Seemingly endless was is not just something which happens in our day and age. Two Greek City-States, plus their allies, fought what we call The Peloponnesian Warfor almost thirty years. The Three documents I'm asking you to consider for this class period all revolve around this conflict.
Find some time over the weekend to watch the documentary above, as it will put the reading and discussions for Tuesday in a context.
First, think about the purpose of this speech. Consider the audience which was listening. What was Pericles trying to achieve? Make a note about his objective here.
Second, how does he seek to achieve his objective? What does he say about Athens? What does he assert about the things which make Athens the greatest and noblest cause?
Third, would you have been convinced by his assertions, why, or why not?
Last. Do we have an occasion similar to this in our country today? Hint: it happens in November, and it used to be a school holiday in years past. If you know what this is find our something about it and add it to your resource folder.
We're still considering war and democracy, but now our attention is directed toward two forms of government, democracy, and "despotism". Today, the word, "despot" has a nasty ring, to it. We will need to suspend our judgment just a little as we consider this argument. In your markup, use one color to mark the arguments against democracy, and another color to indicate the arguments for it. Do you see any merit in some of the arguments on both sides? Use a tool to indicate which. Do you think there is some exaggeration on both sides, given circumstances of today. Add a concluding remark (a paragraph, maybe) about how your thinking goes about this.
Here, I want you to consider this sentence first: "These the Melians did not bring before the people, but bade them state the object of their mission to the magistrates and the few; upon which the Athenian envoys spoke as follows:"
Do you think this was fair? Why would the magistrates of Melos behave in such a way. Why were the Athenians happy that they did this.
Suppose the ordinary citizens of Melos were to participate in this conversation. What points would they bring up?
Given what the Melian Magistrates knew about the strength of Athens, why do you suppose they behaved as they did?
The Island of Melos today. Click on the image to reach it on Google Maps. Find today's population. Then scroll up the map to look for Athens. Does this exercise give you more things to think about regarding the Melian Magistrate's actions?
Here we encounter something which is almost a cliche in today's world: Hooray for the Middle Class! It is Aristotle who starts us thinking this way. In a democracy, is the "middle" the most important. We're also encountering what seems to be (according to Aristotle, at least) the problems of government by the top and government by the bottom. Before you read this, I want to you make a note, in which you state the class to which you belong. Sometimes we divide society into four classes, Upper, Middle, Working, and Lower. Chose any title for your class of which you consider you a part. Add, if you want, a sentence or two considering why you consider yourself a member of this class.
What are the reason(s) why Aristotle considers the upper class unfit to govern? Do you agree with him or not?
What are the reason(s) why Aristotle considers the lower class unfit to govern? Do you agree with him or not?
Is the Middle Class considered an important part of the way democracy works in this country? What do you think? What would you consider the boundaries of the three classes, based on income. Do other factors enter in as well?
