The illusion of power and the disruption of moral norms : Thycydides' critique of Periclean policy
By: MONOSON, S. Sara
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Contributor(s): LORIAUX, Michael.
Material type: 
ArticlePublisher: New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, June 1998American Political Science Review 92, 2, p. 285-298Abstract: In this article, we attribute Thucydides' power to resist summation to his pervasive use of antithesis as a tool of narrative and analytical style. Antithesis in the form of paired speeches or the dramatic juxtaposition of, for example, the Periclean funeral oration and the plague narrative is well known. But Thucydides' use of antithesis in his treatment of Pericles, a part of the text usually thought to exhibit a more straightforward teaching, has commanded less attention. We investigate that treatment here, anticipating a more subtle and elaborate judgment on the Periclean virtues and a window onto Thucydides' political thought. We conclude that the historian's treatment of Pericles conveys two antithetical yet complementary attitudes regarding the possibility of conducting ourselves wisely. The first is a relentless skepticism about humanity's capacity to assure its welfare by relying on a kind of strategic brilliance that is exercised in either ignorance or defiance of moral norms. The second is a conviction that moral norms must be buttressed by the effective application of coercive power. Thucydides' driving attention to both these views goes to the heart of much contemporary theorizing in international relations regarding the appropriateness of moral or strategic action.
In this article, we attribute Thucydides' power to resist summation to his pervasive use of antithesis as a tool of narrative and analytical style. Antithesis in the form of paired speeches or the dramatic juxtaposition of, for example, the Periclean funeral oration and the plague narrative is well known. But Thucydides' use of antithesis in his treatment of Pericles, a part of the text usually thought to exhibit a more straightforward teaching, has commanded less attention. We investigate that treatment here, anticipating a more subtle and elaborate judgment on the Periclean virtues and a window onto Thucydides' political thought. We conclude that the historian's treatment of Pericles conveys two antithetical yet complementary attitudes regarding the possibility of conducting ourselves wisely. The first is a relentless skepticism about humanity's capacity to assure its welfare by relying on a kind of strategic brilliance that is exercised in either ignorance or defiance of moral norms. The second is a conviction that moral norms must be buttressed by the effective application of coercive power. Thucydides' driving attention to both these views goes to the heart of much contemporary theorizing in international relations regarding the appropriateness of moral or strategic action.
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