L'intelligenza di Temistocle nel giudizio di Tucidide

In this essay I examine the chapter of Thucydides’ Histories where the historian tries to explain the qualities Themistocles showed in his political career by solving complex problems and reaching at the same time a great success (1, 138). According to Thucydides, Themistocles showed great intelligence and skill in many ways, and his qualities were agreed upon by his contemporaries. In this chapter the historian tries to give a rational analysis of these qualities, making use of concepts such as σύνεσις, γνώμη, and also emphasising the natural qualities of his mind: he was at the same time κράτιστος γνώμων for the present and ἄριστος εἰκαστής for the future. On one hand, Themistocles shows the traditional qualities of a man endowed with μῆτις, on the other, those shared by the best contemporaries as Pericles. In any case Thucydides emphasises the peculiar qualities of this exceptional man, who cannot be compared to any one of his time.