The Debate that Lead to the Pelloponesian War essays

The Debate that Lead to the Pelloponesian War essays How does the section of Thucydides narrative about the debate at Sparta and the declaration of war show the Spartans as being unwilling to enter into a war with Athens? Thucydides is thought by some to be the true father of history; most historians before him, such as Herodotus, could be more accurately described as storytellers who were more interested in romantic sideline stories, that could be fact of fiction, than in giving an accurate and unbiased account of events. Thucydides himself writes, My work is not a piece of writing designed to meet the taste of an immediate public, but was done to last forever. He is said to have had a passion for accuracy and contempt for myth and romance. However, it is vital to take into account when reading Thucydides narrative of the Peloponnesian war the fact that Thucydides himself was an Athenian and more than this a general in the early stages of the very war he concerns himself about. It is not unlikely that because of this his writing would show some bias against Sparta, however unintentional this may be. We might expect him to portray Sparta as the instigators of war but throughout this part of the narra tive we are constantly given hints and references to Spartas unwillingness to go to war. The section begins not as you might expect by discussing the relationship between Athens and Sparta, but Athens and Corinth. All the grievances he lists; the dispute over Corcyra and the dispute over Potidea, are between Athens and Corinth. Thucydides even states that the truce was still in force and war had not yet broken out. What had been done so far had been done on the private initiative of Corinth. The other main grievance against Athens comes from the delegates from Megara who claimed that the Athenians had broken the terms of the treaty when they excluded the Megarians from all ports in the Athenian empire and from the market in Athens itself. This shows that Spa...