The Peloponnesian War was the greatest disaster that struck all the city-states of ancient Greece. Athens was defeated and conquered by the Peloponnesians, but Sparta did not benefit from its victory either. It was so exhausted by the long war that it was forced to accept the arbitration of the greatest enemy of the Greeks, the Persian king. Through the events of this terrible civil war, Thucydides records the behavior of the opponents and draws valuable conclusions, useful not only in war, but also in the daily battles of life.
Good planning
- War is not so much fought with weapons as with money (1.83 – Speech of Archidamus)
- He who has repented the least of all for having given himself to his enemies lives in the safest way. (1.34 – Speech of the Corfiots)
- He who faces his enemy with prudence is stronger than he who attacks him with violence without thinking (3.48 – Speech of Diodotus)
- War occurs when some consider the gain from it to be greater than the suffering it will bring, and others prefer to suffer the dangers of war than an immediate loss. However, if these aspirations appear at an inopportune time, then advice on negotiations is beneficial.
- It is human nature to want to dominate someone who remains impassive and defends himself when attacked (4.59,61 – Hermocrates of Syracuse)
- No one approaches the planning and execution of a project in the same way, but when we plan we feel safe, while when implementing the plan due to fear we lag behind. (1.120 – Speech of the Corinthians).
- It is foolish to campaign against such enemies that even if he conquers them he will not be able to dominate them, while if he does not conquer them he will no longer be in the same position as before the operation.
- Those that cause the most admiration are those that remain at a distance and whose reputation has not been verified. (6.11 – Nicias in the Assembly of the City).
The psychological factor
- Many, while still able to foresee the dangers they were about to get into, were led away by the power of a charming word, the so-called shame, and after being overcome by it, they willingly suffered unbearable misfortunes and brought upon themselves dishonor, which, because it was the result of their folly, proved to be more humiliating than that which misfortune would have caused.(5.111 – The Athenians to the Melians)
- It is not true that he who is unhappy and does not hope for better fortune sacrifices his life more easily. Those who risk being humiliated more if, trying to save their lives, they are defeated. For a man of brave spirit, the humiliation of cowardice is worse than a brave and unexpected death. (2.43 – Speech of Pericles)
- Usually, states that suddenly acquire prosperity become arrogant. It is safer for prosperity to come to people in moderation and not suddenly, and we could say that it is easier to resist difficulties than to preserve happiness (3.39 – Speech of Cleon)
- Those who are afraid because of their suspicions are temporarily seduced by pleasant words, but when the time for action arrives, they act according to their own interest (6.83 – Euphemia the Athenian to the Syracusans)
- It seems that people are more angry when they are wronged than when they are subjected to violence. For in the first case they consider themselves to have been deceived by their equal, while in the second they are subject to a superior. (1.77 – Speech of the Athenians)
- By nature, men are more likely to yield to a moderate enemy and to fight stubbornly against one who is unyielding, even if this is unreasonable. (4.19 – Spartan ambassadors)
Decision-making
- In making good decisions, two are the most harmful elements: haste and anger. The first is accompanied by stupidity and the second by ignorance and narrow-mindedness. (3.42 – Speech of Diodotus)
- A good citizen should not intimidate those who have a contrary opinion, but win them over with arguments. (3.42 – Speech of Diodotus)
- Where great prizes are provided for bravery, there are excellent citizens. (2.46 – Epitaph of Pericles)
- “He who knows what he should do, but is not able to explain it clearly to others, is as if he had not thought about anything.
- He who has both, but does not love his country, is also unable to give sound advice.
- If he loves his country, but cannot resist money, to gain it, he can sell everything.” (2.60 – Pericles’ Speech)
- Youth and old age, separately from each other, accomplish nothing. Strength comes from the mixing of the judgment of the immature, the average, and the exact. (6.18 – Alcibiades in the Assembly of the City)
Notes
Thucydides
He was born in Alimos, Athens, but came from Thrace, where his father owned a large estate (land and gold mines). He was a relative of the hero of Marathon, Miltiades, and Cimon. When he was about 30 years old, in the early years of the war he describes, he was also infected with the great plague that led to the death of 25% of the population of Athens. Fortunately, he was one of the lucky ones and survived. In 424 BC, when, as a general, he failed to save Amphipolis from the Spartans, the Athenians exiled him. Great luck for us, because during his twenty years of exile he had all the time to travel and write his valuable history. According to tradition, he died, probably from some illness, in 399 BC, the same year that Socrates and the Macedonian king Archelaus died. More likely, however, he died four years later, while he was still working on his book. The last sentence he wrote was “When the winter is over, after this summer, the 21st year of the war is completed.” He did not have time to describe that winter, which Xenophon describes in his history along with the remaining six years of the war.
