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Thucydides [ca 460-400], Peloponnesian War
History [tragic plot]
In Praise of Imperial Democracy --
Heroism of Athens
Read The Peloponnesian War, pp. 143-151.
TO DO: in blank spaces below & in the margins of
your book, NOTE DOWN main issues & themes.
FIND & UNDERLINE in the text the themes underlined
in the following outline.
34 (1) WHAT? WHEN? FOR WHOM?
(2) WHO SPEAKS? _______ WHY CHOSEN?
[35-46: PRAISE of ATHENS: IDEAL of DEMOCRACY & EMPIRE]
35 WHAT are the limits to praise?
{defines GENRE of praise oration}
36.1-2: TOPICS -- ATHENS PAST & PRESENT
ancestors: how far back do Athenians trace their tradition?
spirit .. constitution & way of life: main
points of pride?
[37-41: CULTURE & EDUCATION]
37.1-2 model to others rather than imitating ..
democracy: its main characteristics as defined
here?
38 OTHER VALUES of Athenian CULTURE?
39 DIFFERENCE from ENEMY:
(a)
(b) educational system:
SPARTA
ATHENS
40.1-2 LOVE -- What do Athenians love?
Role of private & public?
Role of words & deeds?
Role of friendship?
41 SUMMING UP -- CLAIMS of Athens as EDUCATOR?
Note versatility {cf. Odysseus, ‘master of many
turns’}
EMPIRE: What its main monuments?
What forms of praise most suit empire?
What traditional form of praise is unnecessary, even
inadequate?
{GENRE of praise oration compared with epic praise:
in what ways is HISTORY superior to EPIC?
[41-43: PRAISE OF THE DEAD]
41-42.1-2 Main Thrust? Individuals or this kind of city?
43 NOTE: fall in love with WHAT?
[44-46: A MORAL for the SURVIVORS]
44 Main Thrust?
45 Main Thrust?
46 Main Thrust?
STUDY QUESTIONS: answer the following questions on
the basis of your reading:
How does the picture of Athens drawn by Pericles
resemble the picture given by the Athenians at Corinth?
At the same time, can you notice ways in which Pericles
differs from those Athenians?
But above all, how does Pericles’s view of Athens
compare with how the Corinthians saw it? :
Mention two or three ways in whch this Athens of
Pericles resembles the pictures of human culture that you have seen in
other genres: viz epic (Iliad 18, Odyssey 9)
At the same, what strikes you as particularly new
& different about Athens?
In what respects do the new features of Athens resemble
any modern customs and institutions?
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Designed
in Century fonts by JBVS, coached by LB;
started 96/01/03, revised 02/02/22.
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