Thucydides: reception, reinterpretation and influence
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Bristol
Department Name: School of Humanities
Abstract
Since the Second World War, one of the most frequently cited thinkers in debates about western foreign policy, especially in the United States, has been Thucydides. This has been especially the case over the last decade. Irving Kristol, eminence grise of American neoconservatism, referred to Thucydides' history as 'the favourite neoconservative text on foreign affairs', since it features heavily in the writings of theorists like Hans Morgenthau and Leo Strauss. An even more pervasive influence is the historian Donald Kagan: father of one of the co-founders of the Project for a New American Century, a signatory of the original declaration along with such figures as Dick Cheney and Paul Wolfowitz, and co-author of the wake-up call While America Sleeps, a work shaped by his reading of Thucydides. At the other end of the spectrum of Republican thought, no profile of Colin Powell is complete without reference to the quotation that hung on his office wall as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs - 'Of all manifestations of power, restraint impresses men most' - a legacy of the place of Thucydides in the curriculum at West Point as at other US military training establishments like the Naval War College. The recent travails of the neoconservative project and the return of the Democrats to power have led not to the rejection of Thucydides as a source of political wisdom but to calls for more careful readings of key episodes - the Sicilian expedition is read as confirming the inevitability of the debacle in Iraq - as the grounding for a different approach to international affairs.
It is easy to dismiss the Thucydides of the American neoconservatives as the product of a naïve, partial and dehistoricised reading of the text - or, more likely, to judge from the limited range of reference of many discussions, of a few isolated passages in it. However, this misses the point: the idea of Thucydides, however far removed it may be from a complex reality, has continuing power and currency, shaping ideas about how the modern world should be run and serving to legitimise them. This is not a new phenomenon; Thucydides played a prominent role in debates about inter-state relations even before Thomas Hobbes - himself generally dismissive of the wisdom of the ancients, but devoted translator of the History of the Peloponnesian War. Moreover, study of the history of his reception makes it clear that Thucydides the Neoconservative is not the only version with the power to influence debates; Thucydides the Political Theorist is quite as important in the analysis of the workings of democracy and demagoguery, the ideas and ideals of citizenship; Thucydides the Strategist has influenced military and naval thinking since the early modern period; and Thucydides the Model Historian dominated the development of 'history as science' under Leopold von Ranke in the nineteenth century.
The perspective changes significantly over time: as each of these conceptions influences the others; as the valuation of Thucydides relative to rivals like Tacitus or Herodotus changes; as scholarship develops knowledge of the text and its context; and as conceptions of the relationship between ancient and modern are transformed by the experiences of modernisation. In the nineteenth century, classical history lost its privileged status as a source of exempla, but, unlike other ancient historians, Thucydides continued to be read outside schools and universities: like Plato and Aristotle, he was seen as offering universal insights and precepts that transcended his time. However, even at a given moment the idea of Thucydides was never simple or straightforward; he could equally well be cited as a democrat or an anti-democrat, an activist or a quietist, a realist or an idealist, the archetypal scientific historian or the exemplary practitioner of rhetoric. The aim of this project is to explore the different aspects of Thucydides' reception and continuing influence.
It is easy to dismiss the Thucydides of the American neoconservatives as the product of a naïve, partial and dehistoricised reading of the text - or, more likely, to judge from the limited range of reference of many discussions, of a few isolated passages in it. However, this misses the point: the idea of Thucydides, however far removed it may be from a complex reality, has continuing power and currency, shaping ideas about how the modern world should be run and serving to legitimise them. This is not a new phenomenon; Thucydides played a prominent role in debates about inter-state relations even before Thomas Hobbes - himself generally dismissive of the wisdom of the ancients, but devoted translator of the History of the Peloponnesian War. Moreover, study of the history of his reception makes it clear that Thucydides the Neoconservative is not the only version with the power to influence debates; Thucydides the Political Theorist is quite as important in the analysis of the workings of democracy and demagoguery, the ideas and ideals of citizenship; Thucydides the Strategist has influenced military and naval thinking since the early modern period; and Thucydides the Model Historian dominated the development of 'history as science' under Leopold von Ranke in the nineteenth century.
