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Principles and the development of democracy
Implications of Pericles' rules to Athens
Principles and the development of democracy
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The Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.) was a conflict between the Athenian Empire and the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta that resulted in the end of the Golden Age of Athens. The events of the war were catalogued by the ancient historian Thucydides in The History of the Peloponnesian War. Thucydides’ writings showed the ancient Greek belief that there is a parallel between the city-state and the character of its citizens; in order for the city-state to be successful, its citizens must be virtuous. Thucydides did not believe that the true cause of the Peloponnesian War were the immediate policies of the Athenian Empire against the city-states in the Peloponnesian League but rather the fundamental differences in the character of the two city-states …show more content…
The strengths and weaknesses of the Athenian character traits laid out in the “Funeral Oration” are exemplified by the character of Creon in Sophocles’ Antigone, and suggest that Athenians held certain concerns in the Golden Age of their empire.
Thucydides’ version of Pericles’ “Funeral Oration” can be read as more of an ironic rendering of Pericles’ original speech since The History of the Peloponnesian War is not just considered to be a historical account but also a “highly imaginative piece of work” in which Thucydides made characters involved in the war say what he believed they actually meant instead of what they might have originally said (Thucydides Introduction pg. x). In the “Funeral Oration”, Pericles praises certain
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One of those traits is that although Athenian citizens and soldiers live a more leisurely life and are not trained as rigorously as the Spartans in land warfare, Athenians’ natural courage makes up for that (Thucydides pg. 42). Athens was definitely the dominant naval power in Greece at the time, but the Athenians’ devaluing of land warfare led to a stalemate in the first phase of the Peloponnesian War before the Peace of Nicias in which Sparta ravaged Athens’ countryside and forced its citizens to be holed up in the city walls and to live in close quarters, making them susceptible to the plague. Another trait of Athens that can be argued as not a positive factor is its institution of democracy. Athenian democracy was quite limited in the modern sense since its citizenry only included ethnic Athenian males over the age of 20, but it was remarkable in the ancient world for the amount of civic participation it allowed of those that it considered citizens. The Athenians prided themselves on including people of lower economic status into the citizenry, but this trait may be not as positive as Pericles proclaimed (Thucydides pg. 40). In an oligarchic system such as Sparta’s, if the city-state was to win a war, it
In the awe-inspiring play of Antigone, Sophocles introduces two remarkable characters, Antigone and Creon. A conflict between these two obstinate characters leads to fatal consequences for themselves and their kindred. The firm stances of Creon and Antigone stem from two great imperatives: his loyalty to the state and her dedication to her family, her religion but most of all her conscience. The identity of the tragic hero of this play is still heavily debated. This tragedy could have been prevented if it had not been for Creon's pitiful mistakes.
When two great and powerful city-states ban together for a common cause the results will in turn will have great expectations. Those expectations were met when an undermanned Greek army defeated the large Persian Army throughout the course of the Persian War. The problem occurs when each of the city-states’ own ego gets in the way of the cause. They handily defeated the Persians, but the Athenians took the credit for it, and paid homage to themselves, through elaborate celebrations of victory. In their minds, they were at the head of Hellas. The Spartans took exception to this and rightfully so. The credit has to go to them as well, for the large part that they played in the victory over Persia. This dissension in the end had a lot to do with the Peloponnesian War. Never mind the military structures and governments that each set up, which made their differences clear cut. There was no way to avoid the war between these two great powers, it was inevitable, just as Thucydides had predicted.
The stunning Greek defeat of the Persians, the specter of which lurks behind the events of the Peloponnesian Wars, was for Herodotus proof of the superiority of Hellenic form of government and way of life, and Herodotus ends his history at this pinnacle of Greek history. Thucydides then accepts the task of chronicling Greece’s unraveling from a position as the dominant power of the Mediterranean, and a center of cultural, technological, and political development to the final result of the Peloponnesian Wars—a fractured, demoralized, and dependent Greece that lies wide open to foreign conquest. This result is, for Thucydides, apparent from the beginning of the conflict. Greece can only dominate when the balance of power between Athens and Sparta is maintained, and the destruction of either is tantamount to the destruction of the whole. An accurate understanding of the national characters of Athens and Sparta makes it clear which of the two will ultimately be the victor of a long, arduous military struggle, but the same understanding of national character makes it equally apparent that the one which can dominate militarily cannot lead Greece. The speeches made at the First Lacedaemonian Congress emphasize not only the character of the two nations in conflict, but more broadly, the inevitability of Hellenic demise as a result of this conflict.
Pericles’ Funeral Oration was a significant timestamp in 5th century Greece, Athens and to the Classical World. In the Funeral Oration, he discusses subjects such as the superiority of the Athenian compared to other civilisations. Pericles also expresses his views on the reputation of Athens while undermining Homer, and emphasizes his view on the role of the wives of fallen soldiers in the first year of the Peloponnesian war. The first recording known in history of his speech was written by Thucydides in his book ‘The Peloponnesian Wars’ as a statement on the values and characteristics of Athens. His speeches purpose was to show the people of Athens how great they were and much greater they could become. His wordings in the speech showed the classical world that Athens had no faults and was so great that no state could be compare to it, it made Athens as the centre of the world.
The Peloponnesian War between the city-states of Athens and Sparta (and their respective allies) lasted from 431-404 BC. Conflicts between the two cites dated back further, however, with skirmishes from 460-445 effectively ending in a draw. Major fighting in the Peloponnesian War occurred from 431-421 and ended in Athenian victory. Renewed conflict raged from 413-404, ultimately concluding in Spartan victory.
