Peloponnesian War Excerpts Essay

QEP Writing Assignment When reading the two excerpts from Thucydides it is clear that his book, The History of the Peloponnesian War, was written to memorialize Athenian history. Although it is considered to be the first textbook it was still written by an Athenian so analysis of the excerpts are still required. But while analyzing the two excerpts will provide information about the reliability of the document, it will also provide insight to answer the question “What is the author trying to say about his native city of Athens?” Beginning with Pericles’ Funeral orientation the level one analysis is as follows. It was written by Thucydides in 431 BC. The excerpt is taken from book two of The History of the Peloponnesian War. In this excerpt Thucydides has made a record of the speech that Pericles gave near the end of the war in the first year. To summarize the excerpt Pericles is chosen by the city to deliver a eulogy for the

But the audience of Thucydides is future readers. The purpose of writing this chapter was to show the greatness of Athens as viewed by Pericles. Although the speech shown in this excerpt shows a little bias, the important thing to note is that Thucydides is only an observer and his views are not seen so the document itself is reliable even if the excerpt is biased toward the greatness of Athens. The second source is the excerpt of the Melian Dialogue. It was also written by Thucydides and is also from his book The History of the Peloponnesian War written in 431 BC. It is a description of the way that Athens acted hostile towards the island of Melos. It describes the negotiations that took place between Athens and Melos. This document shows a different side of Athens. It can be seen as more hostile and unfriendly. The commanders sent to negotiate were told to get the island under control by any means