Thucydides, Pericles, and Periclean Imperialism

by Edith Foster

• ISBN13: 9780521192668
• ISBN10: 0521192668
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-05-31
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

In this book, Edith Foster compares Thucydides' narrative explanations and descriptions of the Peloponnesian War in books one and two of the History with the arguments about warfare and war materials offered by the Athenian statesman Pericles in those same books. In Thucydides' narrative presentations, she argues, the aggressive deployment of armed force is frequently unproductive or counter-productive, and even the threat to use armed force against others causes consequences that can be impossible for the aggressor to predict or contain. By contrast, Pericles' speeches demonstrate that he shared with many others figures in the History a mistaken confidence in the power, glory, and reliability of warfare and the instruments of force. Foster argues that Pericles does not speak for Thucydides, and that Thucydides should not be associated with Pericles' intransigent imperialism. On the contrary, Thucydides composed Pericles' speeches to expose his character and views to the reader, and he both introduced and surrounded them with narrative illustrations that contrast Pericles' claims.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
List of Abbreviations	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
War Materials and Their Glory in the Archaeology	p. 8
The Rich Soil Paradox	p. 12
Minos	p. 15
Athens and Sparta	p. 23
Agamemnon and Troy	p. 26
Materials and the Reader	p. 34
The Modern World	p. 36
The Spartans, the Athenians, and the Persian Wars	p. 39
The Peloponnesian War	p. 41
Arms and Passion: Corinth and Corcyra at War	p. 44
Epidamnus, Corinth, and Corcyra	p. 45
The First Battle between Corinth and Corcyra	p. 51
Corinth and Corcyra at Athens	p. 55
'Biggest in its Multitude of Ships' (¿¿¿¿ ¿¿¿¿¿¿ ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿): The Naval Battle between Corinth and Corcyra	p. 64
The Battle: Navies Deployed	p. 68
Blindness and Death in the Waters of Acheron	p. 73
The Athenian Acme in Book One of Thucydides: The Spartan War Congress and the Pentekontaetia	p. 80
The Corinthians Correct Athens and Sparta	p. 82
The Athenian Response	p. 85
Archidamus' Argument against Going to War	p. 91
Sthenelaidas Argues for War	p. 94
The Athenian Acme and the Pentekontaetia	p. 96
Themistoclean Walls	p. 97
Tribute	p. 105
Athens on Campaign	p. 110
Pericles in History	p. 119
Pericles before the Speeches	p. 122
Pericles and the Curse on the Alcmaeonids	p. 127
Themistocles' Foundation	p. 129
Thucydides and the Periclean Age	p. 131
The Corinthians on the Weakness of Athens' Purchased Strength	p. 135
Pericles' First Speech	p. 138
Pericles and Athens: Pericles' Speech in Indirect Discourse in Narrative Context	p. 151
The Theban Attack on Plataea	p. 152
'Both Sides Were Thinking Big' (¿¿¿¿¿¿ ¿¿ ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿ ¿¿¿¿¿ ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿): The Preparations for War	p. 157
Archidamus Addresses the Peloponnesian Captains	p. 159
'And in this Way He Encouraged them with Money' (¿¿¿¿¿¿¿ ¿¿¿ ¿¿¿ ¿¿¿¿¿ ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿ ¿¿¿¿¿¿): Pericles' Speech in Indirect Discourse	p. 162
Thucydides on Attica and Athens	p. 174
Thucydides and Pericles' Final Speeches	p. 183
Pericles and Thucydides on the Reality of the Athenian Empire	p. 183
Unnameable Acquisitions	p. 190
Athenian Glory and Imperial Acquisition	p. 198
Self-Sufficiency through Materialism	p. 202
Thucydides' Plague Narrative on Self-Sufficiency and Materialism	p. 204
Pericles in Thucydides	p. 210
Conclusion	p. 218
Bibliography	p. 221
General Index	p. 231
Index Locorum	p. 241
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