The perspective changes significantly over time: as each of these conceptions influences the others; as the valuation of Thucydides relative to rivals like Tacitus or Herodotus changes; as scholarship develops knowledge of the text and its context; and as conceptions of the relationship between ancient and modern are transformed by the experiences of modernisation. In the nineteenth century, classical history lost its privileged status as a source of exempla, but, unlike other ancient historians, Thucydides continued to be read outside schools and universities: like Plato and Aristotle, he was seen as offering universal insights and precepts that transcended his time. However, even at a given moment the idea of Thucydides was never simple or straightforward; he could equally well be cited as a democrat or an anti-democrat, an activist or a quietist, a realist or an idealist, the archetypal scientific historian or the exemplary practitioner of rhetoric. The aim of this project is to explore the different aspects of Thucydides' reception and continuing influence.
People |
ORCID iD |
Neville Morley (Principal Investigator) | |
Christine Lee (Researcher) |
Publications
Earley B
(2014)
A Handbook to the Reception of Thucydides
Earley B
(2016)
Commerce, militarism and luxury: eighteenth-century French depictions of the Athenian Empire
in Classical Receptions Journal
Lee
(2015)
A Handbook to the Reception of Thucydides
Lee C
(2014)
Thucydides in Wartime: Reflecting on Democracy and its Discontents
in Polis
Lee C
(2014)
A Handbook to the Reception of Thucydides
Lee, C. & Morley, N.
(2015)
Introduction: Reading Thucydides
Morley N
(2014)
A Handbook to the Reception of Thucydides
Morley N
(2016)
Thucydides and Political Order
Morley N
(2012)
Peter Handke's Thucydides
in Classical Receptions Journal
Morley, N
(2014)
Thucydides and the Idea of History
Description | The aim of the project was to explore the different ways in which the ancient Greek historian Thucydides, who wrote an account of a war between Greek states in the 5th century BCE, has been read and interpreted since the Renaissance, and his influence on modern ideas. Thucydides is traditionally seen as a historian, and is often put forward as the inventor of critical, even 'scientific' history - a modern before modernity; however, while his work has been an ideal and inspiration for many historians, especially up until the First World War, it also raises troubling questions for our understanding of the nature and usefulness of history, that continue to be debated. Meanwhile, Thucydides has also been seen as the founder of political theory, or of the particular tradition of political thought known as 'Realism'; again, it is possible to see how these readings of Thucydides, and the elevation of him to an authority, have shaped modern ideas about global politics, the nature of democracy and the power of rhetoric - but also raise important issues about the ways that political theorists and commentators on global affairs make use of historical data in the arguments. Thucydides has become an all-purpose authority, evoked to explain all manner of contemporary issues from US-China relations and the possibility of World War III to the factionalism of modern politics and the dynamics of the Greek economic crisis. In each instance, he is treated as a straightforward figure - as someone who is *clearly* a historian or *clearly* a political theorist - whose ideas are clear and persuasive - without any reference to the complexity of his reception in different fields, which the project has now revealed. In brief, we have shown that Thucydides is always more complicated and elusive, and always more interesting and provocative, than the modern scholars who seek to draw on his authority for their own purposes. His work is 'good to think with', if this complexity is recognised and embraced. The project has produced a multi-author Handbook to the Reception of Thucydides', which offers an indispensable guide to the different aspects of his influence, from history and political theory to parliamentary debates and literature, written by a range of international authorities. It has also produced a series of more specialised studies, with a book on 'Thucydides and the Idea of History' and a series of articles on the reception of Thucydides in literature, political theory, and global politics. The two PhD students on the project have produced ground-breaking work on the role of Thucydides in modern military education and on his place in 17th and 18th century political debates, above all around the nature of the British and French empires. The Primary Investigator has also founded a blog on which he continues to explore the contemporary influence of Thucydides for a non-academic audience (see http://thesphinxblog.com). |
Exploitation Route | As noted above, the project revealed hitherto-neglected or -ignored traditions of the reception and influence of Thucydides, which merit detailed investigation: future projects could profitably explore Thucydidean traditions within areas of political theory and the social sciences beyond mainstream IR theory and political thought, and could also focus on the military tradition - the PhD by Stradis, one member of the project team, on modern professional military eduction, has only scratched the surface here. Our findings so far have shed important light on the way that Thucydides' ideas, and ideas attributed to Thucydides, continue to influence conceptions of history, the use of historical data within the social sciences, and numerous debates around contemporary global politics - most recently, the evocation of the Melian Dialogue in discussions of the Greek economic crisis and of the Ukraine crisis, the use of the Corcyrean stasis both in debates about Syria and in the analysis of current UK and US political struggles, and the new concept of the 'Thucydides Trap' in relation to US-China relations and ongoing security issues. Our findings reveal the roots, and the unexamined assumptions, of these debates, and point to more fruitful ways of employing Thucydides as a basis for understanding issues of power, war and violence. As well as enriching and correcting discussions in the media and within policy forums and think-tanks, we envisage that our findings can support the development of Thucydides as a resource for understanding complexity and conflict, which would be useful not only in schools and community groups but potentially within the military - following the ways in which it has been used within US professional military education, especially the Naval War College. |
