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4 - Thucydides’ Use of Evidence and Sources

from Part I - Context and Method

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 March 2023

By
P. J. Rhodes
Edited by
Polly Low
Polly Low
Affiliation:
University of Durham
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Summary

This chapter analyses Thucydides use of sources and his approach to evidence. It surveys his (possible) use of documentary sources and eye-witness testimony, before going on to discuss specific types of evidence cited in the text: inscriptions, letters, poetry and prose writing. The second part of the chapter explores the ways in which Thucydides’ approach to history (and to the writing of history) might have influenced his use of sources, drawing particular attention to the influence that Thucydides’ views of religion might have had on his presentation of events.

Keywords

sourcesevidencehistoriographyreligioninscriptionsdocuments
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Companion to Thucydides , pp. 50 - 62
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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