Pericles

A description (in Dutch) of the new website Rondompericles.nl ('Around Pericles') opening up the text of Pericles' famous funeral oration in Thucydides book 2, and related text, with annotations, commentary and background, for a general readership as well as undergraduate students. (online in autumn 2018)

This article disrupts present-day readings of women’s experience of and diagnoses with depression by reading them in the light of the patriarchally inscribed experience of melancholia in the early modern period as explored in Shakespeare and Wilkins’ Pericles. It reads the paralleled experiences of Pericles and Marina and early modern proto-medical treatises in the light of contemporary psychiatric diagnostic practice and psychosocial research. It considers how norms, gendering, and privilege can affect the way an individual’s expression of their experience is read, received, diagnosed, and treated, as eroticised cures are laid against talking therapies in Pericles, and the gendered application of the labels of melancholia and depression and the gendered assumptions undergirding therapeutic interventions are probed. In so doing, it shows the value of reading early modern drama through a medical humanities lens to underline the biases which still have a measurable impact in mental health diagnostic settings today. The stark consequences of these biases for women emerge when these texts are brought into interdisciplinary and transhistorical dialogue. The early modern and present strands are pulled together by exploring how Pericles pushes back against the way gender can be leveraged to mistreat, exploit or silence.

This paper assesses Thucydides' thoughts on the causes and inevitability of conflict in the Peloponnese by incorporating realist theories of interstate relations in addition to a sound analysis of Athenian imperial policy and the role of kinship in ancient Greek warfare.

This reconstruction of Plato’s biography was researched and written when I was at the London School of Economics Department of Government in 2004-05. As an attempt to reconstruct Plato’s life with more detail than had been done before, I hope it may be of interest.

Although it’s not complete and hasn’t been used for a publication, I intend to use this material at some point in the future. I welcome any comments. Feel free to write me at benjamin.bilski@periclesfoundation.org.

Over Thierry Baudets potjeslatijn hebben al veel classici zich druk en vrolijk gemaakt. Interessanter en belangrijker is het om de aandacht te vestigen op de retorische strategie erachter – op de rol die ‘de Westerse cultuurgeschiedenis’, zoals begrepen door Baudet, daarin werkelijk speelt. Diederik Burgersdijk rapporteert.

This paper [in Dutch] questions whether it is justified to earmark classical Athens as "The Age of Pericles". It offers a short overview of what the sources have to offer on the life and deeds of the statesman and shows how the ancients may delude modern conceptions of his significance.

Pericles has had the rare distinction of giving his name to an entire period of history, embodying what has often been taken as the golden age of the ancient Greek world. “Periclean” Athens witnessed tumultuous political and military events, and achievements of the highest order in philosophy, drama, poetry, oratory, and architecture. Pericles of Athens is the first book in more than two decades to reassess the life and legacy of one of the greatest generals, orators, and statesmen of the classical world.

In this compelling critical biography, Vincent Azoulay provides an unforgettable portrait of Pericles and his turbulent era, shedding light on his powerful family, his patronage of the arts, and his unrivaled influence on Athenian politics and culture. He takes a fresh look at both the classical and modern reception of Pericles, recognizing his achievements as well as his failings while deftly avoiding the adulatory or hypercritical positions staked out by some scholars today. From Thucydides and Plutarch to Voltaire and Hegel, ancient and modern authors have questioned the great statesman’s relationship with democracy and Athenian society. Did Pericles hold supreme power over willing masses or was he just a gifted representative of popular aspirations? Was Periclean Athens a democracy in name only, as Thucydides suggests? This is the enigma that Azoulay investigates in this groundbreaking book.

Pericles of Athens offers a balanced look at the complex life and afterlife of the legendary “first citizen of Athens” who presided over the birth of democracy.

En el presente artículo (publicado el 17 de octubre de 2017 en la Revista Éufrates) se analizan las principales ideas reflejadas en el Discurso de Pericles, recogido por Tucídides en el Libro II de la Historia de la Guerra del Peloponeso. Su relevancia reside en ser el primer manifiesto de la teoría democrática.