Sectors | Education,Government, Democracy and Justice,Security and Diplomacy |
Description | Findings on the ways that Thucydides' Melian Dialogue has been interpreted within modern political theory and International Relations theory, as a basis for understanding debates around might versus right, the interaction of parties with unequal power etc., were incorporated into an adapted version of the Dialogue that was performed for a public audience in November 2013, followed by a panel discussion. This event, and subsequent performances of the Dialogue, raised further questions both about the dynamics of the interaction between the different parties and about the dramatic potential of Thucydides' text, which are now forming the basis for a new collaboration (supported by a grant from the AHRC's Follow-On Funding for Impact scheme) with two theatre groups, to explore the Dialogue in multiple stagings and as an interactive experience, which we hope will help develop it as a training tool for negotiation and management. |
First Year Of Impact | 2013 |
Sector | Creative Economy,Education |
Impact Types | Cultural |
Description | Follow-On Funding for Impact: The Melian Dialogues/Do What You Must |
Amount | £54,081 (GBP) |
Funding ID | AH/T004142/1 |
Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 10/2019 |
End | 09/2020 |
Description | Einstein Visiting Fellowship |
Organisation | Einstein Foundation, Berlin |
Country | Germany |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | I was appointed as an Einstein Visiting Fellow for three years, 2016-19; I shall be working with a Berlin-based research team, collaborating in their research, participating in workshops and conferences, advising on publications and other outputs, and co-supervising research students. We will also be developing future research applications together. |
Collaborator Contribution | The Einstein Foundation provides up to 12,000 EUR per annum for expenses in travelling to and staying in Berlin, as well as other visits for research purposes and to attend relevant conferences with my collaborators; they also provide administrative support for the project and for a range of outreach activities. The Ancient History section of the Friedrich Meinecke Institut of the FU Berlin provides administrative support and office space, as well as access to library and other facilities. |
Impact | My collaborative relationship with Prof. Christian Wendt (now at Bochum) was the basis for a joint research project application for the new AHRC/DFG scheme in January 2019, for a project on 'Die bewegte Stadt'. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Einstein Visiting Fellowship |
Organisation | Free University of Berlin |
Department | Friedrich Meinecke Institute (FMI) |
Country | Germany |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I was appointed as an Einstein Visiting Fellow for three years, 2016-19; I shall be working with a Berlin-based research team, collaborating in their research, participating in workshops and conferences, advising on publications and other outputs, and co-supervising research students. We will also be developing future research applications together. |
Collaborator Contribution | The Einstein Foundation provides up to 12,000 EUR per annum for expenses in travelling to and staying in Berlin, as well as other visits for research purposes and to attend relevant conferences with my collaborators; they also provide administrative support for the project and for a range of outreach activities. The Ancient History section of the Friedrich Meinecke Institut of the FU Berlin provides administrative support and office space, as well as access to library and other facilities. |
Impact | My collaborative relationship with Prof. Christian Wendt (now at Bochum) was the basis for a joint research project application for the new AHRC/DFG scheme in January 2019, for a project on 'Die bewegte Stadt'. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Legacy of Greek Political Thought |
Organisation | University of Reading |
Department | Legacy of Greek Political Thought Network |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | New international research network (http://www.reading.ac.uk/classics/research/class-LegGPT.aspx); Neville Morley has been invited to join as a founder member. |
Start Year | 2010 |
Description | Lessons of War: Thucydides 1914-45 |
Organisation | Free University of Berlin |
Department | Friedrich Meinecke Institute (FMI) |
Country | Germany |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Collaborative project developed with the Freie Universitaet Berlin; application submitted for major research grant, and further applications and joint events planned. |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Translation, Reception and Appropriation |
