Pericles was Not for Peace

I have started re-reading a translation of Thucydides book “The Peloponnesian War” about the 27 year war between Athens and Sparta back in the fifth century B.C.. I read it once before many years ago. There are certain parts I remember very well, others very vague. One thing I had very clear from my earlier reading was how Thucydides described the causes of the war. I have sometimes cited this in discussions with others. I am a little surprised to find that my memory was wrong. I must have been thinking of some other book.

I am part way through Book 2 of “The Peloponnesian War”. The first “Book” (really chapter, but I guess books were smaller back when they were on scrolls) is about the causes and events leading up to the war. They are pretty routine. People wanting to keep what they have, others wanting to have it. People wanting freedom, others wanting to control them. People understanding clearly what the treaty said, others clearly understanding it said something else. And some people just hotheaded.

I remembered that the first part of the Peloponnesian War was called the Archidamian War, but I did not remember why. Now I know. Achidamus was one of the Spartan kings (they had two at a time). What took me by surprise was that Archidamus in Book 1 was the leader of the “let’s not be hasty about this” party in Sparta. He spoke, according to Thucydides, about how the younger men are eager for war because they do not have the experience of the older men. He says that just because the Athenians live a more casual life than the Spartans, not to underestimate how formidable they were. He points out that they had more people, more resources, and plenty of courage. Let’s not rush into this, he said.

This is in contrast to what the Athenian leader Pericles says to his people. He tells them not to back off an inch. He echoes Archidamus by reminding the Athenians that they have the men, they have the ships, and by Athena, they have the courage, too. He tells them that they cannot lose. Victory for Athens is certain. In Book 2 he gives a funeral eulogy for those soldiers fallen so far that is along the lines of we are plenty strong and we can’t dishonor the fallen and our forefathers by letting go of what they sacrificed for.

The liberal Athenians were the aggressive ones while the conservative Spartans were the more reluctant. Perhaps surprising.