Thucydides, Pericles, and the Idea of Athens in the Peloponnesian War

Thucydides, Pericles, and the Idea of Athens in the Peloponnesian War is the first comprehensive study of Thucydides' presentation of Pericles' radical redefinition of the city of Athens during the Peloponnesian War. Martha Taylor argues that Thucydides subtly critiques Pericles' vision of Athens as a city divorced from the territory of Attica and focused, instead, on the sea and the empire. Thucydides shows that Pericles' reconceputalization of the city led the Athenians both to Melos and to Sicily. Toward the end of his work, Thucydides demonstrates that flexible thinking about the city exacerbated the Athenians' civil war. Providing a thorough critique and analysis of Thucydides' neglected book 8, Taylor shows that Thucydides praises political compromise centered around the traditional city in Attica. In doing so, he implicitly censures both Pericles and the Athenian imperial project itself.

Author: Martha Taylor
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 10/26/2009
Pages: 324
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.20lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.10w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9780521765930

Review Citation(s):
Chronicle of Higher Education 11/20/2009 pg. 20
Choice 10/01/2010

About the Author
Taylor, Martha: - Martha Taylor is Associate Professor of Classics at Loyola University, Maryland. A Fellow of the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, she is the author of Salamis and the Salaminioi: The History of an Unofficial Athenian Demos.