hstry

Thucydides fails to save Amphipolis and is exiled

424/423 BCE, Amphipolis. An event.

Where and when

424/423 BCEAmphipolis

about 2,449 years ago

Explore
3000 BCE2900 BCE2800 BCE2700 BCE2600 BCE2500 BCE2400 BCE2300 BCE2200 BCE2100 BCE2000 BCE1900 BCE1800 BCE1700 BCE1600 BCE1500 BCE1400 BCE1300 BCE1200 BCE1100 BCE1000 BCE900 BCE800 BCE700 BCE600 BCE500 BCE400 BCE300 BCE200 BCE100 BCE1 CE100 CE200 CE300 CE400 CE500 CE600 CE700 CE800 CE900 CE1000 CE1100 CE1200 CE1300 CE1400 CE1500 CE1600 CE1700 CE1800 CE1900 CE2000 CEGreat Pyramid of Giza built, c. 2600 BCERome founded (traditional date), 753 BCELast western Roman emperor deposed, 476 CEGutenberg's printing press, c. 1440 CEColumbus reaches the Americas, 1492 CEFirst people on the Moon, 1969 CEToday, 2026lasted 1 year

Swipe the line. Bars: entries. Dots: events.

, Amphipolis

The general Thucydides arrives too late to save Amphipolis from the Spartan Brasidas. He is exiled for twenty years, and uses the time to write his history.

It was also my fate to be an exile from my country for twenty years after my command at Amphipolis

Thucydides 5.26.5Translated by Richard Crawley (1874)Read the full passage (Thucydides 5.26.5, opens scaife.perseus.org)

Background: Thucydides, Wikipedia (opens en.wikipedia.org)

Why it matters

Exile let Thucydides travel freely among Sparta's allies and see the war from the point of view of both sides.

Based on Wikipedia: Thucydides

Using his status as an exile from Athens to travel freely among the Peloponnesian allies, Thucydides was able to view the war from the perspective of both sides.

Wikipedia, Thucydides (opens en.wikipedia.org), as of 2026-06-23. Text CC BY-SA 4.0. Our line is checked against these sentences only.

Related moments

In time order, with this one in its place. Each says why it is here.

  1. 427 BCE3 years earlier Athens votes to kill Mytilene's men, then relents Same years
  2. c. 430–425 BCEabout 3 years earlier Herodotus on why he wrote his Histories Also about how history gets told
  3. 425 BCE1 year earlier Spartans surrender on Sphacteria Also about war and empire
  4. 424/423 BCEThis momentThucydides fails to save Amphipolis and is exiled
  5. 424 BCE, written laterSame year Thucydides on his exile Rests on this eventAlso about how history gets told
  6. 423 BCE1 year later Aristophanes' Socrates walks on air Same years
  7. 422 BCE2 years later Cleon and Brasidas both die at Amphipolis Also in AmphipolisAlso about war and empire
  8. 421 BCE3 years later The Peace of Nicias Same years
  9. c. 431–400 BCEDuring it Thucydides on a possession for all time Rests on this event

See it among its momentsSee it in the feedExplore by place and time