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Monday, April 13, 2015
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Digital History Scrapbook #7 - Greece
Trevor Jones
4/7/15
Per. 7
Links:
1. "Sparta." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2015. <http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/sparta>.
2. "NAVY SEALS HISTORY." From World War 11 to Present Day. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2015. <http://www.angelfire.com/ak2/intelligencerreport/navy_seals.html>.
The Art of Warriors
Both the valiant warriors of Sparta and the heroes of America, the Navy SEALs, have fought selflessly for their nations for many years, and have been mentioned in many sources as the toughest warriors the world has ever seen. The Spartan Warriors, are a group of cold blooded fighters, who are trained at a young age, and taught the ways of war for a permanent career. They fight for their nation, and more importantly, they fight for honor. The Spartan Warriors existed long before the SEALs, and much longer, though some say the idea of a small, yet powerful force originated with States like Sparta. The SEALs, or sea air and land, are a unique breed of warriors who conduct special operations in any environment, but who are trained and equipped to operate from, around and in maritime areas. The origin of the SEALs is much clearer and can date back to World War 2, when the U.S. was in need of the covert reconnaissance of landing beaches and coastal defenses. Since then, the SEALs have carried out a number of highly dangerous and difficult covert missions and have evolved into what they are today. These two noble groups have their differences, but are very similar in fact, in multiple ways. Both the Spartan Warriors and the Navy SEALs train and carry out missions in similar ways, and many connections can be made in the structure of both groups.
Both groups of warriors have very similar training techniques, though some prove to more time efficient. The Spartan Warriors are taught the ways of war at a very young age of 7 years. Their training consists of a rigorous discipline and mainly military type education, known as Agoge, lasting for twelve years. During these twelve years, the boys are drilled in physical activities to increase fitness and stamina, as well as living off the land for shelter and in some cases, clothes. These boys are tested at the age of twelve in the forest for a week, and are forced to show their skills to survive. The ones who withstood this event, in which not a few died, continued with their training, until the age of twenty when they would be sent off to fight, as warriors. The Navy SEALs are put through quite similar fitness and endurance tests, and just like the Spartan's, not everybody can become a SEAL, only the best will more on. Unlike the Spartans, the SEALs training is much shorter, but far more intense: "...The first three weeks of First Phase will prepare you for the fourth week, better known as "Hell Week." During this week, you will participate in five and one-half days of continuous training, with a maximum of four hours sleep total. This week is designed as the ultimate test of one's physical and mental motivation while in First Phase. Hell Week proves to those who make it that the human body can do ten times the amount of work the average man thinks possible. During Hell Week, you will learn the value of cool headedness, perseverance, and above all, TEAMWORK. The remaining four weeks are devoted to teaching various methods of conducting hydrographic surveys and how to create a hydrographic chart." 90% of those who went into Hell Week will not have lasted the entire week, but for those who do, a life of respect is in their future, such as it was for the Warriors of Sparta.
These forces fought in similar ways, crafty and with small numbers, not at all the kind that would charge into battle like the enemies they have defeated. Each group, however, had one, or a few battles that stood out, and defined who they are. For the Spartans this war the Battle at Thermopylae. The Battle at Thermopylae was a tactical battle between the Greeks and the Persians in the Persian war, however we tend to remember it as the 300 Spartan Warriors going head to head with a quarter of a million Persian rivals. This was a defining battle for Sparta because despite the fact that they lost, they showed tremendous courage and completely outwitted the Persian General, but due to the sheer force of the Persians, wit was just not enough. One of the SEALs most defining moment was with the birth of the SEALs in the Vietnam War. The Navy needed to determine its role within the special operations arena, so the current Chief of Naval Operations recommended the establishment of guerrilla and counter-guerrilla units. The SEALs were first deployed in South Vietnam for the purpose of training Army of the Republic of Vietnam commandos, in the same way they had been trained. Since then the CIA has been using the SEALs in multiple covert operations that have changed the way people think about war. Both Spartans and SEALs work in small numbers because they have found that it is easy to manage and allows room for strategy and tactical moves.
The Spartan Warriors and the Navy SEALs are both marvelous warriors from time periods far apart. These two groups of heroes serve and protect their nation without rest and are similar in multiple ways. Both groups have a very similar way of training which involves fitness and stamina training, and multiple tests, one of which determine if the warrior-to-be's training will continue. Also, both groups have similar strategic war tactics and are known because of how they acted in certain battles. We may start to see more similarities pop up between the two in the future because as we know, history repeats itself.
