However, in regard to the matter of empire, Socrates criticism of Pericles’ instigation of lack of self restraint is unfair in that Pericles cautions the people of Athens that, while pursuing war, they should abstain from endeavoring to expand their empire further. During his discussion with Callicles, Socrates describes a metaphorical scene in which two men have jars and the man who represents self-restraint stops filling his jar before it overflows and is content, while the other man who represents self-indulgence must continually attempt to contain the liquid in his flawed, cracked jars to prevent his discontentment (493e). In this metaphor, Socrates denounces self-indulgence by illustrating that in attempts to avoid suffering through self-indulgence, …show more content…
At the conclusion of his speech persuading the Athenians to enter into a war with Sparta, Pericles expresses his confidence in Athens to emerge favorably from the war as long as they refrain from taking the unnecessary risk of seeking new conquests (1.144.1). Here, Pericles is warning the Athenians against actively pursuing the acquisition of more territories for their empire so as to thoroughly concentrate the entirety of their efforts on engaging Sparta in battle and avoid leaving themselves vulnerable after a potentially disastrous, needless conquest. In closing his speech advocating for the commencement of the Peloponnesian War, Pericles urges the Athenians to employ some self-restraint so as to avoid causing themselves unnecessary suffering in a similar argument to …show more content…
Immediately after Pericles’ speech following the plague that devastates Athens, Thucydides conveys that the Athenians, not heeding Pericles’ warning, succumb to their ambition for additional conquest, bringing devastation upon their country in the war (2.65.7). Here, Thucydides expresses that if Athens’ downfall was due to a lack of self-indulgence not instigated by Pericles’ but in spite of him, implying that Pericles’ lack of self-restraint in other areas did not result in such a catastrophe as Socrates would imply. This argument is further strengthened by the vote of Athens to engage in a campaign in Sicily during the seven years of peace after the first half of the war. In their decision to engage in the Sicilian expedition, one of the principal motivations was to subject the country to the will of Athens (6.8.2). Here, the Athenians capitulate in the struggle against their self-indulgence, ignoring Pericles’ warning and entering into an unnecessary conquest that eventually culminates in their defeat. Negotiations of the peace treaty had heavily favored Athens, returning seized Athenian land as well as war prisoners and essentially returning Greece to a similar position to that at the beginning of the war, leaving the Athenian
According to Thucydides, t... ... middle of paper ... ... henian who had lead the siege against Samos, realised this but also appreciated the dangers of changing this tactic all together – ‘Your empire is now like a tyranny: it may have been wrong to take it; it is certainly dangerous to let it go’. To this extent, it is reasonable that Athens should use such extreme measures, as it seemed to be the only way in which she could uphold her power and keep her allies close. Yet by doing so she had transformed the original aims of the Delian League entirely, which had a purpose to promote freedom and independence.
Pericles believed the more successful the man, the less he had to be afraid of when it came to death. If you were poor and unsuccessful, you didn't have honor becuase you would lose nothing at
Pericles did not wish to simply reiterate what Athens had achieved, but rather he wanted to address how and why Athens achieved. He believed that Athenian politics, culture, and character were more relevant to the deceased soldiers than their ancestor’s military successes. Accordingly, he praised these elements of Athenian society and in the process justified the soldiers’ sacrifice. He spoke “but what was the road by which we reached our position, what the form of government under which our greatness grew, what the national habits out of which it sprang; these are the questions which I may try to solve before I proceed to my eulogy upon these men; since I think this to be a subject upon which on the present occasion a speaker may properly dwell, and to which the whole assemblage, whether citizens or foreigners, may listen with advantage.” (2.36.4).
Thucydides was right to claim that all wars can be explained by Fear, Honor, and Interest. All Wars are related to the three characteristics as stated by Dr. Nation (Dr. Nation video). The Athenians thought process was that the weak would be ruled by the strong and that was the nature of conflict (Strassler p. 43). Looking at the Peloponnesian war itself will illustrate how fear, honor and interest were involved with how this war developed. The initial unnamed Athenian that made that statement was probably using it to deter war with Sparta when it mostly incited the war (Dr. Nation Video). The Athenians wanted to maintain and sustain their city state but also expand it. They were expanding through their alliances and this is what invoked the
First of all, it is feasible to say that one of the most important reasons for the Athenian defeat was due to the fact that they were essentially not ready for another battle. The importance of prepraredness was exemplified by Percile's in his War speech, he was recollecting the Athenian ancestors success against the Persians and he stated it was "more good planning than good luck." The problem is that the Sicilian expedition was spontaneous and unanticipated, thus unplanned. As Thucydides recounts "that same winter, immediately after the destruction of Melos, Athens decided to attempt the conquest of the Greeks on Sicily."
Athens government and military is considerably different from their neighbors. According to Pericles, Athens government is not a copy of our neighbors...