Organisation | University of Bristol |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | A collaboration with Dr Adrienne Mason and Dr Marianne Ailes in the School of Modern Languages, University of Bristol, exploring different aspects of translation in the early modern period. |
Start Year | 2011 |
Description | A Possession for All Time: how and why Thucydides matters so much |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Public lecture by the distinguished classicist and President of the Association of American Universities, Hunter R. Rawlings III, organised by the project. Lots of questions from audience, and enquiries about future events to be organised by the project. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Being Human |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Event on 'Might and Right: thinking through fragments' organised as part of the annual Being Human festival of the humanities, including a performance of an adaptation of the Melian Dialogue by undergraduate students and a lecture and discussion. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | In Our Time |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Invited participant to BBC Radio 4's In Our Time programme, on Thucydides, January 2015. I have been approached for information subsequently, and visits to my blog increased significantly in the weeks following the broadcast. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b050bcf1 |
Description | Might and Right: ancient and modern perspectives |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Outreach event focused on the Melian Dialogue, with panel discussion and performance of new modern adaptation. Lots of enquiries about the work of the project. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Monumental Folly |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | A discussion of the role of Thucydides on modern war memorials and discussions of war, published in the new online publication 'Aeon'. http://www.aeonmagazine.com/world-views/neville-morley-on-thucydides/ Increasing number of enquiries about work of project, interest in monuments etc. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | The Idea of Thucydides in Western Culture |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Invited lecture, Humboldt Universitaet zu Berlin. Various ideas for future collaboration. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | The Modern Reception of Thucydides |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Research workshop for postgraduate students at the University of Freiburg. Enquiries about the project afterwards, |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | The Most Politic Historiographer |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Invited lecture at the TOPOI Exzellenzcluster, Berlin Discussion and questions; plans for future collaborative projects. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | The Most Politic Historiographer |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Invited lecture at Toronto. Sparked questions and discussion. Established basis for ongoing collaboration. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | The Sphinx Blog |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | My personal blog now receives over 12,000 unique visitors per year, with over 30,000 page views in 2015; posts cover a range of different topics related to my research interests, but Thucydides and his modern reception continues to be the most prominent theme. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013,2014,2015,2016 |
URL | http://thesphinxblog.com |
Description | The Spirit of Athens: Thucydides as a theorist of maritime empire |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Paper by Ben Earley at conference on The Most Politic Historiographer, Bristol Further enquiries about project; fed into contribution to edited volume. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Thucydides and Vietnam: A Vehicle for Ethical Professional Military Education |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Paper by Andreas Stradis at conference on Most Politic Historiographer, Bristol Enquiries about work of project; fed into contribution to edited volume. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Thucydides and the Greek economic crisis |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Invited article for The Monkey Cage blog, part of the Washington Post online, entitled "How Thucydides explains Greece's problems with Germany". Within a month, the post had been viewed over 10,000 times. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
URL | http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2015/04/09/how-thucydides-helps-explain-greeces-p... |
Description | Thucydides in Anglo-American Political Thought |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Invited lecture, Fakultaet fuer Geschichtswissenschaft, Universitaet Bielefeld. May 2013. Further enquiries about work of project. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Thucydides in Anglo-American Political Thought: research seminar |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Presentation sparked discussion. Established collaboration relationship with one participant. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Thucydides in the Modern World |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Schools talk to the Classics Society, Sherborne School, Sherborne, Dorset. Series of questions from pupils as follow-up. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Thukydides und der moderne Geschichtsbegriff |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Invited lecture at the Seminar fuer Alte Geschichte, University of Freiburg Continuing discussion with academic colleagues. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |