Rocket Man

A key issue in much work on ‘classical reception’ is the tendency to over-value and over-interpret classical allusions and references. We pounce on every faint echo, because it’s what we’re trained to do and because it’s what we value – without necessarily considering whether it actually matters, or matters very much, or is any more than background cultural noise. And even if the allusion is definitely present, which isn’t always the case, how much can we assume about its meaning for the audience, or its significance in the wider culture? If you regularly search for references to Thucydides on Twitter and other social media, you do get a clear sense that he is a more significant figure than, say, Polybius. But does that make him an all-pervasive influence on modern thinking about war and politics? Not so much.

But occasionally something comes along that does suggest, if not an all-pervasive influence, then at least the assumption on someone’s part that a Thucydides reference is just what’s needed to appeal to a particular audience. This is illustrated by the latest additional to my small collection of what might be called Thucydideana, a full-page advertisement from the February 15 1960 issue of Aviation Week and Space Technology, placed by Space Technology Laboratories Inc. of Los Angeles, the division of Thompson Ramo Wooldridge Inc. that worked on ICBM development for the US Air Force…

[image error]

This is… interesting. I don’t profess to have any great knowledge of what attracts highly-qualified scientists into missile research, but until this point I would have assumed it was some combination of lab facilities, money, prospects and location. This suggests an additional concern with freedom – the ability to discuss scientific issues and publish results without having to worry about security restrictions – but that still doesn’t explain why anyone felt that the best way to present this was through a relatively complex take on Thucydides. In the original Greek. I suppose it is more striking than a couple images of rockets or mushroom clouds.

The best sense I can make of this is to assume that Thucydides, and the sentiments of the Periclean funeral oration above all, was indeed well-established as a template for thinking about the Cold War. There’s no explanation of who Thucydides is, no concern about why he should be associated with the idea of an ‘open city’ – the reader’s knowledge is taken for granted, as is their agreement that Thucydides’/Pericles’ words express the ideals of liberal democracy for which we are fighting against the totalitarian, anti-culture Spartans. The only point felt to be in need of explanation and justification is that the peril of our situation means we cannot risk the radical openness of democratic Athens. The advert doesn’t even take the trouble to serve up the predictable ‘happiness depends on freedom, freedom depends on putting your scientific training at the service of the arms race’ line…

The obvious explanation is the power of Great Books programmes in major US universities in this period, as studied by Liz Sawyer (who also makes some interesting points about the issue with which I opened this post). Unlike in the British system, where specialisation begins early, in the US not only Classics students, but any undergraduate – including science majors – might encounter an edited, carefully packaged version of Thucydides as a pillar of Western Thought with direct relevance to the present. Liz’s study starts from the contents of curricula; this advert can be taken as evidence for their reception and influence, not just individuals’ knowledge of Thucydides but the fact that others could then assume such knowledge.

Now I just need to start skimming other publications for similar adverts. Thucydides tells you why you need to subscribe to Time magazine and watch John Wayne movies. Thucydides endorses Coca-Cola as the beverage of freedom. We enjoy the best things in life without being effeminate, and that’s why Thucydides wants YOU to smoke Lucky Strike!