Thucydides (fl. c.400 BC)

A Greek historian with philosophical interests, Thucydides wrote about the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta (431–404 bc). He elaborates on the decisions of war in brilliantly reconstructed debates and speeches, reflecting his training under various Sophists. Many of these speeches take for granted that people care less for justice than for their own narrow interests. This dark view of human nature influenced Hobbes, while the style of the debates and speeches has had an enduring effect on public rhetoric. His account of Athenian democracy in action is cautionary, and his conservative political views anticipated Aristotle’s in some respects.