In: P. Fraňo - M. Habaj (eds.), Antica slavica, Trnava 2018, pp. 61-76.
After a discussion of three minor discrepancies in Thucydides, I deal with Thucydides’ description of the relationships between Athens and Sparta in 420 (and the supposed promise that one side should make neither war nor peace without the other) and with Thucydides’ views on Pericles and the Sicilian expedition.

La reconocida helenista autora de esta obra que pretende explicar, y lo consigue con creces, los antecedentes de la democracia ateniense, su apogeo con Pericles, a la vez que describe fielmente la Atenas del siglo V a. C. y la imperecedera huella de la figura de este significado estratego como político, construye un hilo conductor convincente (amparándose fundamentalmente en datos fidedignos o hipótesis suficientemente contrastadas) que nos introduce en sus vicisitudes y sirve de contrapunto a la obra de De Romilly sobre Alcibíades. Como hemos leído este último libro antes que el de Pericles, hemos podido constatar que ambos se complementan perfectamente, ya que abarcan una visión general del periodo estudiado, es decir, el nacimiento, la hegemonía y la crisis del sistema político democrático en la capital del Ática y sus funestas consecuencias. La obra, dirigida tanto a un público introducido en la materia-digamos especializado-como cualquier lector interesado en este fenómeno acontecido en Atenas, cuna de la democracia, resulta más denso y complejo que el de De Romilly sobre Alcibíades, ya que esta última patente un estilo mucho más literario que la de Mossé, quizá más seco por lo que ceñirse a un género adecuado a las cuestiones históricas.

Le propos de cet article est de traverser des différentes interprétations sur la même incarnation historique du chef, c’est-à-dire Périclès, en la réinsérant dans la culture politique démocratique du V siècle de la πόλις. En particulier, on vérifiera dans le Gorgias de Platon, l’Ethique à Nicomaque d’Aristote et La guerre du Péloponnèse de Thucydide comment des lectures contrastantes de Périclès ont été développées et comment elles sont reliées à des systèmes philosophiques divergents.

  La première étape sera donc Platon, où l'on retrouve une critique de la figure charismatique considérée dans un contexte de réflexion sur le rapport entre rhétorique et politique. Spécifiquement, Périclès est employé comme exemple négatif par Socrate pendant le dialogue avec Callicles, avec lequel Socrate veut disputer sur la tâche du vrai πολιτικός. La critique formulée de Périclès est celle selon laquelle il n’aurait pas amélioré ses citoyens, mais, au contraire, ceux-ci seraient devenus pires pendant son gouvernement. 
  Directement en lien avec Platon et son Gorgias on trouve la « réponse » aristotélicienne, dans l’Ethique à Nicomaque. L'on y retrouve encore la figure de Périclès, mais cette fois il est vu positivement; en fait, le Stagirite parle de lui comme du prototype de la φρόνησις (prudence). Périclès représente, dans ce cadre, l’exemple du parfait homme politique, qui est exactement opposé à l’image de l’analyse de Platon. Il est donc l’incarnation la plus représentative de la rationalité pratique dans le contexte relationnel de la πόλις, où il s’agit toujours (comme chez Platon, voir La République) de l’εὐδαιμονία, bonheur. Evidemment, pour comprendre cette différence de lecture il faut montrer la distance entre la philosophie platonicienne et la philosophie pratique aristotélicienne: il est clair que les deux philosophes veulent utiliser une figure charismatique exemplaire pour exprimer le « mouvement de la pensée » à la base de leurs théories politiques. 
  A coté de ces analyses on a aussi un document qui provient d’une discipline différente mais du même milieu historique et culturel : La guerre du Péloponnèse. Dans ce cas, avec Thucydide, on a une image clairement positive, qui célèbre Périclès comme la manifestation la plus haute de la polis grecque pendant l’apogée de l’action d’idéologisation. En effet, l’historien a été estimé à l’origine de la représentation idéalisée du stratège, dont il valorise l’autorité morale et l’habilité politique. 

