Thucydides, Livy and Remembering of Pericles and Camillus

This paper will examine the treatment of “Historical Memory” in Thucydides and Livy and the way each author chooses to memorialize the individuals and circumstance in their narratives. The focus of the paper will be on Pericles’ Funeral Oration and Camillus’ response in opposition to the migration to Veii. By looking at the role memory plays in each speech, and taking into account the author’s objective and methodology, this paper considers how the characters of Pericles and Camillus are preserved in history.

Overall, Thucydides is interested with the Peloponnesian War itself and relies on his own ‘memory,’ whereas Livy’s account is told and shaped by the characters of the individuals involved. Accordingly, while Thucydides and Livy both put into the mouths of their characters words that evoke tradition and religious piety, the different methods to preserve achievement colors the characterization of Pericles and Camillus. In addition, where Thucydides is writing about a war in progress and a prominent individual during his time, Livy’s account of Camillus dates to the fourth century and is written during the reign of Augustus, a period conspicuous in its revival of religious values. Memory is evoked and appealed to in both the speech of Pericles and Camillus, but their effect differs significantly. Pericles’ funeral oration highlights the glory and sacrifice of the dead and the impression they will make in history, while Camillus’ speech calls attention to the authority the past has on the present and the future. The passages that will be examined include those that celebrate achievement in Thucydides, and those that mention religious landscape in Livy.

By examine the speech and representation of Pericles and Camillus, this paper aims to examine the relationship between memory and recorded history in Thucydides and Livy, and provides a view into the way these historians preserve and transmit “historical memory.”