In Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, Pericles commends the ergon of Athenian heroes, which has placed them in the realm of logos, while directing the Athenians to follow these ideals of logos. The maintenance and continued success of Athens' political establishment relies on the prevalence of polis, rationality and discourse over family, emotion and reckless action. However, the indiscriminate turns of fate and fortune, often place logos in opposition with the base, primal nature of ergon
pertains to the ancient history of Greece. Greek literature displays the classic lifestyle, culture and beliefs of the Greek race during the early portions of mainstream ancient and classical European history. Prominent Greek writers such as Thucydides, Homer, and Aristophanes produced pieces that are regarded, up to this day, as af conveyer of Greek life in the context of classical Europe. Looking deeper into their respective works, Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, Homer’s Iliad and Aristophanes’
that one is going to run into history of battles and wars. Most of these skirmishes mark important milestones in history, weather this is through the exchange of land and governess, or because of newfound power and transfer of power. Either way the ensuing wars that may follow uproar can trace all of history. War causes many people to pay an increased amount of attention to the world around them, resulting in the documentation of the time through writing about the war. This is helpful in many ways
Introduction The Peloponnesian War, a protracted and complex conflict between Athens and Sparta from 431 to 404 B.C., serves as a pivotal chapter in ancient Greek history. This war not only altered the power dynamics of the Greek world, but also exposed the vulnerabilities and challenges of Athenian democracy. Despite Athens' initial strategic advantages and resilience, the city's handling of the war revealed significant missteps and internal discord that led to its downfall. This paper examines
The Peloponnesian war involved Greece’s two most prominent city-states, Athens and Sparta, between 431-404 BC. Both Athens and Sparta held numerous alliances, causing essentially the entire ancient Greek world to be engulfed in war. The Peloponnesian war was perhaps one of the most momentous wars of its time and is meticulously documented in the historian Thucydides contemporary account History. Thucydides stated that the most prominent cause of the war was Sparta’s unease at the rapidly growing
The Histories, by Herodotus, and The Peloponnesian War, by Thucydides they had many resemblances but what really caught my eye was the strong differences between them. The two historians, who were seen as the original fathers of Greek Historiography, played a huge role in narrating history. Although there were some similarities, Herodotus’ and Thucydides’ works differ significantly in the amount of detail, writing style, and topics discussed. When reading The Histories, and The Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian Wars (431–404 BC) were a Greek civil war between the Delian League led by Athens and the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta. Free Greek states united under the Delian League, which controlled and created by Athens, before the Greek-Persian Wars. After long and bloody battles between the Delian League and Persians, Greek city states had victory against the Persians and after the war, Athens used the Delian League for their purpose and turned it to Athenian Empire. Sparta resisted
The Peloponnesian War was between the Greek cities of Athens and Sparta due to the growing tensions that continued to grow between the two cities that eventually came to a breaking point. The Peloponnesian War, which can be divided into three phases known as: The Archidamian War, The Sicilian Expedition and The Decelean War, is one of the greatest event in Greek history and an analysis of the causes and effects of this war will give us a better understanding for how the cities of Athens and Sparta
Christopher Stender May 2, 2024 The Peloponnesian War and Athenian Democracy The Peloponnesian War, which was a long-lasting conflict between Athens and the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta, was a crucial event in ancient Greek history. However, the statement "Democracy in Athens was overthrown in 411 BCE as a result of its poor handling of the Peloponnesian War" is not entirely accurate. Although Athens did face challenges during the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE), it's not completely true
Rayan Itani CLAS 1110.U12 Professor Timothy Hanford May 12, 2016 In Aeschylus’ Libation Bearers, Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War and Aristophanes’ Lysistrata contained strong Leadership and commitment to their fellow citizens. Each one of these works had a different view on issues which affected them during that time. Common motifs, themes and events had occurred; however some differ within these works. Leadership was considered power and strength at that time, all
Throughout the Ancient Greek world, there have been many wars and standoffs. However, there has been only one which changed the course of Greek history forever; the Peloponnesian War. Caused by the growing tension between Athens and Sparta, it came and left, leaving only destruction in its wake. The defeat of Athens in the Peloponnesian War caused the downfall of Greece, and the end of the Classical Age. The roots of the Peloponnesian war can be traced long before 431 BCE, when it officially started
The Peloponnesian War Throughout the Ancient Greek world, there have been many wars and standoffs. However, the Peloponnesian War was the only one which changed the course of Greek history forever. Caused by the growing tension between Athens and Sparta, it came and left, leaving only destruction in its path. The defeat of Athens in the Peloponnesian War caused the downfall of Greece, and the end of the Classical Age. The roots of the Peloponnesian War can be traced back to as early as the Persian
historians surrounding the precise causes of the Great Peloponnesian War. The classical source of Thucydides provides great first hand insight into the causes of the war, as well as both Kagan and St. Croix, modern historians. Various long term factors including the Growth of Athenian Power, the 30 Year Peace Treaty and the selfish attitudes of city states all gave weight to the eventuality of war. Other short term events took place such as the civil war at Epidamnus, The Battle of Sybota, the Potidaean
350 years of depopulation, poverty, and backwardness, ancient Greece entered an era that is perhaps the richest and most complicated in Greek history. Historians refer to this era as the Archaic Period (800-480 BCE), a period that witnessed colonization and a new age of intellectual ideas (Lloyd). Marking the end of the Archaic Period was the Persian Wars, in which Greek triumph ensured the survival of Greek culture and political structures. As Greece shifted toward diplomacy, it entered a Classical
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
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
The Peloponnesian war Sources, A War Like No Other by Victor Davis Hanson. Athens and Sparta fought the Peloponnesian war in Attica mostly, northeast of Peloponnesia, a peninsula named Attica. Athen's had territory in Attica, North of them, Beoetia and Thebes, allied with Sparta, and West of Attica, Corinth, North of Sparta. Due to Athen's aggressiveness, Sparta raided along the Athen's borders as a preemptive strike to antagonize them to start a war. They thought that Athens would then send an
The Funeral Oration vs. The Plague 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
navy. As Athens grew stronger, it also grew harsher and unintentionally isolated itself from all other Greek states. I say unintentionally because they did it for their own benefit and because of their power, I imagine in their first meeting-the Peloponnesian league- , there would be an uproar of resentment, hatred and fire for revenge against Athens. Consider that Athens, even after resigning member states from the Delian league from member status to subject status, was still charging them yearly
The Athenian playwright, Aristophanes, has been considered to be one of the greatest writers of comedy in literary history. His plays have been used as sources for political and social history, as well as works of literature and drama.1 Throughout Aristophanes’ writings, he made particular use of politics, war, societal figures and women as main themes. When considering other historians of fifth century Athens and their accounts of society during that time, one can begin to fully recognize Aristophanes’