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2 - The Sea and the City

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 January 2010

Martha Taylor
Martha Taylor
Affiliation:
Loyola College, Maryland
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Summary

THE ATHENIANS CHOOSE PERICLES' CITY

At the completion of Pericles' last speech, in which he disclosed to the Athenians his “quite boastful” vision of an Athens that had traded its land and houses in Attica for control of half of the world, Thucydides segues into the so-called Epitaph of Pericles (2.65). Thucydides reveals here that Pericles lived only two years and six months after his speech, and he compares Pericles' leadership of Athens with that of his successors. According to Thucydides, after Pericles died, “his foresight in regard to the war was still more evident.” He goes on to explain

Pericles said that the Athenians would come out on top if they kept quiet and took care of the navy, if they did not add to the empire during the course of the war, and if they did not take risks with the city; others did the opposite of Pericles with respect to all points of his advice, and following personal ambition and personal profit they managed things badly both for themselves and for their allies (2.65.7).

At the end of the Epitaph, Thucydides notes that even after Sicily, Pericles' successors held out for years

against their former enemies and, together with them, those from Sicily and, furthermore, against most of their own allies who had revolted and later against Cyrus the son of the king in addition, who provided money to the Peloponnesians for their fleet. And they did not give in until falling afoul of each other in their private disagreements they were overthrown (2.65.12).

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Thucydides, Pericles, and the Idea of Athens in the Peloponnesian War , pp. 82 - 134
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2009

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  • The Sea and the City
  • Martha Taylor, Loyola College, Maryland
  • Book: Thucydides, Pericles, and the Idea of Athens in the Peloponnesian War
  • Online publication: 27 January 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511642326.003
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  • The Sea and the City
  • Martha Taylor, Loyola College, Maryland
  • Book: Thucydides, Pericles, and the Idea of Athens in the Peloponnesian War
  • Online publication: 27 January 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511642326.003
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Sea and the City
  • Martha Taylor, Loyola College, Maryland
  • Book: Thucydides, Pericles, and the Idea of Athens in the Peloponnesian War
  • Online publication: 27 January 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511642326.003
Available formats
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