In cerca delle «cose realmente dette» nei discorsi della Storia di Tucidide

Abstract

Searching for «what was actually said» in the speeches of Thucydides’HistoryIf the famous statement of Thucydides relative to the speeches reportedin his History (I 22, 1) can be read (as the author firmly believes itshould be) as the exposition of a truth programme, then we are entitledto go in search of concepts, items of information, phrases that belongto the speeches actually delivered by comparing passages taken fromspeeches with the narrative part of History and other non-Thucydideantexts. This article tries to show that this is very probably the case withthe following passages: III 13, 1 (Mytilenaeans’ speech at Olympia)~ III 2, 1; IV 85, 7 (Brasidas’ speech at Acanthus) ~ IV 108, 5; I 143,5 (Pericles’ first speech) ~ [Xen.] Ath. II 14-16; II 41, 1 (Pericles’ FuneralOration) ~ II 51, 3; III 56, 2 and 65, 1 (Plataeans’ and Thebans’speeches) ~ II 2, 1 and 4, 2.