Abstract
This essay analyzes Thucydides and Xenophon's accounts of the Peloponnesian War, reflecting on the intersection of historical narratives, personal bias, and political perspectives. Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War presents Athens’ decline through the lens of moral and political collapse, emphasizing human nature, rationalism, and realism. Despite his reputation for objectivity, his reconstruction of speeches and selective focus revealed an underlying critique of Athenian democracy, shaped by his own life experiences. However, Xenophon's Hellenica continues the narrative with a pronounced Spartan bias, depicting Spartan hegemony and the Thirty Tyrants in a largely favorable or justified light, while minimizing their brutality and Persian dependence. Through close comparison, this paper argues that both historians transform the historical records into interpretive storytelling, guided by their ideological and moral agendas. Their work not only reveals the biases inherent in ancient historiography but also demonstrates how historical writing serves as a medium for shaping political memory and collective identity as a whole.
Recommended Citation
Fuller, Juleeanna S.
(2026)
"Historians at War: a Comparative Analysis Between Thucydides and Xenophon's Accounts of the Peloponnesian War,"
Caroliniana Undergraduate Research Journal: Vol. 1:
Iss.
1, Article 7.
Available at:
https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/usc-curj/vol1/iss1/7
Included in
Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons, Military History Commons, Political History Commons