Monday, March 2, 2015
Socrates to Williams Comparison
Trevor Jones
4/3/15
Modern Day Socrates
Brian Williams is a modern day Socrates for several reasons, including the false accusations brought upon both of them, both men being spokesmen that generally appealed to the public, and both made a scapegoat after accused. First of all, Socrates was tried on the false accusation of corrupting the Athenian youth. This accusation is similar to what Williams is being accused of, indirectly of course, since Brian Williams has not been taken to court, but similar in the fact that they are spreading information that is known to be false to the youth (and adults), therefore corrupting their minds. This brings me to my next point, Williams and Socrates are both spokesmen, meaning they speak about certain topics due to their employment; Socrates being a philosopher and Williams being a news anchor. On top of this, both men generally appeal to the public, and I say generally because there are many exceptions. Socrates was hated by several men, most of them who were currently accusing him, but also had many who admired and adored him, such as the men whom he had tutored when they were children. The same is true with Williams, he is a friendly face, adored by millions of Americans, but like any man with an opinion, has people who despise him, especially after he told his embellishments of his war experience in 2003. Finally, after each man was accused for different reasons, they were made a scapegoat by the public and began uproars much bigger then what they can individually control. Socrates, however, took it so far as to be a martyr for his cause, whereas Williams caused major uproars in social media and throughout society. Putting it all together, Brian Williams is a modern day Socrates because they share similarities such as being falsely accused, being widely appealed spokesmen, and being made a scapegoat by the public.
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Defense for Brian Williams Trial
Opening Statement: Our client, Brian williams has been falsely accused of lying about been in a helicopter that was shot down in Iraq. In truth, NBC wrote the statement that Williams then announced on the news. Brian Williams has been working as the NBC Anchor since 2004 and has been a loyal and dedicated worker. He has been falsely accused of lying about his experience in Iraq; but in reality, NBC actually fed The US lies. Our client unknowingly said what he was reading from a screen with a script that NBC wrote. Williams was simply trying to protect his job through reading the story that was projected on the screen. We argue that Williams suffers from False Memory Syndrome which causes his views on the events, to be corrupted with the false one spread by NBC. He simply read what was scripted for him on the teleprompter without truly recognizing what he was saying.
Argument: NBC Dip in viewership over past years, lead to NBC pressuring newscasters and talk show hosts over exaggerate stories to increase views. Once allegations come out against these such people, nbc disassociates themselves with them, making them take the fall for it. Blame Newscaster "Scapegoat" & abandon them, even though they pressure these people into doing such actions, with the threat of losing their job. The situation Bryan Williams is in is not an isolated incident. Similar cases have It happened before: Anne Curry, former today show host, was given inadequate time to increase viewership. When unable to reach such lofty goals, she was subsequently fired. Because of the pressure put on by the network to embilesh and exaggerate stories to increase viewership, it forces employees to lie, or else their job security will be taken away. This being said, Williams' is really being tried for misremembering something, which is not a valid accusation. He is misremembering this event because the lie being told is not Williams' story, rather it is an embellishment of the truth being drilled into Williams' head by the NBC broadcasters. This leads me to my next point, and I quote directly from the New York Times: "The truth is, our memories can deceive us — and they often do. Numerous scientific studies show that memories can fade, shift and distort over time. Not only can our real memories become unwittingly altered and embellished, but entirely new false memories can be incorporated into our memory bank, embedded so deeply that we become convinced they are real and actually happened." This study is true for all humans, however we are convinced that Williams' stuffers from a serious medical condition know as False Memory Syndrome. The dictionary definition of False Memory Syndrome is a condition in which a person's identity and relationships are affected by memories that are factually incorrect but that they strongly believes be true. This means that NBC was the puppet master behind Williams' and with every version of the embellishment that was scripted for Williams' to read, his memory of his own events were altered so that he truly believed the events that NBC said had taken place. Simply put, NBC pressured Williams' into believing their false embellishments as fact, which made Williams' blind to the truth.
Concluding Statement:
Due to the dip in viewership on NBC over the past several years, the broadcasters force the news anchors to embellish and exaggerate stories to increase viewership. These embellishments that were fed to Brian Williams fueled his false memory syndrome, and eventually led him to believe that these embellishments were true. Brian Williams is innocent because NBC fed him false information, and with repetition, eventually lead to the corruption of what he believed to be true. Brian Williams is therefore a victim in a larger scheme ran by NBC to pressure news anchors and talk show hosts to embellish and exaggerate stories for their own personal gain.
