The Peloponnesian War, fought between the Peloponnesian League (headed by Sparta) and the Delian League (431-404 BC), is chronicled in The History of the Peloponnesian War (led by Athens). It was written by the Athens-born historian Thucydides, who served as a general in the battle for his nation. One of the first academic histories, and largely regarded as a classic, is his account of the battle. Eight books make up the history discipline. History analysis typically falls into one of two categories. On the one hand, the work is viewed as impartial and scientific by some academics, including J. B. Bury. Bury's assessment of history is consistent with the conventional idea that it should be "severe in its detachment, written from a strictly intellectual point of view, unfettered with cliches and moral judgments, frigid and critical." On the other hand, History can be understood as a work of literature rather than an impartial account of historical events, in line with more modern readings that are related to reader-response criticism. W. R. Connor's description of Thucydides as "an artist who responds to, selects and expertly arranges his material, and develops its symbolic and emotional potential" embodies this point of view.
The greatest Greek historian and novelist, Thucydides (born 460 BC or earlier; died after 404 BC), wrote the History of the Peloponnesian War, which describes the conflict between Sparta and Athens in the fifth century BC. He provided the first documented political and moral analysis of a nation's military tactics in his books. What Thucydides exposes about himself throughout his account of his life is everything that is undeniably known-and possibly all that ancient scholars knew-about his existence. He was an Athenian who was old enough at the start of the war to assess its significance, determine that it would likely last a long time, and write an account of it while keeping track of and taking notes throughout. Therefore, he was most likely born no later than 460, possibly a few years before given that his in-depth account starts immediately before 431 with the circumstances that led to the conflict. He was undoubtedly older than 30 when he was chosen as strategos, a significant military magistrate, in 424. He belongs to a younger generation than the Greek historian Herodotus because of this. Olorus, his father's name, was not a well-known Attic name; Olorus was likely of Thracian ancestry on his mother's side.
