On Justice Power and Human Nature

While Thucydides is often cited as the first historian to examine and analyze human events without attributing their outcomes to divine forces, his work shares themes and techniques used by Homer and the Athenian tragedians who retold mythical narratives. These include type scenes, reversal of expectations, tragic irony, and debate/dialogue. Athenian tragedies feature a chorus that would engage in debate-like conversations, which allowed listeners or readers to hear contrasting perspectives and formulate their conclusions accordingly.

Like Homer, Thucydides used type scenes that followed a predictable series of steps. This is especially evident in the presentation of speeches at assemblies in Sparta, Athens, and Syracuse, which follow a set sequence. Thucydides and Homer both made use of dramatic reversals of expectations: What humans intended and expected often resulted in the opposite outcome. Pericles’s intention to protect Athens prompted him to bring all Athenian citizens inside the city walls, but the subsequent overcrowding instead caused the plague to break out. In addition, when Nicias attempts to discourage the Athenians from embarking on the expedition, he instead emboldens them. They pour resources into the expedition such that when it fails, the consequences are disastrous.