Friday, February 13, 2015
T&R on The Apology of Socrates
Trevor Jones 2/13/15
Thoughts and Reflection on "The Apology of Socrates"
Source: Plato
The Reality Behind the Accusations Brought Upon Socrates
In The Apology, written by Plato, Socrates is brought before a trial and judge who seek to execute him on the charge of corrupting the minds of the young, and believing in deities of his own invention instead of the gods recognized by the State. After the Oracle of Delphi proclaims Socrates to be the wisest man in the world, Socrates believes it his duty to determine what the oracle meant by this, because the oracle cannot lie. Socrates proceeds by interviewing what is known to be the wisest men in the world, ranging from politicians, to poets, to craftsmen and more, but still found himself to be wiser than all of them. Socrates possesses wisdom because he does not "pretend to knowledge when he is entirely ignorant". This means that Socrates accept his stupidity instead of believing that he knows what he is talking about. This is what truly makes him wise. I believe that this makes Socrates valuable to society, because he now knows what makes a man wise, and it is not knowing everything about everything, it is the ability to accept your stupidity. I believe that Socrates believes in God because he is devoted to seek out what the oracle has said to him, because the oracles words are in fact, divine. When Socrates talks about plain speaking at the bottom of page 53, he is referring to his lack of concealment for his words, or openly speaking what comes to his mind. By this, he is not filtering his true opinion because he believes it to be correct. After this, Socrates proceeds to confront Metelus' accusation of corrupting the minds of the young. According to Socrates, it is preposterous to think that he is the only one in all of Athens that can have a bad influence on the children, and that would mean that everyone but Socrates must have a good impact on the children. This accusation by Metelus is in fact false because it is impossible that Socrates can be the only person to have a bad influence on the young.
Thursday, February 5, 2015
T&R on The Two Thousand Year's War
Trevor Jones 2/5/15
Thoughts and Reflection on "The Two Thousand Year's War"
Source: Walter Karp
The Similarities Between Two Ideological Wars
The Cold War was an ideological conflict between the two greatest superpowers of the time, the USSR and the U.S. The Cold War and the Peloponnesian War were very similar to each other for multiple reasons, some include: similar conflicts (ideological), similar political causes, fighting going on between each super power's allies AKA proxy. wars, as well as paranoia fueling the war. If the Americans and Russians fighting in the Cold War had read The History of the Peloponnesian War, then they could have learned that an ideological conflict between two world super powers only leads to paranoia and also that each country is not invincible. This is one of the main reasons that History is recorded, of course to document things that have happened in the past, but also reminding us of mistakes that people in the past have made so we do not have to "recreate the wheel", as the expression goes. It's important for us not to make these same mistakes because all that comes out of them is destruction and nothing that comes out is ever positive.
Monday, February 2, 2015
Thucydides Paper
Trevor Jones
Mrs. Mitchell
1/28/15
Per 7 World History
The Disaffirmation of Pericles' Funeral Oration
In Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides writes about his interpretations of the war in a non-biased way. In one of the more well known sections of his book, Pericles' Funeral Oration, Thucydides documents Pericles' speech to Athenians on account of the fallen warriors, and instead of lamenting them, prides Athens on its achievements and what makes it great. However, certain other sections of Thucydides book refutes what is being said by Pericles in Pericles' Funeral Oration. First of all In Pericles' Funeral Oration, Pericles speaks about how honorable the Athenians are while dealing with their deceased. However, in The Plague, Thucydides writes about how the Athenian people disrespected the deceased by burning them in large amounts. The same concept is true for Pericles' Funeral Oration, where Thucydides writes about how Athenian relationships with other countries are so reliable and focused on doing good to them, which keeps alive the gratitude of those in their debt. However, in Civil War In Corcyra, Thucydides writes about how the state was put into a warzone and later divided up due to the accusations against the Athenians for trying to "enslave" Corcyra. Finally, in Pericles' Funeral Oration, Thucydides writes about the Athenian people being courageous and virtuous towards their country and what they believe in. However, in The Plague, Thucydides writes about the loss of hope in the state and the lack of courage shown in those with or without the plague. Certain events in the texts Civil War In Corcyra and The Plague, of Thucydides book, History of the Peloponnesian War, refute what is being said about Athens' character as a whole in Pericles' Funeral Oration, in several ways.