  On veut donc aborder trois différentes lectures de la même période (l’apothéose de la démocratie athénienne) et du même sujet (Périclès) afin de vérifier comment le phénomène du charisme dans le cadre de la culture classique a été pensé et contextualisé . La question du charisme au niveau politique doit en fait être toujours située dans deux discours plus amples : celui du lien entre gouvernants et gouvernés et le problème de l’optique dans laquelle on peut penser le gouvernement (le Bien platonicien ou l’immanence de l’excellence aristotélicienne, par exemple).

The purpose of my dissertation is to analyse the negative comments concerning Pericles; the 5th Century BCE Athenian statesman and general. This will involve an assessment of both ancient and modern writers. It will include an exploration of his early career as well as the decisions he made whilst in high office. His personal life will also be examined to clarify to what extent it affected his judgement in politics. Larger themes such as Athenian Imperialism and financial greed will also be taken into account to confirm if Pericles' actions were all just simply part of the current social-political landscape of the polis of Athens. The eventual aim of my dissertation is to evaluate these various assessments and judge if there is substantial weight to them.

Издательский дом ВШЭ / id@hse.ru / www.facebook.com/phhse 73 В.Р. Гущин АФИНЫ НА ПУТИ К ДЕМОКРАТИИ: VIII-V ВЕКА ДО Н.Э. Серия «Монографии ВШЭ: Гуманитарные науки» ISBN 978-5-7598-2164-9 (в пер.) ISBN 978-5-7598-2220-2 (e-book) 456 с. 60×88/16 2021 г. В монографии рассматривается процесс становления афинской демократии на протяжении архаического и классического периодов (VIII-середина V века до н.э.). Вопросы о том, что такое афинская демократия, когда она возникла и какую роль в ее появлении сыграли те или иные социальные слои, остаются дискуссионными на протяжении длительного времени. В книге показано, что одним из значимых стимулов возникновения демократии становится борьба за власть и влияние внутри слоя аристократии, к участию в которой нередко привлекался и афинский демос. В процессе этой борьбы, с одной стороны, создавались равные условия для «лучших» (eunomia, isonomia), а с другой-происходило расширение политических прав простого народа. Результатом этих процессов становится государственное устройство, в котором значительную роль играют коллегиальные политические институты, прежде всего народное собрание, избиравшее должностных лиц, и гелиэя (народный суд), осуществлявшая контроль за ежегодно избиравшимися магистратами. Тем не менее афинскую демократию нельзя считать народоправством или «властью народа». Сами афиняне характеризовали ее как коллективное правление или власть «большинства»-тех, кто обладал политическими правами. Книга адресована как специалистам, так и широкому кругу читателей, интересующихся греческой историей. ИСТОРИЯ / ПОЛИТОЛОГИЯ

Dans la culture occidentale, Périclès a le rare privilège de donner son nom à un « Siècle », incarnant l’apogée politique et culturel du monde grec. Pour autant, faut-il croire l’historien Thucydide lorsqu’il soutient, à propos d’Athènes : « C’était, de nom, une démocratie, mais, en fait, le premier citoyen exerçait le pouvoir » ? Périclès régna-t-il en souverain sur des masses consentantes ou ne fut-il qu’une marionnette actionnée par le peuple ? De Thucydide à Plutarque, de Voltaire à Rousseau, de Grote à Duruy, les auteurs anciens et modernes se sont interrogés sur les relations nouées entre le stratège et la communauté athénienne. Périclès, chef tout puissant ou simple ventriloque des aspirations populaires ? Telle est l’énigme que cette enquête historique et historiographique s’emploie à résoudre.

Athens at the time of the Peloponnesian war was the arena for a dramatic battle between politics and religion in the hearts and minds of the people. Fear and Loathing in Ancient Athens, originally published in German but now available for the first time in an expanded and revised English edition, sheds new light on this dramatic period of history and offers a new approach to the study of Greek religion. The book explores an extraordinary range of events and topics: impiety charges and prosecutions; the horrors of the plague; the mutilation of hermai and the profanation of the mysteries; the controversy created by the adoption of new gods; the impressive architectural structures of the sculptor Phidias; the military conflicts of the Peloponnesian war; and the thoughts of the mysterious philosopher Socrates. Fear and Loathing in Ancient Athens will be an indispensible study for students and scholars studying Athenian religion and politics.

