Thucydides’ Account of Casualties in the Egyptian Expedition

Abstract Thucydides’ account of the prodigious Athenian losses during the Egyptian expedition has long seemed implausible to many historians and thus potentially inconsistent with his stated commitment to accuracy. Most have taken a reductionalist position, finding one reason or another to regard the historian’s report as technically correct if somewhat slanted. This paper attempts to explain the reasons why the Athenian historian described the campaign as he did. In order to foreshadow the blunder of the Sicilian expedition in the sharpest possible terms, thus indicting the Athenian leaders who followed Pericles for failing to follow his strategy, Thucydides highlights the disaster as far as the facts will allow, while at the same time omitting all mention of Pericles’ possible complicity so as to preserve that statesman’s reputation.