Thucydides' The Plague refutes what is being said about due respect given towards fallen Athenians in Pericles' Funeral Oration because the plague brought out primitive instincts and reverted the people back to barbaric times, which are expressed through several examples shown in The Plague. In Pericles' Funeral Oration, a very high level of respect is shown for the fallen who helped protect the Athenian people: "The Athenians always bury those who have fallen in war. The only exception is those who died at Marathon, who, because there achievement was considered absolutely outstanding, were buried on the battlefield itself" (Thucydides, Page 143, Section 34, Line 15-18). As you can see from this passage, the Athenians have a very high level of respect for those who have courageously served and died for their state and, as talked about in a passage in the text before this passage, have certain rituals which have deep meaning to those who were close to the fallen. However, this seems hypocritical when times during the plague it taken into account. Many of the people taken by the plague died of neglect and were left unburied out on the streets, for the birds and animals to pick at. Not only is this a major step down from the level of respect given to the deceased in Pericles' Funeral Oration, but it was purely inhumane. Some caretakers remained a distance away from the plagued for fear of getting it themselves, which resulted in people dying of neglect. Rather than burying their friends or family after death, some Athenians merely threw the bodies out on the street for them to rot. As time went on and bodies began to stack high out on the streets, people adopted shameless methods in order to rid themselves of the plagued corpses: "Some would arrive first at a funeral pyre that had been made by others, put their own dead on it and set it alight; or, finding another pyre burning, they would throw the corpses that they were carrying on top of the other one and go away" (Thucydides, Page 155, Section 52, Line 16-19). All of the funeral ceremonies that took place were now disorganized and people did what they had to in order to protect themselves from the plague.
Certain events in Thucydides' Civil War In Corcyra refute what is being said about maintaining reliable friendships with other countries in Pericles' Funeral Oration by doing "continued good-will to them" because the acts committed by the Athenians not only were disadvantageous to Corcyra, but ultimately led to division of society there as well. In Pericles' Funeral Oration, Pericles says that the Athenians have reliable friendships with other counties by showing "continuous good-will" to them: "We make friends by doing good to others, not by receiving good from them. This makes our friendships all the more reliable, since we want to keep alive the gratitude of those who are in our debt by showing continued good-will to them" (Thucydides, Page 147, Section 40, Lines 24-28). This passage shows that the Athenians have good morals and want to build reliable relationships with their allies. Their method of doing this, however, was different from most because they liked to keep other countries in their debt by showing "continuous good-will" to them. This gives other countries the feeling of paying back a debt to Athens, rather than doing an act of kindness. This, said by Thucydides, makes Athens unique. This being said, in Civil War In Corcyra, people of Corcyra felt no such need to repay a debt for "continuous good-will" being done to them, instead they viewed Athens as an enemy trying to enslave Corcyra: "Members of the council called the people of Corcyra to an assembly and stated that what they had done was all for the best and would prevent the island being enslaved by Athens" (Thucydides, Page 237, Section 71, Lines 1-3). Shortly after Peithias was tried, released, and soon after murdered by five members of the Athenian council, the Athenians and those who shared Peithias' views escaped and took refuge on the Athenian Trireme. The Athenians were afraid that the Corcyraean refugees would take action against them, therefore leading to a counter-revolution, which made the Athenians make rash decisions. The dispute between Peithias and the Corcyraean Council fueled the revolution between the Democrats and the Oligarchs: "Society had become divided into two ideologically hostile camps, and each side viewed the other with suspicion" (Thucydides, Page 244, Section 83, Lines 5-6). It was a civil war between the oligarchs and the democrats, both siding with different countries which ultimately lead to deterioration of Greek character. However in the present, it means taking advantage of your enemy while they were off their guard. This not only represented superior intelligence during this time, but also it was key to self preservation.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War
Thucydides' The Plague refutes what is being said about Athenian courage and virtue in Pericles' Funeral Oration because it shows and emphasizes the loss of hope and warmly welcomes in despair in the face of the plague. In Pericles' Funeral Oration, Pericles describes how courageous the Athenian people are and always have been: "In this land of ours there have always been the same people living from generation to generation up until now, and they, by their courage and their virtues, have handed it on to us, a free country" (Thucydides, Page 144, Section 36, Lines 3-6). Throughout the course of Athenian history, from the founding fathers to recent ancestors, people worked hard in order to make it the place it was in this time period. It took men who were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to their country in order to make it the empire that all the Athenian people knew and loved. However, this, like most other things, too changed in the face of the plague: "The most terrible thing of all was the despair it which people feel when they realize they caught the plague; for they will immediately adopt an attitude of other hopelessness, and, by giving in this way, would lose their powers of resistance" (Thucydides, Page 154, Section 51, Lines 12-15). With people dying left and right, those who got the plague knew that they did not much have time left on this earth, so naturally, they went into a state of utter despair. This feeling of despair was to be expected, because with most cases, Athenians only had over eight days to live. However, it was the same people building up one of the greatest empires of all time, that abandoned their family and friends, leaving them to die: "For when people were afraid to visit the sick, they died with no one to look after them; indeed, there were many houses in which all the inhabitants perished through lack of any attention" ( Thucydides, Page 154, Section 51, Lines 18-21). In the time of the plague, people had to do what they think is right, while still preserving themselves. This means that not many people would go and take care of the sick, simply because they were afraid of catching the plague. However, if people did visit the sick, they were putting their lives at risk and later contracted the plague from exposure. It was a brutal battle between doing what was right, and keeping yourself alive, but as always, human instinct kicked in and it was survival of the fittest.