Plutarch is universally acknowledged as an acclaimed biographer and philosopher; yet, one can also describe him as a historian, in the sense that he preserves considerable information and unique testimonia of both historical nature and political significance, whilst narrating the lives of eminent personalities of antiquity. The present paper explores Plutarch's role as a (political) historian, as he registers the phenomenon of democracy in ancient Athens, from its birth to its culmination (and beyond). To this end, selected passages from Plutarch's Lives are closely read, in an attempt to evince Plutarch's systematic engagement with the political history of Athens, from the mythical figure of Theseus down to Ephialtes, Pericles, and even Phocion. The analysis of these texts demonstrates the many, different ways in which Plutarch invaluably enriches our knowledge regarding the political history of the city of Athens.

This paper examines Thucydides' use of litotes--superlative negative comparison--in Pericles' Funeral Oration. It attempts to connect the litotes to the overall theme of logos and ergon, as outlined by Adam Parry. Its conclusions are tentative.

Демократический лидер Эфиальт - фигура в истории трагическая, но не только из-за своей трагической гибели. Он смог декретом отнять права у Совета  Ареопага, однако, как оказалось, сама афинская демократия не сумела обойтись без старинного и уважаемого Ареопага.

The brilliant Aspasia owes her fame to two men. She was the beloved and revered companion of Pericles, the most powerful and presti- gious Athenian of the city’s golden age (460–430 BCE), and the privileged and respected interlocutor of Socrates. Her position as a valued com- panion and recognised intellectual—exceptional in a city where custom dictated that silence and invisibility represented a woman’s greatest glory— was no doubt connected with her status as a metic (resident alien). This status, while denying her the right to become the legal spouse of the man whose life she shared, allowed her—at the risk of a somewhat sulphurous reputation—the freedom to be seen, to think, and to express herself. While the beautiful woman from Miletus has remained silent, if we assume that the insults she was showered with were essentially aimed at her lover, the leader of the democrats, the sources we have at our disposal allow us to study her relationships with Socrates and Pericles.

Nessuno più di Aristotele ha studiato la democrazia ateniese. Di quella che è stata la forma storica più rilevante dell’idea democratica Aristotele ha voluto comprendere l’evoluzione, la storia: perciò ha pensato il confronto, in prospettiva diacronica, delle manifestazioni dell’idea democratica che giudicava le più significative e intellegibili della storia ateniese. A guidare la ricerca aristotelica sulla democrazia ateniese è un assunto rilevante del suo pensiero politico: ogni costituzione (politeia, nel suo linguaggio) è conoscibile attraverso la concezione che esprime riguardo a «ciò che è giusto». È l’idea (eidos) della giustizia, anzi della giustizia come uguaglianza, a definire il carattere di un regime politico. Aristotele ha cercato l’idea democratica prioritariamente nella forma di volta in volta assunta dal dispositivo della cittadinanza. Nel caso della democrazia ateniese, l’evoluzione viene seguita dalla fase dell’emergenza dell’idea di cittadinanza democratica, agli inizi del VI secolo, fino a quando le regole stabilite rispetto alla definizione del gruppo dei cittadini e delle loro spettanze hanno ricevuto una forma stabile. Un ciclo compiutosi nel corso del secolo e mezzo che separa i provvedimenti adottati in materia di cittadinanza da Solone e da Pericle.

Abstract.  The military strategy chosen by Pericles in 431 b.C., which refuses land battle, was due not only  to military and economic factors but also to the general principle of avoiding as much as possible risks and unnecessary casualties, even if this choice required to spend more money, goods, time (as Pericles says in Thuc. I 143, 5). This principle – which is opposite to the traditional values of hoplitism – is shown in several statements attributed to Pericles (in the works by Plutarch), sometimes relating to actual military campaigns conducted by Pericles (the siege of Samos). Finally, the strategic behaviour of Pericles is tied to the Periclean democratic ideology, to the idea of soma autarkes and to the value given to citizen’s body, which are given expression to in the Pericles’ Funeral Oration in Thuc. II 37 ff.
Key-words: Pericles; Plutarch; strategy; asphaleia; money

This paper aims to critically analyse the testimonies concerning Athenian impiety trials of the classical period. First, it reaffirms the arguments that some of them must have been an invention of Hellenistic and later authors. Second, it presents a likely political background behind the historical cases. Third, it discusses a number of legal issues, along with new arguments concerning the procedures employed. Finally, it examines some less well-known material from the fourth century BCE. Overall, it seeks to provide a possibly coherent and comprehensive framework of Athenian impiety trials based on their shared characteristics.

