Thucydides

Throughout history, there have been many wars where it can be argued who won. During the times of the ancient world, one of the biggest arguments that can be made is whether Athens or Sparta and her allies won the Peloponnesian Wars. While there is substantial evidence to prove either side won the war, there is more information supporting Sparta and her allies as the victors of the Peloponnesian Wars. Sparta and her allies won the Peloponnesian Wars due to the strength of the Spartan military,…

When a warrior dies in Homer’s Iliad and Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, he loses his ability to take control of his own life. Having surrendered to his fate (moira), the duty to protect the fallen warrior falls upon his comrades. These warriors feel that they have a moral duty to protect the bodies of the fallen, particularly those who died in service to their communities and cities (poleis). If a man does not die in the line of duty, however, his body may not receive the same…

off of these ancient stepping stones. As Thucydides stated in his History of the Peloponnesian War, “Our constitution does not copy the laws of neighboring states; we are rather a pattern to others than imitators ourselves. Its administration favours the many instead of the few; this is why it is called a democracy.”2 You can see from this 1 “Western Civilization I; Section 7: Athenian Democracy,” Regent University, last modified August 3, 2013. 2 Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War:…

In Homer’s Iliad and Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, those in power did not have the luxury of expressing any form of pity (philotes), as long as they wanted to maintain their statuses in the eyes of others. The focus is always on one’s self-interest, whether it be through the maintenance of pride and honor, as seen in Homer’s Achilles, or for the security of a state’s position of power over others, as demonstrated by Thucydides’ Athenians. Unfortunately, as depicted in both texts…

Thucydides once said, “Everyone was equal before the law” which was the focus of Athenian government. Athenian democracy was the first form of democracy. It was a direct democracy; the power was is spread equally among the people. The governing council was chosen randomly. The Athenian democracy was formed after a tyranny, a form of government where one person held all of the power. After experiencing a system where the power was held by one person, the Athenian people wanted a government based…

Thucydides was one of the first predominant writers of classical realism and his ideas were later expanded on by Machiavelli, Hans Morgenthau, and other important classical realists. The main idea that sets classical realism apart from the other types of realism…

Cameron Haberberger 10/20/2017 Humanities: Human and Divine Paper Walter Soffer After thoroughly reading Antigone by Sophocles and The Peloponnesian War told by Thucydides, it is clear both have much to consider when it come to the relation between the human and the divine. Although they both contain examples, Antigone holds a better explanation of the relationship in question. In the book, Antigone wants to bury her brother although she knew Creon ordered not to. Her reasoning for the…

Even after the war, Athens eventually rebuilt its walls, navy, League and democracy. Athenians would have not rebuilt democracy if they thought it did not work, if so, then it would be a waste of their time to rebuild something that clearly did not seem to bring any good. Looking at the history, Sparta should have lost the war. Athens had the leadership, resources and money to go to war. Their navy was strong and unbeatable. Sparta on the other hand lacked leadership, money and had no navy.…

War using the ends-ways-means-risk construct: 1. How much did Spartan strategy change and why? And, 2. How did Sparta adapt its strategies as the realities, risks and length of the war changed, and why? After extensive readings of The Landmark Thucydides and discussions in seminar, I have come to the conclusion that while the Spartan’s strategic objectives (Ends) remained largely unchanged, the how (Ways) and resources (Means) that they utilized to achieve their objectives changed…

1. The Ekklesia makes reference to the Athenian assembly, with Ekklesia literally meaning ‘assembly’. The assembly consisted of all the adult male citizens in Athens. It was these men that governed by making the laws of the time. Unlike Spartan democracy, any citizen was allowed the opportunity to propose a new laws or wanted debates, however they were not allowed to vote. The quorum, which refers to the minimum number of members of a specific deliberate assembly, consisted of 6000 men, whom…