Certain events in the texts Civil War In Corcyra and The Plague, of Thucydides book, History of the Peloponnesian War, refute what is being said about Athens' character as a whole in Pericles' Funeral Oration, in several ways. In Pericles' Funeral Oration, Pericles speaks about how honorable the Athenians are while dealing with their deceased. However, in The Plague, Thucydides writes about how the Athenian people disrespected the deceased by burning them in large amounts. As well as in Pericles' Funeral Oration, where Thucydides writes about how Athenian relationships with other countries are so reliable and focused on doing good to them, which keeps alive the gratitude of those in their debt. On the other hand, in Civil War In Corcyra, Thucydides writes about how the state was put into a warzone and later divided up due to the accusations against the Athenians for trying to "enslave" Corcyra. Finally, in Pericles' Funeral Oration, Thucydides writes about the Athenian people being courageous and virtuous towards their country and what they believe in. However, in The Plague, Thucydides writes about the loss of hope in the state and the lack of courage shown in those with and without the plague. This war was somewhat unique in all of its greatness, so there is not a modern equivalent to it in the form of a current event. However, as a species, we like to think of ourselves as a peaceful, respectful, but at the same time courageous species, but when things take a turn for the worst, like they did during the time of The Plague and the Civil War in Corcyra, we revert to our "survival mode" or as we like to call it, survival of the fittest. This idea comes up in several modern day examples, such as The Ferguson Trial, where 18 year old black man, Michael Brown, was shot by Ferguson police officer, Darren Wilson, for advancing on the Officer and for reasons before. This topic is still heavily debated in the news but in both cases, this was an act that refutes how we like to picture ourselves as a species and brings out our primitive instincts.
Works Cited
1. Thucyides, History of the Peloponnesian War, Rex Warner - translator , Penguin Books, 1972, New York.
Mrs. Mitchell
1/28/15
Per 7 World History
The Disaffirmation of Pericles' Funeral Oration
In Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides writes about his interpretations of the war in a non-biased way. In one of the more well known sections of his book, Pericles' Funeral Oration, Thucydides documents Pericles' speech to Athenians on account of the fallen warriors, and instead of lamenting them, prides Athens on its achievements and what makes it great. However, certain other sections of Thucydides book refutes what is being said by Pericles in Pericles' Funeral Oration. First of all In Pericles' Funeral Oration, Pericles speaks about how honorable the Athenians are while dealing with their deceased. However, in The Plague, Thucydides writes about how the Athenian people disrespected the deceased by burning them in large amounts. The same concept is true for Pericles' Funeral Oration, where Thucydides writes about how Athenian relationships with other countries are so reliable and focused on doing good to them, which keeps alive the gratitude of those in their debt. However, in Civil War In Corcyra, Thucydides writes about how the state was put into a warzone and later divided up due to the accusations against the Athenians for trying to "enslave" Corcyra. Finally, in Pericles' Funeral Oration, Thucydides writes about the Athenian people being courageous and virtuous towards their country and what they believe in. However, in The Plague, Thucydides writes about the loss of hope in the state and the lack of courage shown in those with or without the plague. Certain events in the texts Civil War In Corcyra and The Plague, of Thucydides book, History of the Peloponnesian War, refute what is being said about Athens' character as a whole in Pericles' Funeral Oration, in several ways.
