Thucydides and the pursuit of freedom / Mary P. Nichols.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Nichols, Mary P., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Thucydides--Political and social views.

Thucydides.

Thucydides. History of the Peloponnesian War.

Liberty.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (208 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Ithaca ; London : Cornell University Press, [2015]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In Thucydides and the Pursuit of Freedom, Mary P. Nichols argues for the centrality of the idea of freedom in Thucydides' thought. Through her close reading of his History of the Peloponnesian War, she explores the manifestations of this theme. Cities and individuals in Thucydides' history take freedom as their goal, whether they claim to possess it and want to maintain it or whether they desire to attain it for themselves or others. Freedom is the goal of both antagonists in the Peloponnesian War, Sparta and Athens, although in different ways. One of the fullest expressions of freedom can be seen in the rhetoric of Thucydides' Pericles, especially in his famous funeral oration. More than simply documenting the struggle for freedom, however, Thucydides himself is taking freedom as his cause. On the one hand, he demonstrates that freedom makes possible human excellence, including courage, self-restraint, deliberation, and judgment, which support freedom in turn. On the other hand, the pursuit of freedom, in one's own regime and in the world at large, clashes with interests and material necessity, and indeed the very passions required for its support. Thucydides' work, which he himself considered a possession for all time, therefore speaks very much to our time, encouraging the defense of freedom while warning of the limits and dangers in doing so. The powerful must defend freedom, Thucydides teaches, but beware that the cost not become freedom itself.

Contents:

Introduction: Thucydides as historian

Periclean Athens and an image of freedom

Athenian freedom in the balance: Mytilene and Plataea

Sparta, Brasidas, and the liberation of Hellas

Sicily, Alcibiades, and the liberation of Eros

Homecoming and freedom

Conclusion: Thucydides, an Athenian.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780801455575

080145557X

9780801455582

0801455588

OCLC:

905638469