Not only did the fall of Athens indicate the end of progress and philosophical thought, but also ended Greece's contribution to the world as a whole. One must remember, however, knowing that Greece was the center of democracy, it was not as selective as some claim. In its claim of spreading democracy Athens was able to justify the coercion of various outlying territories and spread the image of the city-state as being the only universal benefactor of all mankind. Sparta had conceivably attacked Athens because she extended his need for expansion too far and Sparta feared that she would eventually become an Athenian colony and known to all historians is that Sparta leads but is not a follower (Strassler, 1996).
That which politicians and nations can learn form the Peloponnesian Greek tragedy may rightfully be applied to the present day and age. hether or not history repeats itself is not…...
mlaWorks Cited
Kagan, Donald. 1995. On the Origins of War and the Preservation of Peace. New York:
Doubleday,
Kaminer D, Stein D, Mbanga I, Zungu-Dirwayi N. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa: Relation to Psychiatric Status and Forgiveness Among Survivors of Human Rights Abuses. Br J. Psych 178 (2001): 373-377
Thucydides / Rex Warner, (Translator, 1954) the History of the Peloponnesian War: Revised
Athens counseled parta to use caution and care, to find arbitration, to find a way to mitigate the circumstances prior to giving into the fear paradigm, and resultant war.
Make your decision with the slow deliberate care due to important matters, and don't bring trouble on yourselves by giving in to other people's opinions and complaints. Before you go to war, you must realize how unpredictable war is. The longer it lasts, the more it is likely to turn on chance. The odds of disaster are the same for both sides, and no one can see where the dangers lie…. o, while it is still possible for both sides to use good judgment, we ask you not to dissolve the treaty or breathe your oaths, but to submit our differences to arbitration according to the agreement. If not, the Gods who heard the oaths are our witnesses, and once you…...
mlaSource:
Thucydides, trans. with notes by Paul Woodruff. (1993). On Justice, Power, and Human Nature: The Essence of Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War.
Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publications.
Athens lost the Peloponnesian War for two main reasons. The first was the drain of fighting Sparta, Sparta's allies, Corinth, and Thebes. The protracted, atrocious, and murderous war lasted nearly three decades, gnawing away at the agrarian infrastructure, wrecking the social progress of civic traditions, and consuming an impoverished Athens. The second reason was the effect of the invasion of Syracuse. The invasion lost Alcibiades, all of the army and navy, and Athens' morale. Though the war dragged on for another decade, the combined effects of those two problems lost the Peloponnesian War for Athens.
According to Hansen in A War Like No Other, one reason Athens lost was because it fought not just Sparta, but also Sparta's Peloponnesian alliance, as well as Corinth and Thebes.[footnoteRef:1] The Peloponnesian League consisted of small states like Phlius and Orneae, as well as stronger or more distant (from Sparta) states like Megara, Elis, and…...
mlaBibliography
Bagnall, Nigel. The Peloponnesian War: Athens, Sparta, and the Struggle for Greece. New York: Thomas Dunne, 2006.
Cawkwell, George. Thucydides and the Peloponnesian War. New York: Taylor & Francis, 2002.
Hansen, Victor Davis. A War Like No Other: How the Athenians and Spartans Fought the Peloponnesian War. New York: Random House, 2005.
Hanson, Victor Davis. Warfare and Agriculture in Classical Greece, Revised edition. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press, 1998.
How do we know about this war?
Thucydides may be counted among the foremost historians of the West to utilize a rigorous chronological standard. He recorded events based on their year of occurrence, and every year was divided into two seasons: a campaign-filled summer and a relatively inactive winter. The historian documented the Peloponnesian War in great detail.
In spite of hailing from Athens and having taken part in the war, Thucydides is commonly believed to have provided an overall neutral narrative of it with regard to the parties involved.
The foremost volume in Thucydides 'History of the Peloponnesian War covers a summary of Greece's early history, a programmatic historiographical note, and an explanation for why the War was waged. With the exception of some brief excursuses (particularly 6.54-58 on Tyrant Slayers), its remaining volumes (2-8) concentrate strictly on the War and nothing else.
Though Thucydides' book focuses on the war's military facets, the…...
