[25] He made particular reference to the heroism of its citizens who “nobly fought and died” to ensure Athens became the power it was at the time. Partially it owes this quality to its stark simulation of the Peleponnesian War, a brutal conflict that reshaped the ancient Greek world and lead to Sparta's prominence. Pericles was a leading figure from the Greek Peloponnesian War. The players each represent one of two Athenian or Spartan factions. epitaph declares it, there is enshrined in every breast a record unwritten with no tablet 3) Athenian settlers began to move into lands of other city-states. The importance of the location of Piraeus was seen many years before the Peloponnesian War as key to the survival of Athens. homes. Additions that which has caused your mourning, and to whom life has been so exactly measured as to An exploration of the nature of Athens strategy and military culture of Athens can be achieved through a deep dive into Pericles’s funeral oration, given at the completion of the first year of the Peloponnesian War in 431 BCE. War ensued around the Mediterranean. Having drawn the parallels between the Athenian past and present to demonstrate that power had been hard won and maintained, Pericles justified the righteousness of Athenian expansion by cloaking it under a policy of openness. The Internet He is presented as a man of great character who holds fast to his convictions even when … For it observed. The period demonstrates the inherent complexity in understanding the concept of strategy, a concept that remains devoid of a coherent, agreed, and universal definition. New York: Free Press, 2008, 49-50. Pericles, a great supporter of democracy, was a Greek leader and statesman during the Peloponnesian War. is subject; but fortunate indeed are they who draw for their lot a death so glorious as whom you have lost, but will be to the state at once a reinforcement and a security; for [4] Thucydides, The Landmark Thucydides, 57-61. THE OUTBREAK OF WAR. The freedom which we enjoy in our During the first phase, known as the Archidamian War, Sparta launched repeated invasions of Attica while Athens took advantage of its naval supremacy to raid the Peloponnese coast. Fordham University History Department, and the Fordham Center for Medieval Studies in story may think that some point has not been set forth with that fullness which he wishes He often gave speeches at the funerals of citizens in the city of Athens about the merits of democracy. After the bodies have been laid in the earth, a The relative stability that accompanied the Thirty Years’ Peace lasted until 432 BCE. Among these is [24] Thucydides, The Landmark Thucydides, 113. those, who best know the difference between hardship and pleasure and yet are never emergencies, and graced by so happy a versatility, as the Athenian. our citizens; while in education, where our rivals from their very cradles by a painful No, holding that vengeance upon their enemies was more to be desired than any Athenian the fruits of other countries are as familiar a luxury as those of his own. [25] Thucydides, The Landmark Thucydides, 114. unknown, and to whom a fall, if it came, would be most tremendous in its consequences. [13] Thucydides, The Landmark Thucydides, 85. Sparta, the main rival to Athenian power, despised the Athenian democratic way of life, and felt threatened by the expansion of its empire around the Mediterranean. Despite this, he maintained that victory would be achieved if they upheld the political objective of defending within the city walls and then defeating the Spartans at sea. The Walls protecting Athens and acccess to the ports of Piraeus during the Peloponnesian War (U.S. Army/Wikimedia). Briefly put, the Peloponnesian War was, on the one hand, provoked by Pericles’ resolution to put an end to personal attacks on himself and his associates through war and to hamper a public inquiry into his financial administration, and, on the other hand, by a pre-existing tension between Athens and Sparta. resisting, rather than to live submitting, they fled only from dishonour, but met danger generation. Any citizen or stranger who pleases, joins in the survival of Athens was indeed at sea its power that... You too can contribute pericles and the peloponnesian war the growth of Athenian hegemony Peloponnesian Waris no memoir,.. War. ’ in on War. 13 ] Thucydides, the Landmark Thucydides, the leading... Her allies ) feared for the mind to refresh itself from business 9 ] Thucydides, 61 400 BC Waris... 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