Athens: the school of Greece

FUNERAL ORATION 2.34-46	THE PLAGUE 2.47-55
PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS	PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS
CHARACTER OF THE CITIZENS USE OF WEALTH AND LEISURE SOCIAL RELATIONS	CHARACTER OF THE CITIZENS USE OF WEALTH AND LEISURE SOCIAL RELATIONS
MILITARY PREPAREDNESS	SEE BELOW

• WHY do you think Thucydides follows Pericles' funeral oration immediately with the account of the plague? We'll start with this next class period, and then move on to the next reading about Perikles' policy.

• Some points to think about in relation to Perikles' praise of the Athenians and Thucydides' depiction of a breakdown in Athenian society during the plague follow:

IRONY	See Study Guide: Thucydides wrote in a literary tradition, including tragedy, in which irony was the norm; most tragedies magnify the glory of their hero before revealing the forces that bring him or her down.
SOPHISM	The Sophists taught that social rules and institutions--such as religion and law--were NOT independently existent and derived from nature (physis), but were rather the products of human invention (therefore, nomos). What would the effects of Sophism have been on traditional religion? Do you think Thucydides' affirms the value of nomos, and why do you think so?
Results of the Plague	mortality rate crippled the rowing force for the fleet Pericles died of the plague, leaving Athens bereft of both his personal presence and his policy called into question Athenian confidence in their relationship with the gods, which had been the underpinning of the league since the victories at Marathon and Salamis
Thucydides' presentation of Perikles	What can you learn about Thucydides' estimation of this Athenian leader from the speeches he includes and the way he frames them?

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