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Fortune (tychē) in Thucydides’ History

  • Journal of Humanities, Seoul National University
  • 2026, 83(1), pp.177~212
  • Publisher : Institute of Humanities, Seoul National University
  • Research Area : Humanities > Other Humanities
  • Received : January 20, 2026
  • Accepted : February 8, 2026
  • Published : February 28, 2026

Hunsang Chun 1

1서강대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

The present study analyzes the nature and function of “fortune” in Thucydides’ History, with a particular focus on the Pylos campaign and the Sicilian Expedition. The paper critically evaluates F. M. Cornford’s interpretation, which posits that Thucydides viewed fortune as a “nonhuman agency” a non-natural power intervening from without to alter the trajectory of events. Contrary to this view, the author contends that fortune in Thucydides does not signify a supernatural force independent of the causal chain. Rather, it denotes an “unpredictable variable” that falls outside the scope of human intelligence and rational planning. Furthermore, the article explores how the fortuitous success at Pylos fueled Athenian hubris and illusory hope, setting the stage for the catastrophic failure of the Sicilian Expedition. Thucydides characterizes the disaster in Sicily as a “tragic reversal” of the success Athenians previously enjoyed at Pylos, illustrating that fortune serves as a catalyst that uncovers and amplifies inherent limitations in human nature. Ultimately, the tragic quality of Thucydides’ work resides not in divine retribution, but in the structural tragedy arising from the immutable defects of “human nature” and the resulting recurrence of historical patterns.

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