http://www.quazoo.com/q/The%20Plague
Thucydides' The Plague refutes what is being said about due respect given towards fallen Athenians in Pericles' Funeral Oration because the plague brought out primitive instincts and reverted the people back to barbaric times, which are expressed through several examples shown in The Plague. In Pericles' Funeral Oration, a very high level of respect is shown for the fallen who helped protect the Athenian people: "The Athenians always bury those who have fallen in war. The only exception is those who died at Marathon, who, because there achievement was considered absolutely outstanding, were buried on the battlefield itself" (Thucydides, Page 143, Section 34, Line 15-18). As you can see from this passage, the Athenians have a very high level of respect for those who have courageously served and died for their state and, as talked about in a passage in the text before this passage, have certain rituals which have deep meaning to those who were close to the fallen. However, this seems hypocritical when times during the plague it taken into account. Many of the people taken by the plague died of neglect and were left unburied out on the streets, for the birds and animals to pick at. Not only is this a major step down from the level of respect given to the deceased in Pericles' Funeral Oration, but it was purely inhumane. Some caretakers remained a distance away from the plagued for fear of getting it themselves, which resulted in people dying of neglect. Rather than burying their friends or family after death, some Athenians merely threw the bodies out on the street for them to rot. As time went on and bodies began to stack high out on the streets, people adopted shameless methods in order to rid themselves of the plagued corpses: "Some would arrive first at a funeral pyre that had been made by others, put their own dead on it and set it alight; or, finding another pyre burning, they would throw the corpses that they were carrying on top of the other one and go away" (Thucydides, Page 155, Section 52, Line 16-19). All of the funeral ceremonies that took place were now disorganized and people did what they had to in order to protect themselves from the plague.
http://server1.lomaprieta.santacruz.k12.ca.us/MissionHill/accesshtml.cgi/u/MissionHill/phoebech/assignments/phoebeAW4.html
Certain events in Thucydides' Civil War In Corcyra refute what is being said about maintaining reliable friendships with other countries in Pericles' Funeral Oration by doing "continued good-will to them" because the acts committed by the Athenians not only were disadvantageous to Corcyra, but ultimately led to division of society there as well. In Pericles' Funeral Oration, Pericles says that the Athenians have reliable friendships with other counties by showing "continuous good-will" to them: "We make friends by doing good to others, not by receiving good from them. This makes our friendships all the more reliable, since we want to keep alive the gratitude of those who are in our debt by showing continued good-will to them" (Thucydides, Page 147, Section 40, Lines 24-28). This passage shows that the Athenians have good morals and want to build reliable relationships with their allies. Their method of doing this, however, was different from most because they liked to keep other countries in their debt by showing "continuous good-will" to them. This gives other countries the feeling of paying back a debt to Athens, rather than doing an act of kindness. This, said by Thucydides, makes Athens unique. This being said, in Civil War In Corcyra, people of Corcyra felt no such need to repay a debt for "continuous good-will" being done to them, instead they viewed Athens as an enemy trying to enslave Corcyra: "Members of the council called the people of Corcyra to an assembly and stated that what they had done was all for the best and would prevent the island being enslaved by Athens" (Thucydides, Page 237, Section 71, Lines 1-3). Shortly after Peithias was tried, released, and soon after murdered by five members of the Athenian council, the Athenians and those who shared Peithias' views escaped and took refuge on the Athenian Trireme. The Athenians were afraid that the Corcyraean refugees would take action against them, therefore leading to a counter-revolution, which made the Athenians make rash decisions. The dispute between Peithias and the Corcyraean Council fueled the revolution between the Democrats and the Oligarchs: "Society had become divided into two ideologically hostile camps, and each side viewed the other with suspicion" (Thucydides, Page 244, Section 83, Lines 5-6). It was a civil war between the oligarchs and the democrats, both siding with different countries which ultimately lead to deterioration of Greek character. However in the present, it means taking advantage of your enemy while they were off their guard. This not only represented superior intelligence during this time, but also it was key to self preservation.
