Thucydidean Historiography Flashcards

1
Q

In what way does Thucydides differ in periodic views to his contemporaries?

A

constructs idea of one long and broader conflict - the Peloponnesian war - as opposed to 1st phase then 2nd being made up of Archidamian war, choppy period of peace, then Ionian war

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

When is the generally agreed decade in whihc Thuc was born?

A

460-50 BCE

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

When is Thuc believed to have started writing? Evidence?

A

late 430s
he himself asserts (1.1) that his writing began when the war began

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What is a major omission in Thuc’s narrative? Why would this have been left out?

A

Peace of Kallias
Could have been a move to emphasise the importance of his own subject matter rather than the Persian wars which precedes his period

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Why are the problems w Thuc as a source difficult to accept and amend?

A

He provides the most complete evidence for the period

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What is Thuc’s stated purpose for his work? What appears to be his rhetorical purpose?

A

record the greatest war that has ever occured (1.1)
build a narrative to suit his preconceived ideas and arguments

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What personal characteristics appear to have affected Thuc’s rhetoric?

A

aristocratic background and subsequent oligarchic tendencies

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What is the main method Thucydides has used that distorts reality in his narrative?

A

selectivity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

In what way was Thuc and Hdt similarly distinct from the contemporary historical/memorialising forms?

A

designed a new genre of LITERARY history (methodological similarity)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

In what ways was Thuc different from Hdt? (3)

A

He openly endeavoured to distinguish himself from what he thought of as inadequate traditional forms of public historical thought whereas Hdt embraced them more.
Linearization as opposed to Hdt’s far more frequent chronological deviations
Lack of a narrator which enhanced the authority of the piece, especially when a narrator is referred to in the process of research
PRESENTATIONAL DISSIMMILARITY

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

In what ways does Thuc’s work stand apart from a modern idea of history? (2)

A

He starts with his own knowledge and preconceptions then builds up with evidence rather than starting with the latter.
Lack of overall cause and effect thinking

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What does Thuc say about the accuracy of his record of speeches?

A

they are generally in line with the overall intent of the speech within its context but he couldn’t promise the reproduction of the exact words used

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Why are speeches an important part of the recon of ancient history? (2)

A

contribute to an understanding of the feelings of an individual/audience at the time
they acted as key causal factors in the ancient world as they impacted important agents and events

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What does Macleod say on the accuracy and reality of the speeches in Thuc?

A

They are not direct reproductions of the reality but rhetorical distillations of the significant points of the speech and characteristics of the individual

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What is Hdt’s the first of alongside being the first historical work?

A

earliest prose piece that we have

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

When was Thuc general? Major event of career?

A

424/3
failure to keep Amphipolis from Brasidas

17
Q

In what period was Thuc exiled? Where did he likely spend this time? Evidence?

A

423-404
Corinth, there is a lot of info on the state in his work AND he says during his exile he was able to talk to ppl w anti-athenian views

18
Q

On what grounds does Thuc appear to have liked Pericles?

A

Personal (likely due to aristocratic links) rather than ideological admiration

19
Q

What type of source did Thuc have to largely rely on? Why?

A

oral accounts
Documents could only really give figures or dates rather than the happening of an event

20
Q

What important document in Thuc do we have epigraphic evidence for?

A

Ath-Argive alliance in 420 BCE

21
Q

What are the 3 occasions in which Thuc refers to physical evidence as to elements of his account?

A

When correcting public memory that Hippias was elder of Peisistratus’ sons shown by an inscrip listing him first
Serpent column grafitti by Pausanias
letters exchanged betw Xerxes and Pausanias

22
Q

What distinguishes Thuc from Hdt in their use of speeches?

A

Thucydides claims a degree of authenticity and uses them as to a degree historically souns
Hdt makes no such claim and rather they appear to be a tool as part of his storytelling approach

23
Q

What 2 characteristics of the speeches in Thuc suggest they are more complimentary of his narrative than historically accurate?

A

similarity to contemporary dramatic speeches
dominance of Ath power that appears to have been a somewhat unique obsession of Thuc’s

24
Q

How does Rhodes interpret Thuc’s claim of the accuracy in overall intent of speeches included? What does St Croix say on the same matter?

A

The speeches Thuc provides are more or less the line of argument the speaker was known to have taken or could reasonably be expected to have taken
It refers to no more than the main point of the speech

25
Q

What are the two main elements of ‘narratology’ seen in Thuc’s work? Why should one be cautious in approaching Thuc like this?

A

focalization - perspective given from multiple ppl involved
‘seeds’ - details included to give the reader an initial indication that later becomes important
It is an unfinished work with certain parts of it clearly unedited.

26
Q

What kind of composition, often associated w classical writing, is apparent in Thuc? What does it involve? Example?

A

ring composition
Using a sequence of motifs or themes to narratively move into and out of a digression A-B-C-C-B-A
Intro on greatness of Pelo war begins and ends with comments on the difficulty of finding the truth in history

27
Q

What is an indication consistently of a lack of religious beliefs on behalf of Thuc?

A

lack of religion and presentation of anything that could be construed as such in that way (e.g. funeral speech is more of social significance)

28
Q

What appears to have been a matter of internal conflict for Thuc w regard to Ath Empire?

A

he was patriotic but saw the rise of arche as immoral due to its unrestrained conduct

29
Q

What was the end of the civil war in Corcyra? Signif in Thuc’s narrative?

A

torture to death of oligarchs, who had been captured by Athenians, by corcyrean democrats
acted as an example of the degrading impact on individuals and politics of stasis - ‘the civil strife which had grown so violent ended in this’

30
Q

What does Thuc believe an arche comes from? Result in?

A

lust for power, greed, and ambition
disorder and violence
arche has NEGATIVE meaning throughout Thuc

31
Q

What does Thomas suggest the effect of exile was on Thuc’s views on Ath oligarchy?

A

takes a longer, less flattering view of individuals involved whom he had previously praised

32
Q

What rhetorical interest does Thuc appear to have had that could explain his use of speeches?

A

the use and/or misuse of language

33
Q

What does Thuc identify as the main issue in the understanding and study of history?

A

widespread uncritical acceptance of oral traditions that obscure the truth

34
Q

What is the line that indicates Thuc has a recognition of historical paradigms and the likelihood of history repeating itself?

A

‘such is the human condition, will happen again at some time in the same or a similar pattern’

35
Q

What has come to be known in modern political theory as the Thucydides Trap?

A

war being somewhat inevitable when an emerging power threatens the status of another power