| |
Free Essays >>
Classical Studies Papers >>
Summaries >> Free Classical Studies Essays: Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War, 3.69 - 3.85
Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War, 3.69 - 3.85
The passage telling us about the revolution in Corcyra (3.69-3.85) describes the events of the summer of 427 BC, the fifth year of the Peloponnesian War. This section begins with the oligarch revolt in Corcyra, describes it fact by fact chronologically, and ends with the description of the famine and chronic civil strife it causes. Not only the democrat and the oligarch parties of Corcyra participate in the civil war, but also the Athenians, supporting the former, and the Peloponnesians - the latter.
Thucydides talks mostly about the politics and the military actions of the revolution, but he also does mention women and slaves. He tells us a little anecdote of how both sides of the revolution asked the Corcyrian slaves for their support, offering them freedom in exchange (3.73). Th, however, does not tells us of what happens to the slaves specifically. In this case, slaves interest him only because of the party they support. from the moment of their joining of the democrats, he does not mention them separately. He also tells us about the support shown by women to the democrats (3.74).
It is interesting that the only paragraph talking about slaves (3.73) is followed by the only paragraph talking about women (3.74). This sequence gives me an impression that having told us of the first minor support of one of the opposing parties, Thucydides immediately remembered about another secondary support, and put the descriptions together.
Thucydides' history is remarkably linear. He avoids skipping ahead to tell us the ending of the incident he is talking about. He would rather keep the chronology straight and make the final episode known when its proper time comes. The accounts of Pausanias (started in 1.95 and continued in 1.28) and the narrative of Alcidas' fleet (stopped in 3.33 and continued in 3.69) are good examples of such a maintenance of chronology.
From the first paragraph of The PW it is clear that Thucydides does not support war. Still, his fascination by warfare, the fight, the unexpected moves shines even through his image of a simple cataloguer of events. He does not merely list the facts, though. He has his own opinion and he states it openly, describing the brutal changes occurring in people's mentality (3.82) during the time of a revolution. As a matter of fact, he shows a great deal of understanding of the people's psychology in this passage (3.82 - 3.84). He could have been a philosopher if he had devoted his life to the study of human mind and not of the military skill.
Continued here: Thucydides, Peloponnesian War, Book 3: Part 2
|