Univ. of Arkansas Fall 2001; CLST 1003 Introduction to Classical Studies: Greece. D. Levine
Study Questions: Thucydides' History Book 1
(Paul Woodruff Translation)
0. How does Woodruff explain the "paired speeches" in Thucydides' History? (ix) How was this part of "The New Learning"? (xv-xvi)
1. In his "Brief History of the War," Woodruff mentions some significant events. What happened during the first ten years of the war, when they followed Pericles' original strategy? (xvii)
2. What effect did the plague have on Athens? (xvii)
3. What happened at Mytilene, and when? (xviii) Where is Mytilene?
4. What was the "greatest success of the Athenians" in the War? How did Cleon use this success? What is a demagogue? (xiii, xviii)
5. What happened on Melos, and when? (xviii)
6. What expedition did Alcibiades lead, and when? (xix)
7. What does Woodruff say were the four principal differences between the Athenians and Spartans at the beginning of the Peloponnesian War? (xii)
8. Why did Thucydides begin writing about the Peloponnesian-Athenian war at its outset? (1)
9. Why does Thucydides show the weakness of early Greek war efforts? (2-4)
10. What does Thucydides say causes "civil wars," and why was Athens "free from civil war" in early times? What is the Greek word he uses for "civil wars" and "civil strife"? (2)
11. According to Thucydides, who first established a navy, and what did he do with it? (3)
12. How were the Spartans fashion trend-setters? How were they trend-setters in athletic attire? (4)
13. What kind of ornaments shaped like cicadas did Athenian men wear, and why? What does the adjective "autochthonous" have to do with this custom? (4)
14. How does Thucydides use 'archaeology' to prove that most of the Greek islands had beencolonized by Carians and Phoenicians? (5)
15. How did the Peloponnesus get its name? What does the second part of the name mean? (5)
16. What examples does Thucydides use in cautioning about the use of archaeological information without other sources? When he says we have no good reason to measure a city more by its "appearance than its power," what Greek word does he use for "appearance"? (6-7)
17. What strategy does Thucydides say the Greeks should have used to take Troy without a lengthy siege? (7)
18. When Thucydides says the Greeks after the Trojan War came back to "civil war" in their cities, what Greek word does he use for this phenomenon?
19. Although Thucydides uses Homeric poetry as a source, he also criticizes it, as well as logographoi (3, 6, 7, 12). On what grounds does he fault the poets' accounts?
20. What geographical feature has something to do with the wealth and sea-going nature of the Corinthians? What did the Corinthians have to do with sea warfare? (8-9)
21. Before Sparta got its good laws, Thucydides says it was troubled by years of "civil strife." What is the Greek word for this? (10)
22. How did the Spartans and Athenians differ in their policy towards their allies after the Persian Wars? (11)
23. In what ways does Thucydides say that his History will be more accurate than previous accounts? (12)
24. What does Thucydides say about the accuracy of the speeches which he records in his History? (13)
25. Why does Thucydides say that his History may not be so pleasant to hear, and how does he justify his presentation? (13)
26. What does Thucydides consider to be the true cause of the war between the Peloponnesians and Athenians? (15)
27. What three actions by the Athenians precipitated the declaration of war by Sparta and her allies? (16)
28. The Corinthians urge the Spartans to declare war on Athens, and point out the contrasting characters of the Athenians and Lacedaemonians. What are the main differences they see between the two sides? (17-20)
29. What do the Athenians say about the Persian War? What main points do the Athenians make intheir defense, after the Corinthians have maligned them? (21-25)
30. The Spartan King Archidamus urges caution before a declaration of war. What advantages does he see that the Athenians have over his own people? (25-28)
31. What alternative to outright war does Archidamus propose to the Spartans?
32. What accusation against the Spartans does Archidamus acknowledge in his speech? How does he take this perceived 'fault' and make it into a virtue? (27)
33. Why does Woodruff call the speech of the ephor Sthenelaïdas "laconic"? What is his point, and what does he say to support it?
34. In what two ways does the ephor Sthenelaïdas take the vote of the Spartan assembly? Why does he use two methods? (29)
35. When the Spartans finally vote for war, what does Thucydides see as the main motivating factorfor them to do so? (29)
36. Why does Pericles urge the Athenians not to give in to the Spartan demands about Megara, Aegina, and Greek "autonomy"? (32)
37. In what ways doe Pericles say that the Athenians are ready for war with the Spartans and their allies? In what ways are the Spartans weak? (31-36)
38. According to Thucydides, why did most of the Greeks support the Lacedaimonians against the Athenians? (37)