Marek Węcowski, “The growth of Athens”: Herodotus, Thucydides and an aspect of the Athenian ideology of the fifth century B.C.

The study begins with an analysis of the Socles episode (V 90-92), the most extensive of Herodotean speeches and the central scene of the Histories. One recognises here the existence of a forgotten slogan of the Athenian propaganda of the fifth century B.C.: “the growth (auxesis) of Athens”. The meaning of the episode is based on this very idea. The second part is a lexicographical study aiming at a sketch of the development of the images which are implied by the slogan under consideration, from Homer to the fifth century B.C. The next step is a historical study of the development of this aspect of Athenian ideology. The slogan originated (on the basis of some religious ideas of the archaic era) during the political struggles of the sixties to fourties of this century, and it was subsequently altered to suit the Periclean ideology of “the height (acme) of Athens”. At the same time, the slogan was used by some enemies of Athens and circulated in the Greek world by the time of the Peloponnesian War.

In the third part, the author shows that the formal structure of Herodotus’ Histories is partially based on the idea of the prodigious growth of Athens, a process which is parallel to the imperial expansion of the Persian kingdom. The fourth part examines the role played by the notion of “prodigious growth” in the historiographical program of the Histories. The conclusion is that Herodotus tries to introduce this idea into the concept of the “circle of human affairs”; he relies here on the association between this idea and an archaic image of the hybristic auxesis. The vision of the irresistible growth of the Athenians must have been particularily striking for the Greeks during the first part of the Peloponnesian War, when the work of Herodotus appeared.

The last chapter of the thesis is a study of an aspect of the historiographical program of Thucydides and of the structure of the first sections of his work. The author maintains that some curious features of Thucydides’ History are due to the fact that the historian has been profoundly influenced by Herodotus, most of all by his concept of the growth of Athens.

Invited for an exhibition at the Athens National Museum to celebrate the beginning of the Greek War of Independence 200 years ago, this essay discusses the role of the goddess Nike in the sculptures of two fifth-century Athenian temples: the Hephaisteion, begun probably in the 470s and completed in the 410s, and the Temple of Ares, brought in from the Attic deme of Pallene and re-erected in the Agora under the Roman Emperor Augustus.

Ce mémoire se propose d'étudier les liens entre l’histoire et les théories médicales au Ve siècle à partir d'une étude détaillée et précise des différentes oeuvres du corpus hippocratique datées de cette époque et de la Guerre du Péloponnèse de Thucydide. S'il reste difficile voire impossible d'établir que Thucydide et Hippocrate se connaissaient, il reste que chronologiquement, une rencontre entre eux n'est pas impossible. Par ailleurs, la méthode de Thucydide qui se distingue radicalement de son prédecesseur Hérodote par sa volonté de faire une "autopsie" de la société de son temps rappelle irrésistiblement les méthodes qu'est en train de formaliser l'école de Cos.

The military strategy chosen by Pericles in 431 B.C. was also determined by the general principle of avoidance of unnecessary risks and casualties, even though this choice required spending more money, goods, and time (as Pericles says in Thuc. I 143, 5).  This principle, shown in several statements attributed to Pericles, is particularly evident during the siege of Samos (440-439 B.C.).  The analysis of Plut. Per. 27-28 reveals how the strategic behaviour of the Plutarchean Pericles at Samos (careful to limit casualties and waste of money and time in warfare) is consistent with the Thucydidean Pericles as well as with the democratic ideology of the time.  Furthermore, it makes it possible to retrace a strong public discussion about the Periclean strategic line (using contemporary sources like Ion of Chios) through the public declarations by Pericles and Cimon’s sister, Elpinice.