Herodotus And Thucydides

Herodotus' writes his Histories for Greeks. Specifically for Greeks living in Herodotus' own time. The statement of purpose which begins the work seems to contradict this hypothesis. Herodotus claims to wish to "prevent the traces of human events from being erased by time, and to preserve the fame of the important and remarkable achievements…" [Herodotus, 1.0]. The underlying assumption here is that the author is preserving these events and achievements for future generations and perhaps even future civilizations. The text however does not does not follow these guidelines. Herodotus assumes that his reader will have certain amount of common knowledge.

Action from necessity is a constantly recurring theme in Thucydides’ The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War. A sentiment used to explain the growth of the Athenian Empire which some Athenians espoused to an assembly at Sparta best quantifies necessity, “. . . we were necessarily compelled at first to advance the hegemony to where it is—especially by fear, and then by honor, and later by benefit.” (Selected Passages 1.75.3). This claim, referred to as the Athenian Thesis, is used to advance the two following implications: all states act with the motivations of fear, honor and interest and no one can condemn a state for doing so. The Athenian Thesis influences the way many of the Athenian elite structure their patterns of reasoning in both noticeable and subtle ways.

Professor Ed Jost Western Civilization I October 14, 2016 Lessons in Leadership – Pericles and Alexander the Great Pericles and Alexander the Great are known as two Greek Icons who developed Greece into one of the most prestigious empires in history. During their time, Greece was vastly advanced and influenced western civilization today. The first leader to unselfishly use the political system of democracy, Pericles wanted to strengthen Greece influence around the world and pushed for other states to adopt democracy. Pericles allowed even the poorest citizens to hold a seat in office if elected by their peers. Alexander the Great was one of the greatest leaders and emperors of all time earning the name of “the great”. Today Alexander the Great is known as a conquering leader who created one of the largest empires of all time. Both Pericles and Alexander the Great are remembered today as some of the most accomplished and respected leaders in living memory.

Herodotus As Herodotus develops his History he diverges from the main aspect of his narrative many times throughout the text. Many wonder why Herodotus diverges from the main point by introducing minor characters who do not seem relevant to the central theme. Some consider this method of narrative confusing and pointless but I believe that Herodotus has a purpose for including these minor figures and that these characters help express Herodotus ideology towards proper moral and political systems. These minor figures are developed and manipulated by Herodotus in order to express his ideas and he is able to accomplish this because these characters are flexible in the sense that the readers (and listeners) do not have a

Athens was Democraticless Democracy can be defined as the power of the people. For example, America is a democracy. Athens claimed to be a democracy. Based on recorded speeches and the Athenian Constitution they did not favor the people. In some ways they did, but there is credible evidence showing Athens was not a democracy. There are statistics, facts, and examples. For instance, in a speech by Aristotle, he states, the citizens had to vote a new citizen. Voting is unjust based on citizens unfair judgments. If the potential citizen is declined citizenship, he must have a trail. If the citizen loses, he is then sold as an Athenian slave. Both of those laws do not favor the people. It is very easy for current citizens to mistreat the system.

I believe that Athens truly was a democracy. There are pieces of evidence and proof supporting that Athens ran on a Democratic Government.

What is democracy? Historians have, for a long time, kept this question in mind as they studied the methods and laws of the Ancient Athenians. After studying the given evidence it can be determined that Ancient Athens was not truly democratic. Democracy is defined as “rule by the people”. The last

Have you ever heard of Athens and the first democracy, well I have been studying it for a few months. After studying Athens widespread forms of government and it’s so called democracy, I have come to a conclusion that Athens wasn’t truly democratic for many textual reasons. Here's why

People may say Athens was not a democracy because of the fact that only 12% of the population could vote. Although, if you look at the definition of democracy, it says, “all the eligible members of state.” In Athens, the eligible members of state were any citizens that were men. It may also be argued that because they had slaves,

Camrin Newcomb Tue/08/15 Mr.Martin Ancient Athens founded Democracy but where they really a Democracy? Athens was a Democracy because, sense they created Democracy then it is what they want it to be. For example, if you created the word “Welcome” and that word meant nothing in that point in time, then wouldn't you be able to use that word anyway you want and no one could argue it isn’t what you want to be. So if Athens created Democracy wouldn’t it be what they wanted it to be. I read in Document D all male landowner citizens come together in a small group and vote over future laws.

The ancient Athens was truly democratic. According to the wikipedia website , Athenian democracy developed around the fifth century BC in the Greek city state known as a polis of athens, comprising the city of Athens and the surrounding territory of Attica and is the first known democracy in the world. Other Greek cities set up democracies, most following the Athenian model, but none are as well documented as Athens.

Central Historical Question Was ancient Athens truly democratic? Democracy is a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives. I believe that ancient Athens supported the early stages and development of democracy. Ancient Athens contributed many thoughts, and ideas to help form the idea of a democracy.(Doc A & B) Some of these ideas and thoughts where our constitution favors the many instead of the few, social class is not allowed to interfere with someone’s merit, and the franchise is open to all men who are of citizen birth by both parents. These are all examples of how they followed democracy, and contributed to its development.

Ancient Greece: Essay #2 Rough Draft One of the running themes across the ancient Greek world is that man is not in control; there are forces beyond the grasp of the human condition in which man must endure helplessly. In Adler’s piece on the prominent ideas of history this is referred to providence. Adler states that certain schools of history adhere to the belief that history is an unending and unchanging cycle, sometimes at the gods’ hands. This concept of providence, or lack of free will, is the most significant parallel between the works of Herodotus and Thucydides.

Conceivably it started with Herodotus and old Greek voyagers. The Romans included more stories of their ventures when their commanders vanquished the majority of the known world. Later on the Christians took consideration to depict the courses of journey, so that travelers on their approach to Jerusalem or Santiago in Spain wouldn’t get cut to pieces along the way. With the modern age and the printing press, the principal travel guides took the state of tips from explorers came back from their side trip abroad. ( Road Junky Guides., 2004-2016)

It is believed that Athenians established the term democracy. Athens was the most famous city in Greece and followed a system of popular government- rule by the people. Also, Rome adapted the system of popular government but they renamed it a ‘republic. Romans never adopted a representative government based on democratically elected representatives. It is questionable