Thucydides

American  

[thoo-sid-i-deez] / θuˈsɪd ɪˌdiz /

noun

1. c460–c400 b.c., Greek historian.

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Thucydides British  

/ θuːˈsɪdɪˌdiːz /

noun

1. ?460–?395 _bc , Greek historian and politician, distinguished for his History of the Peloponnesian War

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Thucydides Cultural  

1. An ancient Greek historian and general. Thucydides' history of the Peloponnesian War, in which he fought, is famous for its careful reporting of events and its sharp analysis of causes and effects.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Thucydidean
  adjective

Example Sentences

The tale of Athenian overreach is better known today than its Spartan counterpart, largely because Thucydides, one of antiquity’s finest historians, captured it in his account of the Peloponnesian War, which began in 431 B.C.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026

But the lessons of Thucydides don’t point to inevitable rise or decline.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026

Trump also responded to a comment by Xi referring to the "Thucydides Trap," a political theory that war becomes more likely when a rising new power competes with an established great power.

From Barron's • May 14, 2026

Perhaps Thucydides had something to say about the folly of war that they wouldn’t have appreciated had they remained civilians.

From Salon • Apr. 19, 2026

“Into politics, of which I have taken final leave....I have given up newspapers in exchange for Tacitus and Thucydides, for Newton and Euclid; and I find myself much happier.”

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis