Thucydides

SUBJECT: "Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War", The Landmark Thucydides ed. By Robert Strassler, NY, Touchstone, 1998. 1. General: Thucydides chronicles the Peloponnesian War from its onset, providing a detailed chronological military history relevant to ancient Greece. The historiography focuses on what can loosely be called a civil war, but it more accurately encompassed the shifts in population migration and political power throughout the region. 2. Author's Identity: Thucydides is an Athenian

over other nations. This theory of associations dates back to the time in history when people first began to think in terms of a national identity, which involved a common set of morals and a need to exert their influence over other nations. In Thucydides’ Peloponnesian War, he asserted that a shift in the balance of power in Greece the war caused between the Athenian and Spartan empires. The theory was enhanced in Machiavelli’s The Prince, which argued that the only aim of a prince

the Greek Gods and their omnipotence. Thucydides’ retelling of the Peloponnesian War is considered a secular text mainly due to the fact that the work was one of the first of its time period to not put any emphasis on the Gods. Many believe that the work’s lack of religious referencing is what makes it secular; however, under further examination, the reason the text does not discuss Gods could be due to the overall topic and theme of the book. Since Thucydides is based primarily on the history of

In the reading assignment, Thucydides express the greatness of Athens by that they are a democracy, where the majority of the people rule and there exist an equal justice system. The people of Athens take pride in their city and the soldiers of Athens possess valor where they are willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good of their city and its’ citizens. Athens does show to be a promising place to live for people all around stated in the reading, “Our city is thrown open to the world, though

Thucydides and Homer: Cultures Thucydides and Homer, though they lived a relatively short 300 years apart, wrote about very different Greek cultures. While the Greeks who Homer wrote about in The Iliad were, in many respects, dissimilar to the Greeks in Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, this stands in marked contrast to the profound similarities that exist between contemporary cultures and those that Thucydides wrote of. There are, however, similarities between modern

1) According to Thucydides, during the civil war at Corcyra a re-evaluation of values took place in the populace (3.82). Explain the nature of these re-evaluations, and the reason(s) they took place. Thucydides recounts the events that took place during the civil war in Corcyra. In the year 427 tensions between the Democrats and Oligarchs exploded into civil war, both sides hailing allies from all over the world for aid. At first the Oligarchs received aid from large a Peloponnesian naval fleet

that Thucydides claims are empirical when it comes to his concept of the good life. Observations of the environment and the community in which he lived seemed to have influenced his beliefs about what is considered to be the good life. His perceptions of his environment and experiences with what was normal and customary is what shaped his ideas, attitudes and behaviors. It can be inferred that Thucydides viewed strength, power and wealth as representations of the good life. Thucydides also

Thucydides was born around 460 BC and will live until 404 BC. Unfortunately, when dealing with ancient civilization it can be hard to find meaningful records and artifacts. Not a lot is known about Thucydides and his life because of this. He lived in Athens and his father was Olorus. In 424, he will be elected strategos and will later be sent to Amphipolis to try to stop an attack by the private Spartan army lead by Brasidas. However, he will be too late and the city will have already fallen and

Thucydides, who was known as one of the first journalists this world has ever seen and the man who recorded in a very detailed style around 25-30 years of war between Sparta and Athens, had a very unique method of reporting. Thucydides showed a very strong interest in reporting real life human situations to the world. He set tremendous high expectations in the truth and accuracy in his reporting’s. When Rosenstiel notes the “real questions” when confronting reporters, Rosenstiel says “What religion

The Greek historian Thucydides believed that it was important to be as authentic as possible when presenting or illustrating the past. Striving for such authenticity may not be an easy task but can be achieved. Thucydides belief on the importance of the Peloponnesian war is what most historians believe and practice today. This is the idea that all history has a purpose, even though it may be thousands of years ago can still have an impact on our lives. “My belief was based on the fact that the