The homeric êthos, Cimonian-Periclean rivalry and the speeches of Pericles in Thucydides' account of the Athenian-Peloponnesian war.

Abstract

The speeches in Thucydides have long been a source of lively historical controversy. Many scholars have discounted their historical veracity in differing degrees. This has been true even of the speeches of Pericles, particularly his famous Funeral Oration, although scholarly objections to the content and tone of the Periclean speeches have largely been of a purely subjective nature. However, an examination of how the Homeric h&d5; ,qov , with its stringent demand for the studied cultivation and possession of timh&d12; and a ,r3t h&d12; , functions within the speeches of Pericles as a key motivating force for the steadfast pursuance of a highly aggressive foreign policy, sheds an interesting light on the question of the historical nature of the speeches and the outbreak of the Athenian-Peloponnesian War. In conjunction with this "Homeric reading" to the speeches, a further consideration of the more realistic analyses of modern manifestations of Realpolitik in the sphere of international politics and diplomacy, adduces additional support for the acceptance of the speeches of Pericles as important forms of historical evidence for the basic workings of Machtpolitik.