Print

So a modern historian might rightfully assign a higher degree of credibility to an ancient author who is willing to share this kind of information. What about financial support? Making a living as a writer in ancient times was very likely impossible, given the lack of a technology for mass-producing books, essays, or poems. Most budding authors could develop their bent for writing only if one (or more) of the fol- lowing circumstances were in their favor: they hailed from wealthy families or benefited from generous inheritances, or they had patrons who supported them, or they had real-world jobs that paid well enough to enable them to spend their leisure hours in literary pursuits. In the case of patronage, it seems likely that no one would have bankrolled an author whose work was considered substandard. The first-century BCE poets Virgil and Horace both enjoyed the imperial patronage of the emperor Augustus although their work was and is justifiably highly regarded on its own merits, a modern historian would also be warranted in evaluating their poetry favorably knowing that they had the financial support and approval of the emperor. On rare occasions, however, an author could make his way in the world strictly through his writing. The best example of this might be the Greek poet Pindar, who wrote poems for athletes who were victorious at the Olympic Games and other prestigious athletic festivals. These athletes, or their families or patrons, paid Pindar handsomely for his odes. Ultimately, however, the marketplace dictated whether Pindar could stay in business as a freelance poet. Clearly, he turned out a quality product, with many satisfied customers, and that kind of success, in turn, would lead a modern historian to make a positive assess- ment of his work. On relatively rare occasions, ancient historians and biographers share with the reader some of the frustrations and difficulties they encountered in composing their accounts, and the manner in which they dealt with these obstacles. The Greek historian Thucydides (see below) is the prime example of an author who was thus forthcoming. A modern histo- rian would not wrongly place faith in the reliability of such authors. Ultimately, however, a modern historian must decide whether (or when) to be skeptical, and whether (or when) to be trusting when it comes to evaluating the works of ancient authors. But extreme skepticism—an attitude asserting that none of our original sources is completely accurate or honest, and therefore none can be trusted fully—has little to recom- mend it. If we apply such stringent standards across the board, we can bid farewell to a sub- stantive study of history at some point, we must be willing to trust the sources. While they are not perhaps 100 percent error-free, the general outline of people and events they offer must be considered factual and credible. After all, what other documents do we have to en- able us to piece together the past? Thucydides’s Viewpoint In the introduction to his classic book on the Peloponnesian War, the fifth-century BCE Greek historian Thucydides provides his readers with some unique observations on the dif- ficulties and challenges involved in writing history. Thucydides has a well-deserved reputa- tion as a very thorough researcher, obsessed with accuracy, and so his words should resonate with a modern historian who might be trying to achieve the same goals. For example, Thucydides points out that so-called common knowledge, “facts” in the public domain as it were, may not be as common or as factual as people assume: “In inves- tigating past history, and in forming the conclusions which I have formed, it must be admit- ted that one cannot rely on every detail which has come down to us by way of tradition ... The Greeks make many incorrect assumptions not only about the dimly Preface xiv