Money and the corrosion of power in Thucydides : the Sicilian expedition and its aftermath / Lisa Kallet.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kallet, Lisa, 1956-

Series:

Joan Palevsky imprint in classical literature

The Joan Palevsky imprint in classical literature

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Thucydides. History of the Peloponnesian War.

Thucydides.

Finance.

History.

Historiography.

Greece--History--Peloponnesian War, 431-404 B.C--Historiography.

Greece.

Sicilian Expedition, Italy, 415-413 B.C--Historiography.

Sicilian Expedition, Italy, 415-413 B.C.

Greece--History--Peloponnesian War, 431-404 B.C--Finance.

Sicilian Expedition, Italy, 415-413 B.C--Finance.

Physical Description:

xiii, 347 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley, [Calif.] : University of California Press, [2001]

Summary:

Wealth and Power are themes that preocupy much of Greek literature from Homer on, and this book unravels the significance of these subjects in one of the most famous pieces of narrative writing from classical antiquity. Lisa Kallet brilliantly reshapes our literary and historical understanding of Thucydides' account of the disastrous Sicilian expedition of 415-413 B.C., a pivotal event in the Peloponnesian War. She shows that the second half of Thucydides' History contains a damning critique of Athens and its leaders for becoming corrupted by money and for failing to appropriately use their financial strength to support military power. Kallet gives a close examination of the subjects of wealth and power in this account of naval war and its aftermath and locates Thucydides' writings on these themes within a broad intellectual context.

Kallet combines a sequential and thematic approach to unpack the narrative techniques Thucydides used to construct his arguments about money. She discusses his use of metaphor, his numerous intertextual references to Herodotus and Homer, and thematic links he makes among the topics of money, emotion, and sight. Overall, Kallet shows that the subject of money comprises a continuous thematic thread in books 6 through 8 of the History, and she discusses ways in which Thucydides used the subject of money to criticize developments that he regarded as fundamentally at odds with the health and power of the polis.

In addition, this book takes a fresh look at familiar epigraphic evidence and suggests radical revisions of the usual interpretations for it. Kallet's ability to combine sophisticated literary analysis with a firm grasp of Attic inscriptions sheds new light on an important work of antiquity and provides a model example of how to unravel a dense historical text to reveal its underlying literary principles of construction.

Contents:

Prelude: The Demonstration of Power and the Ambiguity of Expense in the Melian Dialogue 9

1. Optical Illusions: Wealth and the Display of Power in the Beginning of the Sicilian Narrative 21

2. Intra- and Intertextual Patterns of Failure: Herodotos, Homer, and Thucydides 85

3. Money, Disease, and Moral Responsibility: The Economic Digression and the Massacre at Mykalessos, 7.27-30 121

4. Periousia Chrematon, Gnome, and Leadership 147

5. The Financing of the Sicilian Expedition and the Economic Nature of the Arche: Thucydides and Inscriptions 183

6. The Problem of Money in the Ionian War 227.

Notes:

Sequel to: Money, expense, and naval power in Thucydides' History.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 309-326) and indexes.

ISBN:

0520229843

OCLC:

45446309