Britannica Sources used in this answer

How did Xenophon continue the historical account where Thucydides stopped?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Map showing the chief cities of Ancient Greece and surrounding regions, including locations such as Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Delphi, Thebes, Troy, Olympia, Syracuse, and Ephesus, along with notable islands and mountain ranges in the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas. — Greek literature A map shows the major regions and cities of ancient Greece.

In the context of Greek literature, the historian Xenophon continued the historical account where Thucydides’s unfinished work broke off in 411 BCE.1

Xenophon’s work, the Hellenica, covers the period from 411 to 362 BCE in two distinct sections:

The first section (Book I and the beginning of Book II) completes Thucydides’ narrative by covering the final years of the Peloponnesian War (411–404 BCE).2
The second section recounts the long-term consequences of the Spartan victory, concluding with the state of uncertainty in Greece following the Battle of Mantinea in 362 BCE.2

While Thucydides is noted for his penetrating, scientific, and impartial analysis of political power, Xenophon’s continuation is often described as more idiosyncratic and superficial by comparison, reflecting a deeply personal reaction to the period rather than a strictly orderly history.21