Thucydides Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War history is based on the historical account of Peloponnesian War between 431 and 404 C. The war was led by Athens (the Delian League), and the other led by Sparta within the Peloponnesian League. Thucydides (an Athenian historian) serving as a general in the war developed the focus of the battle.
Together with a lack of trust in Thucydides' information, the narration is not a firsthand experience as Homer's did. However, he uses poet's epics in inferring facts about Trojan War. For example, while Thucydides valued the amount of Greek ships to be over 1,000 towards Troy as poetic exaggeration, he engages Homer's ships catalog when approximating the presence of Greek soldiers. In addition, Thucydides claims that Homer refuses reference for United Greek states for pre-Hellenic nations through disjointed while organizing the launch of effective campaigns. Thucydides adds that Troy was to be conquered using half…...
mlaBibliography
1. Thucydides, Robert B. Strassler, and Richard Crawley. The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War. New York: Free Press, 1998.
Thucydides, Robert B. Strassler and Richard Crawley. The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War. (New York: Free Press, 1998), 502.
Thucydides, Robert B. Strassler, and Richard Crawley. The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War. (New York: Free Press, 1998), 231.
Thucydides, Robert B. Strassler, and Richard Crawley. The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War. (New York: Free Press, 1998), 132.
trategy -- Rulers, tates and War
It is very difficult to look at the history of humanity and define a number of common, yet intangible philosophies of action that seem to be part of the overall human condition. One of these intangibles is the human capacity to produce both incredible beauty and horrific evil -- both of which occur during war. In fact, we may ask -- what is war? Every historical period from Ancient Mesopotamia to the present has added a new meaning to the word, but the very essence remains the same. War is a conflict between groups, a way to solve a political or social disagreement through force. Because war has been part of the human condition for millennia, however, we can look at it from both a theoretical and practical aspect of a way to use violence as a solution to problems. One of the most…...
mlaSources:
Clausewitz, C. On War. Edited by M. Howard. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1984.
Keegan, J. A History of Warfare. New York: Vintage, 1994.
Murray, W., et al., eds. The Making of Strategy: Rulers, States and War. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1996.
Theatres of War," Daniel Mendelsohn points out how political Conservatives Donald Kagan and Victor David Hanson find in Greek history, especially Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War, an argument on behalf of "plain hawkishness, a distaste for compromise and negotiation when armed conflict is possible." These present-day views on Greece demand a certain degree of rewriting of Thucydides. Mendelsohn explains how Kagan recognizes the opportunities presented by the new world order for revisionism or rereading the Peloponnesian War to shed light on current events. At the beginning of his book, Peloponnesian War (2003), Kagan informs readers that he wants Thucydides' work to "meet the needs of readers in the 21st century" and will refrain from drawing parallels between the ancient event and any modern counterpart because "an uninterrupted account will better allow readers to draw their own conclusions."
Unfortunately, notes Mendelsohn, Kagan's report may be "uninterrupted," but it does not…...
mlaReferences Cited
Kagan, D. The Peloponnesian War. New York: Penguin, 2003.
Mendelsohn, D. "Theatres of War." New Yorker, January 12, 2004.
Thucydides. History of the Peloponnesian Wars. New York: Penguin, 1954.
Zinn, H. Politics of History. Urbana, IL: First Illinois Paperback, 1990.
Life and Politics in Ancient GreeceBy any standard, ancient Greece had powerful influences on modern estern civilization, including its politics, architecture, philosophy, art, language as well as science and mathematics. It is therefore important to determine how these influences emerged and what effects they had on the ancient Greeks that translated into a legacy for estern civilization today. To this end, the purpose of this paper is to provide a discussion concerning the cultural, geographic and political reasons for the rise of the polis, an examination of the major differences in the way Athenian and Spartan society was organized and the main causes, course, and consequences of the Peloponnesian ar on Greek society. In addition, an analysis concerning whether Alexander the Great a visionary of globalization or a brutal, bloody conqueror is followed by a summary of the research and important points about ancient Greece in the conclusion.Discuss the cultural,…...
mlaWorks CitedCole, Joshua and Carol Symes. Western Civilizations, 20th ed. W. W. Norton & Company, 2020.
Kenneth Waltz's Man, the State, and War - a Theoretical Analysis
The purpose of Man, the State and War is to debunk theories that do not locate the causes of war in the system. Unlike Morgenthau who does not believe international relations can change (because human nature cannot change), Waltz believes that by changing the nature of the system, changes can be made in international relations.
