Originally published on January 28, 2016 (Episode 45)
Introduction
Our continuing series on great (or influential, if you prefer) historians inevitably brings us to Thucydides.
Sometimes it seems as if you have to pick a side: Which do you prefer, Thucydides or his predecessor Herodotus? Critics of Thucydides say that his history of the Peloponnesian War focuses too much on politics and war. Some have charged that he built “Thucydides’ Tower,” a kind of prison in which historians were confined in front of a window from which they could only see politics and war, and the actions of so-called great men; until a jailbreak was staged by Jacob Burckhardt in 1860, or the Annalistes in 1929,or the social historians in 1971 (opinions vary on the convicts’ leader and the date).
Barry Strauss, doesn’t believe you have to choose between the two; he also thinks that there is a lot more in Thucydides than politics and battles
About the Guest
Barry Strauss is the Corliss Page Dean Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University and the Bryce and Edith M. Bowmar Professor in Humanistic Studies Emeritus at Cornell University. He is the author of numerous books on the ancient world, including The Death of Caesar and The War That Made the Roman Empire both of which were the focus of converations on this podcast. At the time of the recording, this was his second appearance on the podcast; he has since been back three more times.
For Further Investigation
Robert B. Strassler, ed., The Landmark Thucydides (Free Press, 2008)
Barry Strauss, The Death of Caesar: The Story of History’s Most Famous Assassination (Simon and Schuster, 2016)
—, The War That Made the Roman Empire: Antony, Cleopatra, and Octavian at Actium (Simon and Schuster, 2022)
—, Jews vs. Rome: Two Centuries of Rebellion Against the World's Mightiest Empire (Simon and Schuster, 2025)
Related Episodes: The Straussian Dialogues
Barry Strauss on Intellectual Humility and Historical Thinking
Listen & Discuss
Is Thucydides more relevant today for his politics, his history, or his human insight Can a historian ever really write without “anger and partiality”? Should we even try?
If you know someone debating Thucydides vs. Herodotus, share this episode with them—and join the argument.
