapter 117).