I'm sure you've heard that old cliche that history is written by the winners.

It's one of those well-worn bits of wisdom that seems so obvious that it rarely gets

challenged.

But honestly, I've never really liked it.

It is generally true that the powerful or culturally dominant forces in a society

have an exceptional amount of influence on how the past is presented.

I mean, I couldn't deny that.

And I suppose that's what the trite little phrase history is written by the winners

is trying to get at.

But it also has a way of simplifying the often surprising world of history writing.

Take for example one of the first ever historians, the ancient Greek Fusidides.

After our old buddy Herodotus, you know, the father of history and the father of lies,

Fusidides is generally considered the second ever historian, at least in the Western tradition.

Unlike Herodotus, who like to weave storytelling, mythology, hearsay, and rumors into his

history, Fusidides' approach to the study of the past was far more exacting and careful.

In the introduction to his most famous work, The History of the Peloponnesian War, Fusidides

tells his reader that everything he presents comes from a careful collection of both textual

evidence and interviews with eyewitnesses.

Fusidides also keeps his narrative strictly focused on the actions of human beings and

doesn't speculate about the interventions of the gods.

As such, some have dubbed Fusidides the father of so-called scientific history.

The reason I bring up Fusidides is because he was an Athenian and he wrote the definitive

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