To make his case, Waltz presents three hypotheses or "images." The first image is that human nature is the cause of war. If human nature is evil, corrupt, power-hungry then the same must be true of state behavior since states are made up of and governed by people. ad people do bad things; because human nature cannot be changed, war cannot be eliminated and the best we can do is manage conflict and war through a proper understanding of the balance of power.
The second image holds…...
mlaBibliography
Waltz, K. Man, the State, and War - A Theoretical Analysis. New York: Columbia University Press, 1959.
Athens and Sparta -- as ar Inevitable?
Between 500 and 350 BC the area now known as Greece was but a collection of separate and unallied city-states. Today, we often view cultures and political conflict in terms of nations, and take the view that since city-states were geographically close, culture was the same. This, however, was untrue, particularly in the case of the two most powerful and well-known city states of Athens and Sparta.
That is not to say that these two entities were completely divergent. Both had some cultural similarities in context with their history, and they cooperated -- if distantly, in the years leading up to the Battle of Thermopylae and subsequent defeat of the Persian invaders at Salamis and Plataea, ending Persian aggression for a time.
However, understanding Ancient Cultures is often difficult. e have limited resources from which to build a portrait of the culture, and must make a…...
mlaWORKS CITED
Cartledge, P. Sparta and Lakonia: A Regional History. New York: Oxford/Routledge, 2002. Print.
Hall, J. Hellenicity: Betweeh Ethnicity and Culture. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2002. Print.
Kagan, D. The Peloponnesian War. New York: Penguin, 2000. Print.
Kovacs, C. Ancient Greece. Edinburgh, Scottland: Floris Books, 2004. Print.
Organized Crime elated Intelligence
Those interested in global intelligence would recognize acronyms like CIA, KGB and MSS however for the sake of those who have no knowledge in this area, they mean Central Intelligence Agency -- United States, KGB (Komitet gosudarstvennoy bezopasnosti) -- Soviet Union/ussia, and the Ministry for State Security (MSS) -- China and their activities are covered well by contemporary media. However, here we consider the less famous and covert intelligence agencies that operate currently or used to exist. A number of these agencies had specific job descriptions while the function of the rest were quite vague, however, all these agencies fulfilled their common responsibility of giving their superiors in-depth knowledge of a situation to aid their decisions (Powell, 2014)
The Frumentarii
The Frumentarii, who bear close similarities to the contemporary "secret police" like the SAVAK of Iran and the Kempeitai who existed in Japan during World War II, served the…...
mlaReferences
Greenberg, M. R., & Haass, R. (1996). Making Intelligence smarter. Council on Foreign Relations.
Juul, P. (2013, july 23). Adapting to the Future of Intelligence Gathering. Retrieved from American Progress: https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/security/reports/2013/07/23/70281/adapting-to-the-future-of-intelligence-gathering/
Nomikos, J. M. (2008). Greek Intelligence Service: A Brief Description. European Journal of Intelligence Studies.
Powell, J. (2014, July 11). A Historical View of Intelligence Gathering: From the Kryptia to the CIA. Retrieved from https://sofrep.com/37879/obscure-intelligence-agents-agencies-part-1/
It made no "long speech no one would believe, of fine moral arguments" (oodruff 103). However, Pericles' claim that Athens did not need support to uphold its borders falls completely flat in the face of Athenian desperation to hold onto its empire.
Thucydides, writing with the benefit of hindsight and the knowledge of the outcome of the war shows the Athenians in a far more ambiguous light than Pericles the politician, who was speaking to memorialize the dead. Thucydides shows the cowardice of the Athenians during the plague, as Athenians even turned against one another, in fear -- another example of might making right. Thucydides somewhat disenchanted view of Athens is partially due to his status as an exile -- he was deprived of his command due to no real fault of his own (he was unable to reach a critical strategic location in time to prevent it falling to…...
mlaWork Cited
Thucydides. On justice, power, and human nature: the essence of Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War. Paul Woodruff (Ed.) Hackett, 1993.
Athens over several hundred years moved from rule by kings to full peasant democracy. Did aristocrats ever really lose power or did they find new ways to keep it?
