'The Most Politic Historiographer': Thucydides and Political Thought

Abstract

Thucydides is arguably the most-cited ancient thinker today in discussions of contemporary political issues, and has been regarded as an authority on such matters since the Renaissance. However, there is little consensus about what transhistorical insights he actually offers his readers. This chapter considers different traditions of reading his work: as a source of information about ancient politics; as a source of political wisdom and advice; and as a pioneering work of political theory, offering general laws and principles of political structures and behaviour. While criticising interpretations that ignore or explain away the strangeness of Thucydides’ work, it suggests ways in which it can still be read productively as a contribution to thinking about politics.