Thucydides' The Plague refutes what is being said about Athenian courage and virtue in Pericles' Funeral Oration because it shows and emphasizes the loss of hope and warmly welcomes in despair in the face of the plague. In Pericles' Funeral Oration, Pericles describes how courageous the Athenian people are and always have been: "In this land of ours there have always been the same people living from generation to generation up until now, and they, by their courage and their virtues, have handed it on to us, a free country" (Thucydides, Page 144, Section 36, Lines 3-6). Throughout the course of Athenian history, from the founding fathers to recent ancestors, people worked hard in order to make it the place it was in this time period. It took men who were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to their country in order to make it the empire that all the Athenian people knew and loved. However, this, like most other things, too changed in the face of the plague: "The most terrible thing of all was the despair it which people feel when they realize they caught the plague; for they will immediately adopt an attitude of other hopelessness, and, by giving in this way, would lose their powers of resistance" (Thucydides, Page 154, Section 51, Lines 12-15). With people dying left and right, those who got the plague knew that they did not much have time left on this earth, so naturally, they went into a state of utter despair. This feeling of despair was to be expected, because with most cases, Athenians only had over eight days to live. However, it was the same people building up one of the greatest empires of all time, that abandoned their family and friends, leaving them to die: "For when people were afraid to visit the sick, they died with no one to look after them; indeed, there were many houses in which all the inhabitants perished through lack of any attention" ( Thucydides, Page 154, Section 51, Lines 18-21). In the time of the plague, people had to do what they think is right, while still preserving themselves. This means that not many people would go and take care of the sick, simply because they were afraid of catching the plague. However, if people did visit the sick, they were putting their lives at risk and later contracted the plague from exposure. It was a brutal battle between doing what was right, and keeping yourself alive, but as always, human instinct kicked in and it was survival of the fittest.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2014/10/justice-ferguson
Certain events in the texts Civil War In Corcyra and The Plague, of Thucydides book, History of the Peloponnesian War, refute what is being said about Athens' character as a whole in Pericles' Funeral Oration, in several ways. In Pericles' Funeral Oration, Pericles speaks about how honorable the Athenians are while dealing with their deceased. However, in The Plague, Thucydides writes about how the Athenian people disrespected the deceased by burning them in large amounts. As well as in Pericles' Funeral Oration, where Thucydides writes about how Athenian relationships with other countries are so reliable and focused on doing good to them, which keeps alive the gratitude of those in their debt. On the other hand, in Civil War In Corcyra, Thucydides writes about how the state was put into a warzone and later divided up due to the accusations against the Athenians for trying to "enslave" Corcyra. Finally, in Pericles' Funeral Oration, Thucydides writes about the Athenian people being courageous and virtuous towards their country and what they believe in. However, in The Plague, Thucydides writes about the loss of hope in the state and the lack of courage shown in those with and without the plague. This war was somewhat unique in all of its greatness, so there is not a modern equivalent to it in the form of a current event. However, as a species, we like to think of ourselves as a peaceful, respectful, but at the same time courageous species, but when things take a turn for the worst, like they did during the time of The Plague and the Civil War in Corcyra, we revert to our "survival mode" or as we like to call it, survival of the fittest. This idea comes up in several modern day examples, such as The Ferguson Trial, where 18 year old black man, Michael Brown, was shot by Ferguson police officer, Darren Wilson, for advancing on the Officer and for reasons before. This topic is still heavily debated in the news but in both cases, this was an act that refutes how we like to picture ourselves as a species and brings out our primitive instincts.
Works Cited
1. Thucyides, History of the Peloponnesian War, Rex Warner - translator , Penguin Books, 1972, New York.
2. "The Plague." Quazoo. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2015. <http://www.quazoo.com/q/The%20Plague>.
3. "Athens and Sparta's Roles in the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars." Athens and Sparta's Roles in the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2015. <http://server1.lomaprieta.santacruz.k12.ca.us/MissionHill/accesshtml.cgi/u/MissionHill/phoebech/assignments/phoebeAW4.html>.
3. "Athens and Sparta's Roles in the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars." Athens and Sparta's Roles in the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2015. <http://server1.lomaprieta.santacruz.k12.ca.us/MissionHill/accesshtml.cgi/u/MissionHill/phoebech/assignments/phoebeAW4.html>.
4. "Korean War." - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2015. <http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War>.
5. "All Hell May Break Loose." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 29 Oct. 2014. Web. 02 Feb. 2015. <http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2014/10/justice-ferguson>.
6. "Riots Emerge As Ferguson Trial Ends." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tecF8UYgRrw>.
6. "Riots Emerge As Ferguson Trial Ends." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tecF8UYgRrw>.
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