The Peloponnesian War was fought from 431-409 BC. It was a civil war between the Greek city-states and was lead by Sparta and it’s allies against the dominating Athenian government. The Athenian leader, Pericles, was a learned scholar and an ingenious military general. His speeches were known for their ability to motivate and give courage to a crowd whether it was to his soldiers in the final moments right before a battle or to a gathering in the streets of Athens. After the first few battles of the Peloponnesian War, Pericles was asked to give the funeral oration for those that were slain in defense of Athens. He did not offer his condolences to the families of those that died, but he offered them comfort. He did this because the men that died in those battles did not do so in vain, for dying in defense of one’s city-state had nothing to do with vanity in the eyes of the ...
In both their works, Plato and Thucydides write of the view that justice is honoring one's debts. In The Republics, Cephalus asserts that justice is "the truth and giving back what a man has taken from another." In other words, he believes that we should be truthful and pay back our debts to man and the gods. This view of justice is illustrated at the debate in Sparta between the Lacedaemonians, Corinthians and the Athenians. During the Athenians defense, they remind the Lacedaemonians of the battle with Persia. In this conflict, when Persia was defeated, the Athenians claim to have supplied most of the fleet, the most "intelligent commander" and their most "unhesitating zeal," (Thucydides, i.74). Athens risked their lives for homes that barely survived, and fought to save the Lacedaemonians as well as themselves. Therefore the Lacedaemonians are obligated to not dissolve the treaty or break their oaths with Athens. The Athenians feel that it is just to pay back this debt, which is a similar perspective of justice advanced by Cephalus.
The book written by Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, contains two controversial debates between distinguished speakers of Athens. The two corresponding sides produce convincing arguments which can be taken as if produced as an honest opinion or out of self-interest. The two debates must be analyzed separately in order to conclude which one and which side was speaking out of honest opinion or self-interest, as well as which speakers are similar to each other in their approach to the situation.
When examining the causes for the Peloponnesian War, which was between 431-404 B.C., there are a number of causes that factored into the cause of this war. However, one of the most important causes to this war was largely due to the fact that the Spartans feared the growing power and success of Athens. The Spartans were “particularly alarmed at the growing power of Athens” (Cartwright, “Peloponnesian War”). During the Persian war in 479 BC, Athens grew fiercely strong with power with help of its many allies and continued with their no mercy attacks on Persian territories. When the Persians left Greece, Athens further enraged Sparta when they built large and tall walls around its empire in the event of an attack, which was mostly thought to be from Sparta if it happened.
In Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War the Athenian Empire started out with just intentions, but once they had a taste for power they did whatever it took to obtain more, even if they had to take it by force. Over time the Athenian Empire became ruled by individuals acting with the sole purpose of furthering their own self-interests at any cost, which led to the empire becoming more amenable to the use of force as a means to get what they desired. One such instance where someone in the Athenian Empire was more than willing to use force to get what he or she wanted was during the Mytilenenian dialogues. The Athenian colony of Mytilene attempted to rebel against Athenian rule but when they failed their fate rested on the outcome of the debate between Diodotus and Cleon. Thucydides refers to Cleon as the “most violent man in Athens” and he demonstrates how he earned that name when he suggests that the Athenians kill every man of fighting age and enslave the rest. Cleon then says, “Give these people the punishment they deserve… show them that the penalty for rebellion is death” (Thucydides, p. 70-71) because he believes that this show of power and force will dissuade other colonies under Athenian rule from thinking about rebellion. Fortunately for the Mytilenians Athens did not use force in this
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.
The death of Pericles was a significant event in the course of the Peloponnesian War; however, even without Pericles' leadership the Athenian Assembly had countless opportunities to prevent their loss and chose not to take them. The fickleness and inefficiency of democracy ('the mob') allowed the Athenians to be easily influenced and therefore electing populists such as Cleon, Lysicles and Hyperbolus into dominant leadership roles. Election, via democratic means, of such populists, meant that the Athenians would take a much more aggressive approach to the war and therefore abandon the policies that Pericles had previously established. So in turn, democracy the institution for which the Athenians fought tirelessly to protect, rather than the death of Pericles, ironically became the dominant factor influencing the final outcome of this Ancient Greek civil war.
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
The march towards developing a democratic society is often obstructed with societal unrest due to the influence of the status quo on the instruments of power. Before the rule of Solon, Athens underwent this same rule, as there was much discontent among the social classes in Athens. The society suffered financial disparity that often was the trigger for the war among the rich and poor in the society. This was a major factor that forced Solon into power to institute policies that would see a reformed Athens. By so doing, the society was looking for an avenue that would guarantee democracy and a society that is fair for everyone. The city-state of Athens was the epicenter of the revolution for the Athenian democracy during the fifth century BC. In the Athenian democracy, the electorate voted for the legislation of bills instead of a direct democracy where the electorates are tasked with electing representatives who later developed the bill. Among the first people who made significant contributions to the development of the Athenian democracy were Solon (594 BC), Cleisthenes (508/7 BC), Pericles (495 – 429 BC) and Ephialtes (462 BC). Pericles was the longest serving democratic leader who contributed much development in democracy in the city. This paper will give an account of the age of the Pericles.