Study Questions for
Assignment 20 -- Thucydides, The
Peloponnesian War, Books 1 and 2
Book 1
- Sections 1 and 23 What reasons does Thucydides give for thinking the Peloponnesian War was the greatest up to that time?
- Read sections 1 and 21 carefully. What is the purpose of the entire section between these two, of everything from 1 through 21?
- Section 18 How does Thucydides describe how Athens and Sparta spent their time between the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars? How does this relate to what he says in section 1?
- Section 22 How has Thucydides gotten
the information for his history and how does he treat what he learns?
- Section 22.4 *Why* did he write this history? What does he believe is true about the relationship between the past and the future? What motivation does this give us for studying the "great Books"?
- Section 23.6 What does Thucydides believe was the real cause of the war?
- Sections 24- 27 In the episode of Epidamnus, the first direct cause of the war, how were Corcyra and Corinth drawn into conflict?
- Section 31 How was Athens drawn in? Section 44 Which side does Athens decide to join, and why?
- Section 55 What was the complaint of
Corinth against Athens, after the battle of Sybota ( 46- 54)?
- Section 66 How does the episode of
Potidaea contribute to the hostility between Athens and the Peloponnesians?
- Sections 79, 87, and 88--after the
embassies of Corinth and Athens to Sparta, what does Sparta decide?
- Sections 89 through 118 are a flashback, covering the "Pentecontaetia" (the 50 years from
the Persian War to the Peloponnesian War), describing the buildup of Athenian imperial and naval power. Section 99--How did Athens begin to act toward its allies during the Pentecontaetia?
- Sections 128 through 138 are
another flashback, describing the relationships of Pausanias the Spartan and
Themistocles the Athenian with the Persians after the Persian War. Section 138--how does Thucydides describe Themistocles?
- Sections 140 - 144 How does
Pericles, leader of the Athenians, respond to the Spartan demands on Athens?
Book 2
- Sections 2.1 - 2.6 Describe briefly the
episode of Plataea.
- Section 2.8 What is the general atmosphere in Greece at the beginning of the war?
- Section 2.13 Why did Pericles donate
his estate to Athens? 2.13.2 and 2.14 What did Pericles advise the Athenians to do?
- Section 2.17 What was Athens like when Pericles' advice was followed?
- Section 2.21 What happened to the public attitude of Athens toward Pericles when the Peloponnesians invaded their land?
- Sections 2.23, 2.25 What strategy does Athens carry out instead of meeting the Peloponnesian army on land?
- Sections 2.34 - 2.46 Pericles' Funeral Oration. Section 2.42--Why does Pericles praise Athens so much? Section 2.44--What comfort does he offer the surviving relatives of the
slain men?
- Sections 2.47-2.54 The Plague. Section 2.52--How did Pericles' advice in 2.13 and 2.14 contribute
to the plague? Section 2. 53--What effect did the plague have on morality in Athens?
- What change in Athens' mood do we see
when we contrast 2.8 with 2.59?
- Section 2.65 According to Thucydides, why did Athens ultimately lose the war? Instead of following Pericles' advice, what did they do instead?
- Section 2.76.4 How did the Plataeans
defend their wall against battering rams?
- Section 2.91 What changed the tide of
battle back to the Athenians' favor in the battle of Naupactus? What happened to triremes when they were rammed and split? (read the footnote 2.9 3a)
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