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Empire and the Ends of Politics
This text brings together for the first time two complete key works from classical antiquity on the politics of Plato's Menexenus and Pericles' funeral oration (from Thucydides' history of the Peloponnesian War).
64 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
65 people want to read
About the author
Pericles
27 books41 followersborn circa 495 BC
died 429 BC
Noted Pericles led, advanced democracy in Athens, and ordered the construction of the Parthenon.
Greek hetaera Aspasia loved him.
Athens achieved the height of its cultural and imperial power in the fifth century BC during the time of Pericles.
This prominent statesman, orator, and general influenced the golden age of the city, specifically, the time between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars. From the powerful and historically influential Alcmaeonid family of his mother, he descended.
Thucydides, contemporary historian, acclaimed him with such a profound influence on society as "the first citizen." Pericles turned the Delian league into an empire with his countrymen during the first two years of the Peloponnesian war. From roughly 461 BC, the sometimes known "age of Pericles," thus denoted, ended to 429 BC but can include times as early as the Persian wars or as late as the next century.
Pericles promoted the arts and literature and for this chief reason holds the reputation of the educational and cultural center of the ancient Greek world. He started an ambitious project that built and included most of the surviving structures on the Acropolis. This project beautified the city, exhibited its glory, and gave work to the people. Furthermore, Pericles fostered to such an extent that critics call him a populist.
died 429 BC
Noted Pericles led, advanced democracy in Athens, and ordered the construction of the Parthenon.
Greek hetaera Aspasia loved him.
Athens achieved the height of its cultural and imperial power in the fifth century BC during the time of Pericles.
This prominent statesman, orator, and general influenced the golden age of the city, specifically, the time between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars. From the powerful and historically influential Alcmaeonid family of his mother, he descended.
Thucydides, contemporary historian, acclaimed him with such a profound influence on society as "the first citizen." Pericles turned the Delian league into an empire with his countrymen during the first two years of the Peloponnesian war. From roughly 461 BC, the sometimes known "age of Pericles," thus denoted, ended to 429 BC but can include times as early as the Persian wars or as late as the next century.
Pericles promoted the arts and literature and for this chief reason holds the reputation of the educational and cultural center of the ancient Greek world. He started an ambitious project that built and included most of the surviving structures on the Acropolis. This project beautified the city, exhibited its glory, and gave work to the people. Furthermore, Pericles fostered to such an extent that critics call him a populist.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 19, 2025
Quick read, but well worth it nonetheless. I hadn’t revisited the Funeral Oration in years probably, so it was fun to read it again. I found the comparison between it and the Menexenus that the Introduction spells out persuasive. The seemingly playful attribution of the speech to Aspasia, and the fact that it continues past when Socrates died, are two particularly odd points. I’m not really sure what to make of it.
September 12, 2016
Plato's Socrates is hilarious o man
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews