Remaking Thucydides

Abstract

All attempts at realizing Thucydides’ promise of ‘a possession for all time’ involve some degree of remaking: the translation of the text, at the least, but more commonly also processes of selection, decontextualization, simplification, and framing, as well as the development of an image of the author that legitimizes present-orientated readings. This is particularly obvious in the case of interpretations that present Thucydides as a conventional academic authority, where, however, the processes of remaking are largely suppressed or denied in the interests of claiming Thucydides’ authority―this is what he really meant―to support modern ideas. This paper explores the greater latitude available to those engaging with his work in fictional and dramatic contexts―the authors Anne Carson and Virginia Woolf, and theatrical stagings of the Melian Dialogue (even as an immersive interactive experience)―to suggest that these may in fact be a truer reflection of some aspects of the Thucydidean project.