In Athens, the aristocrats did lose a certain amount of power with the advent of democracy. This is because there was a focus on providing everyone with some kind of voice in matters of public affairs. Yet, at the same time many of the ruling elite and philosophers were from the aristocracy. This meant that they were able to maintain positions of power. Despite the fact, that they lost a certain amount of influence. The combination of these factors is illustrating how the ruling class used their education and intellect to make themselves relevant during the process. As a result, they were able to use democracy as a way to change the perceptions of the citizens of Athens. In this case,…...
mlaReferences
Athens Constitution. (n.d.).
Elis, W. (1989). Alcibiades. New York, NY: Routledge.
Rustin, J. (1989). The Peloponnesian War. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
This basically means that the criticism to feminist political theories resembles more the substance of other I theories.
6. First off, we should discuss the differences between system level theories and state level theories. What are the benefits to studying international relations at the state level? What are the drawbacks?
In its most basic formulation, state level theories of international politics refer to those ideas which place the country at the core of political actions and decisions. Examples of this sense include the previously discussed realism and transnationalism schools of thought, which argue that the state places itself based on its particular interests. The relevant example of system level theories refers to the class system theories, and they are characterized by the fact that decisions and actions in international politics are not established based on national interests, but relative to the desires and power of specific groups -- generally those which…...
mlaReferences:
Camestaro, N.A., Realism and Transnationalism: Competing Visions International Security, Boston University, Retrieved from on October 5, 2009http://www.bu.edu/law/central/jd/organizations/journals/international/volume25n1/documents/113-162.pdf
Hobson, J.M., the State and International Relations, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0521643910
Kemos, a., the Influence of Thucydides in the Modern World, Hellenic Resources Network, last accessed on October 5, 2009http://www.hri.org/por/thucydides.html
Sayre, B., 2003, Peace Studies' War Against America, Canadian Center for Teaching Peace, last accessed on October 5, 2009http://www.peace.ca/peacestudiescriticism.htm
New findings show that the spouses of veterans also experience mental health disorders, and the prevalence increases with the length of deployment (Mansfield, Kaufman, Marshall, Gaynes, Morrissey & Engel, 2010). When spouses are considered to be clients of health services, the need for improved and more robust resources becomes apparent. Moreover, spouses with mental health disorders present unique issues and questions for treatment. eturning soldiers may find that they have supportive partners who can lead to a mutually beneficial treatment relationship, via couples or family therapy. On the other hand, the mental health problems of the spouse can exacerbate those of the soldier, and vice-versa. Thus, a family systems approach can be extremely helpful when addressing the multifaceted mental health concerns among veterans.
Veteran health services are at a critical juncture. The need for targeted mental health interventions, ranging from screenings and assessments to therapies and treatments, has been proven…...
mlaReferences
Britt, T.W., Greene-Shortridge, T.M. & Castro, C.A. (2007). The Stigma of Mental Health Problems in the Military. Military Medicine 172(2), February 2007, pp. 157-161(5)
Bliese, P.D., Wright, K.M., Adler, a.B., Thomas, J.L. & Hoge, C.W. (2007). Timing of postcombat mental health assessments. Psychological Services 4(3), Aug 2007, 141-148.
Hoge, C.W., Auchterlonie, J.L. & Milliken, C.S. (2006). Mental Health Problems, Use of Mental Health Services, and Attrition From Military Service After Returning From Deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan. JAMA. 2006;295(9):1023-1032. doi:10.1001/jama.295.9.1023.
Hoge, C.W., Castro, C.A., Messer, S.C., McGurk, D., Cotting, D.I. & Koffman, R.L. (2004). Combat Duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mental Health Problems, and Barriers to Care. N Engl J. Med 2004; 351:13-22July 1, 2004 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa040603
1. The impact of the Spartan militaristic society on modern Greek military culture
2. The influence of Spartan political systems on contemporary Greek government structures
3. The legacy of Spartan values such as discipline and austerity in modern Greek society
4. The lasting effects of the Spartan education system on education in Greece today
5. The role of Spartan mythology and cultural practices in shaping modern Greek identity
6. The legacy of the Peloponnesian War and the rivalry between Sparta and Athens on Greek nationalism
7. The impact of the decline of Sparta on Greece's political and social landscape
8. The legacy of Spartan women and their....
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