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THUCYDIDES

(ca 450-400 BC.)

BIOGRAPHY

Thucydides was an Athenian who lived during the mid-to-late-fifth century BC. As a historian, Thucydides is famous for writing about the history of the Peloponnesian War, which took place during his lifetime.

Our knowledge about the life of Thucydides is incomplete and controversial.

The general belief is that he was born around 450 B.C. and died at the end of the fifth century (around 400 B.C.). Thucydides' father was named Oloros, a name which indicates that Thucydides' relatives were royal Thracians.

There is also evidence of a Thracian connection in Book 4, chapter 105 of Thucydides' History, which mentions he had mining concessions in Thrace.

The name Thucydides itself was not Thracian, and he was a citizen of Athens. This all suggests that Thucydides was an Athenian aristocrat (part of the upper class).

In 431 B.C., when the Peloponnesian War began, Thucydides began to write.

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