Reference no: EM133683644
Questions:
1) Why did the Athenians succeed at Pylos? Was Athenian victory merely the result of a string of good fortune, as Thucydides claims, or does Cleon deserve the credit?
2) Thucydides gives nothing but bad press to Cleon, and strong praise for Nicias, but are either of these warranted? In truth, was Cleon or Nicias the more effective leader for the Athenians?
3) How accurate is Thucydides' judgment of Brasidas?
4) Was the failure of the Peace of Nicias inevitable, as Thucydides claims?
5) What was Thucydides' purpose in including the Melian Dialogue in his history? What is the value of this unique passage in understanding Athenian aims and imperialism?
6) Why did the Athenians vote to accept the appeal of Segesta in 415 B.C.? How did partisan politics and diplomacy in 420-415 B.C. influence the Athenian decision? How accurate is Thucydides's assessment of the Athenian decision?
7) What influenced Thucydides' judgment on the significance of the Sicilian expedition? Why does he place blame on the Athenian assembly and demagogues?
8) What led to the downfall of the Four Hundred? What were the roles of the moderates and those perceived as democrats? Why did Thucydides render such a laudatory judgment on the government of the Five Thousand?
9) What accounts for the fascination of modern writers, popular and scholarly, to see in the Peloponnesian War a model for modern ideological clashes? How valid are these comparisons?
10) What was Thucydides' judgment on the impact of war on citizens and leaders? What are the most telling lessons to be drawn from the war?
11) Is it possible to have a concept of "history" before there is a word for that concept? In other words, is it anachronistic even to ask if Herodotus wrote as a historian?
12) What are the most egregious examples Thucydides can summon of Athenian hypocrisy?
13) What are the characteristics of the Greek mercenaries that Xenophon believes make them so successful?