Thucydides

elected as strategoi by the citizen of Athens again this just proves on how influential and impactful Perikles is he could even turn an angry mob onto his side. It is said Perikles lived during the first two and a half years of the War, according to Thucydides his death was the worst thing that could have happened for Athens, since all of his successors were inferior to him in every way possible, they preferred to motivate all the bad habits of the people and followed an unstable policy and they…

The qualities Archidamus favours in his ideal Spartans is identical to the qualities described by Socrates in the ideal guardians of his city. Good rationality, a sense of justice, and living in a way that is moderate with attention to self-control is imperative to becoming an ideal Spartan or Guardian of Socrates’ city. This paper will serve to discuss the similarity in idealized qualities in both the Spartans and the Guardians. The first quality that will be discussed is the quality of…

Honor is defined as regards with the greatest respect and is central to the Greek character; this could have even been valued more than life itself and was the essence of the city-state from which they come from (“Honor”). The concept of honor is critical to understanding the motivation of Athenian and Spartan men. They lived their lives according to this honor that was gained through warrior acts in battle. Homer believed in having a glorious reputation of honor and it was of the highest…

Athenian War Strategy: Peloponnesian War Thucydides described the 21 years long history of the Peloponnesian War (431-411BC), between an alliance of Spartans and Athenian, the powerful city state of ancient Greece (war formally ended in 404 BC). This war was the result Athenian rising power because ‘the rise of new power always create uncertainty and anxieties' . Athenian and her alliance dramatically increased their power after thirty years’ peace treaty. Both alliances "refused to give up…

Thucydides described the 21-year long history of the Peloponnesian War (431-411BC), between the alliances of Sparta and Athens, the two powerful city states of ancient Greece (war formally ended in 404 BC). This war was the result of the Athenian rise to power because ‘the rise of new power always creates uncertainty and anxieties.' Athens and her alliance dramatically increased their power after the thirty years’ peace treaty. Both alliances “refused to give up their position under the…

Cynossema: A Warning for Sailors “War is a violent teacher… it reduces most people’s temperaments to the level of their present circumstances.” - Thucydides In the wake of the great chaos of war and the tragic loss of humanity, those who are left behind are often angry and hopeless, craving closure. These feelings of anger and hopelessness, sometimes even propell those who remain, to lose their own humanity in return. Euripides’ Hecuba details the aftermath of the Trojan war, a conflict that…

A note of caution to those that associate realism and the rational actor model. Some may make the mistake of dismissing the realism of Thucydides because of the weaknesses of the rational actor model laid bare by contemporary academics such as Jervis and Kahneman. This is unfortunate because many lessons Thucydides and the larger school of realism teaches will continue to illuminate international relations now and in the future due to their basis in nature of human behavior…

Polarity and Nationalism in the Great Power Wars World Politics Paper 1 Yue Wang War is the side-product of gregarious life. Conflicts, loathing, lust, love, primates fought each other for food and territory since ancient time and this instinct continues to be seen in the present day. The motivation of war is ambiguous, and there does not exist a universal reason which could explain every single war. Aspiration, security dilemma, self-centeredness, as what classic realism would state, wars are…

Military history has had it up and down throughout the years depending on who you are talk to about it. It has always be popular it with the public who are not scholar for a living, but in academic world it is not as popular as it is public. Before getting on what current state of military history need to know the historiography of the military history and how it effect how military is seen in today. The historiography of the military history has change over the years from the starter of…

The Athenian people have experienced numerous forms of government ranging from a constitutional oligarchy, monarchy to democracy over the course of their history. They transitioned from lowly slaves and serfs who were born into their casts, to a free people elected into office. In the best of times, they were given land and stature while in the worst, vengeance, banishment and war. The Athenian embracement of democracy over monarchy can be attributed to the tyranny experienced under the rule of…