How did Thucydides influence later historians such as Polybius?

Thucydides significantly influenced later historians like Polybius by establishing a rigorous, evidence-based approach to historiography that prioritized factual accuracy over sensationalism.12

Polybius adopted Thucydides’ commitment to relying on personal experience and the cross-examination of eyewitnesses rather than relying on secondary accounts or mythical traditions. Like Thucydides, Polybius viewed history as a didactic tool intended to instruct serious students through the analysis of real events and speeches, rather than to charm or thrill an audience through tragic or dramatic embellishment.12

While Polybius shared this foundational methodology, he also diverged from his predecessor in certain analytical aspects. For instance, Polybius’s approach to causality and his distinction between the causes (aitiai) and immediate origins (archai) of events have been described as more mechanical than the nuanced, dialectical analysis found in Thucydides’ work. Ultimately, both historians are recognized as pillars of ancient historiography who moved the discipline away from myth toward a systematic study of political and military developments.23