“The conflict of Athens and Sparta is supposed to serve as a lesson for what can happen to any people in any war in any age” (Hanson, 7). How Thucydides was right when he made this statement, when you compare the Peloponnesian War and the Cold War, the similarities are striking. Even though these wars occurred thousands of years apart the are very similar. They both lasted for many decades and even though the Cold War had not involved any fighting it has themes that echo all the way back to the Peloponnesian War where its occupants fought with crud weapons compared to today’s modern technology. The Peloponnesian War and the Cold War can be compared to the events leading up to the war, because of their common ambition in that the nations involved
In the following paper, I plan to discuss the source of conflict between the title characters of Antigone and Creon in Sophocles’ “Antigone”. I also plan to discuss how each character justifies his or her actions and what arguments they give for their justifications. I will also write about the strengths and weaknesses of these arguments. The final points I try to make are about who Sophocles thinks is right and who I think is right.
The history of Sparta was the great exception to the political evolution of the city-states. Despite the fact that Spartans in the end were all Greek, Sparta failed to ever move in the direction of democratic rule. Instead, its government evolved into something more closely resembling a modern day dictatorship. If the Spartans had followed the other Greek city-states in their political practices they might have been able to avoid their own downfall and could have even become stronger.
In the years following the Persian Wars in 479 B.C., Athens had come out on top being the most dominantly powerful of any Greek city with a navy that had superior strength that increased day by day. The Athenians “ruled with heavy-handed, even brutal force as well as with reason” (Kagan 2). This was due largely to the fact that Athens had a stable and effective government, which only increased their advantage in proving themselv...
lthough it might seem that Athens and Sparta's would have a similar military because both of them were very close to the Aegean sea, but they are very different. Athens had lots of ports in Aegean Sea this made it so they had a very strong navy and they spent a lot of their time in boats. On the other hand though they were not exceptional with their ground troops. In Sparta things are very different than in Athens. Sparta had an excellent army. The boys were trained to fight a soon as they turn seven years old. This made them have one of the best armies of their time. Although they had a great army their navy struggled and lacked success. Athens and Sparta both had their strengths and weaknesses.
The Peloponnesian War was the most infamous war between Athens and Sparta. Athens and Sparta were the two super powers of their time. Sparta was known for being an unstoppable war machine with its army that was willing to take on anyone. They rose to power by disciplining and educating themselves. Athens on the other hand, were known for their strong navy fleet, however, they were also people of wisdom. They were very intrigued by science, philosophy, art, architecture and literature. They were most famous for creating a new form of government known as democracy, where all the citizens’ rich or poor had a voice on the city’s decisions for its future. The Greek city-state of Sparta had a form of government that mixed various traits of monarchy,
Thucydides begins his historical narrative by stating that both Sparta and Athens were at the height of their powers, meaning a war between the two city states was inevitable (Thuc. 1.1). All of Greece was picking sides for the upcoming conflict, until it was the secondary powers that provoked the Peloponnesian war between Athens and Sparta (Lecture 11). The Peloponnesian war is characterized by a system of alliances, the Delian League and the Peloponnesian League, meaning the whole of Greece felt the impact of the conflict between Athens and Sparta (Lecture 10). However, Thucydides particularly focuses on the impact of war on Athens in his narrative of Greek history. According to Thucydides, the concurrent conquests, revolts, and battles that Athens dealt with during the Peloponnesian war impacted Athens socially, morally, financially, and politically.
In Pericles's Funeral Oration, Pericles promotes and celebrates many great aspects of the Athenian society. Pericles puts emphasis on the bravery that his city exemplifies in times of trouble. In his speech Pericles states how during any hardships that may take place, they “prove no less daring than those who are constantly straining” (pg 93). Danger to the Athenians is nothing more than an obstacle to fight through, and Pericles emphasizes his nation’s ability to stay calm in the face of instability as a cause of admiration. Pericles celebrates the Athenian’s virtues as one of selflessness and loyalty to the city. Pericles states how none of the fallen men gave way to cowardice by backing away from war to enjoy a life of wealth and stability in an attempt to stay away from danger (pg 95). This concept that the Athenians pay no mind to their petty
Firstly, Athenians are truly brave without the need of grueling yet ineffective training regimes: “The Spartans, from their earliest boyhood, are submitted to the most laborious training in courage; we pass our lives without all these restrictions, and are just as ready to face the same dangers as they are” (Thucydides, page 146, Section 39, lines 7-11). Sparta’s harsh yet ineffective training shows how real courage can never be trained. Pericles agrees: “There are [advantages] in our way of meeting danger voluntarily, with an easy mind, instead of with a laborious training, with natural rather than state-induced courage. We do not have to spend our time practicing to meet sufferings which are still in the future; and when they are actually upon us we show ourselves just as brave as these others who are always in strict training” (Thucydides, page 146, Section 39, lines 22-29). Because the Athenians are willing to meet the same dangers that the Spartans are, this shows that the Spartan training is ultimately ineffective. Because of this, the citizens do not have to waste they own time constantly training and they have time to engage in the arts. In this way, Athens had a much more well-rounded culture, being focused on both military and the arts, as opposed to Sparta which was only focused on the arts. Pericles also stated: “when the Spartans invade our land, they do not by themselves, but bring
Thucydides, considered one of the greatest ancient historians, spent part of his life detailing the war between Athens and Sparta. In his work, The History of the Peloponnesian War, he includes a speech given by Pericles at the first Athenian funeral of the war. Right after the speech by Pericles, Thucydides follows with a description of the plague that cripples the population of the city. Thucydides does this to make a statement on his personal views of the Athenian society.