Thucydides

Ancient Greek democracy appears to have ended as a result of both internal and external factors. Like the subsequent Roman Empire, the Athenian state appears to have over-reached in its militaristic ambitions, ultimately weakening it; while the relative strength of other empires enabled them to take Greece over. The imposition of rule by foreign empires finally ended Greek democracy. From internally, Athens moved from being a defender of its own nation to an aggressor though it would have no…

In Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, the Athenians are struck with a horrible plague, which is most likely typhoid fever. The symptoms are terrible; people experience “...burning feelings in the head...[bleeding] inside their mouths...attacks of ineffectual retching...[and] small pustules and ulcers.” The disease is so contagious that whoever comes into contact with the sick dies soon after. Family members who try to help each other almost certainly end up dead alongside each other.…

Pericles The Athenian golden age took off under the control of Pericles. Although he didn’t just take it over it all began somewhere. It started off in Greece in the city-state known as Athens 495 BC, Pericles was rather luckily he grew up already in one of the better Athenian families they had a lot of money, his father was Xanthippus a very strong military leader. Pericles was rather lucky he was taught by some of the best scholars out there. Pericles loved music, politics, and philosophy he…

thinkers in Ancient Greece. Some of them were Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. These people studies philosophy. Some play writers were Aristophanes, Herodotus and Thucydides. Aristophanes wrote many comedies, which were stories which made fun of people and their customs. Herodotus was a person who examined his sources and pointed out bias. Thucydides wrote about the Peloponnesian War, and tried to be equal to both sides. There were also mathematicians, scientists, and people who studies…

Throughout the course of the existence of mankind, events concerning many individuals have been able to drastically alter time. The causations of crises, whether they were accidents or fate, shape history—the study of past events— and many groups of diverse individuals from all around the world. While others argue against the importance of history, and the necessity to study it, others boldly defend the significance of analyzing the past. Countless historians, such as the five authors of the…

mistakes, creating “history.” These historians were Herodotus, the father of history, and Xenophon. Herodotus explained how the Greeks even came into the greatest war the world had known, becoming the first historian to use the historical method. Thucydides was a general who was exiled and became a historian. He wrote about free will and that we are responsible for our own actions stressing the downfall of the struggle for power. He hoped his writing would prevent further devastations in the…

In the “Oration Over Athenian War Dead by Perikles” transcribed by Thucydides, Pericles gives an open speech to the relatives of the dead, and people of Athen. During this funeral oration Pericles celebrates not only the lives lost, but the aspects of Athenian society which these men died for. Three significant notions he mentioned were their Democratic approach to government, warfare, and the way they practice economy; some of these exact attitudes can be seen in the United States today.…

In the Ancient Greek culture, honor was the most crucial virtue in their society. While honor might mean different things in different cultures; to the Ancient Greeks honor was an important part of their lives and culture. However, to the Ancient Greeks it was more than just honor that formed their identity. Arête as the Ancient Greeks called it consisted of honor, masculine virtue, physical strength, courage, success in battle and everlasting fame. Arête was the foundation of the family and the…

The Fall of an Empire The conundrums encountered by this small planet of ours are numerous; the Bermuda triangle, the Loch Ness monster, Bigfoot and many more; but none of them trumps the disappearance of a nation overnight completely engulfed the ocean, which later through the course of history came to be known as the Atlantic Ocean. Addressing the elephant in the room, Atlantis was supposed to be a work of fiction by Athenian philosopher Plato, depicted as one of the most contentious…

to defeat the Persians, however tension began to arise between the city-states after their common enemy was defeated. According to Western Civilizations: Volume 1 by Cole and Symes, the Peloponnesian War was predicted by Thucydides to be “the greatest war in history.” Thucydides blamed the war on Athens’ growing power and the fear of surrounding city-states (like Sparta) fearing the loss of their independence. The sole purpose of the Persian War was to ensure Greek independence and Athens was…