INT 365/PAX 365/PSC 339 Thucydides and International Relations MW 4:20-5:50, SAC 204

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1 INT 365/PAX 365/PSC 339 Thucydides and International Relations MW 4:20-5:50, SAC 204 Instructor: Michael McIntyre Teaching Assistant: Matthew Lysczek 990 W Fullerton, W Fullerton, 4103 Available by appointment M 2-4 & 6-8, W 2-4 Available Th 2-5 mmcintyr@depaul.edu mlysczek@gmail.com Course Objectives This course will be built around a close reading of Thucydides The Peloponnesian War. We will use Robert Strassler s annotated edition, The Landmark Thucydides, as the sole required text. Thucydides work is divided into eight short books. We will typically read half of a book per class session. Quizzes will be administered to encourage careful reading, and a substantial (3000 word) final paper will be required. International relations thinkers of various schools have long tried to claim Thucydides as their own, because whoever successfully claims Thucydides automatically gets the longest and most prestigious intellectual lineage. I want to get past this game, because it makes it just about impossible to read Thucydides on his own terms. He's obviously not a member of any modern school of IR theory, so trying to read him as one means misreading him. Moreover, I want us to consider the possibility that Thucydides might have been gasp! - wrong. The Peloponnesian War is a difficult text. Thucydides may be the most syntactically complicated of the ancient Greek writers, so just from the point of view of textual density, he's difficult. The work is also difficult because it presumes the readers know a lot of points of reference that modern readers don't bring to the text, so the book is referentially difficult. (That's why we're using the annotated edition). The work is difficult because Thucydides doesn't just make a straightforward argument. To be sure, there are oratorical set pieces in the work, and sometimes those seem to express Thucydides' sentiments as well as those of the speaker. But the work's argument is also found in the narrative in the consequences of action, not just in the rhetorical justification of action. And since the war was damned complicated, it's not easy to draw simple lessons from Thucydides' narrative. And finally the work is difficult because it's unfinished, so there is literally no conclusion. To overcome these obstacles, we will engage in slow, close reading of the text combined with research into the text's contexts. Working through the text carefully in this way, we will come to understand it better. And the ability to do that kind of close reading is a valuable skill to take out into the world. This class will make substantial claims on your time. If you are not prepared to devote at least nine hours per week to this class (three attending class and at least six working out of class), then perhaps you should choose another class. Grades At the beginning of almost every class (more precisely, the sixteen classes for which reading of Thucydides is required) I will administer a short quiz (typically five questions) to assess how closely you have read the text. If you have read the text carefully, these quizzes should be easy for you. The quizzes will be administered from 4:20-4:30 pm. If you arrive late, you will have less time to

2 complete the quiz. If you arrive after 4:30 or are absent, you will not have a chance to take the quiz and will get a zero for the day. If you are absent due to a bona fide emergency and wish to make up the quiz, you must document your emergency (with a doctor s note, a funeral notice, etc.) and request a chance to make up the quiz. Make-ups will be at the instructor s discretion. Each quiz will count for two percent of your final grade, so all sixteen quizzes taken together will count for 32% of your final grade. A research paper, due no later than 5 pm, Wednesday, March 20, will count for 68% of your grade. The research paper involves multiple assignments, described in a separate section below. Research Paper This course requires a research paper of at least 3,000 words. There is no upper bound on the length of your paper. This paper will progress through four stages: choosing a topic; composing an outline; writing a first draft, and revising your first draft into a final draft. The first step is to choose a topic. Here are a number of topics from which you may choose. You are also free to create your own topic. Please note that each topic includes separate questions about what Thucydides believed and about what you believe. Please do not ignore either question or confuse the two questions. Thucydides was an Athenian, but some have suggested that he had Spartan sympathies. What do you think? Was Thucydides pro-athenian or pro-spartan (or neither)? Was one side in this war preferable to the other? Athens was (usually) a democracy, but not every Athenian was a democrat. What about Thucydides? Would you place him in the democratic or the oligarchic faction in Athens? And which form of government would have been better for Athens during this war, democracy or oligarchy? Some have suggested that Thucydides identified growing Athenian power as the cause of the war. Do you think that was Thucydides view? What do you think caused the Peloponnesian War? Some believe that Thucydides supported Perikles war policies. Do you think that Thucydides preferred that Athens follow the policies laid forth by Perikles, or do you think that Thucydides supported different policies? What do you think Athens best policy during the war would have been? Some have questioned the assumption that Athens was democratic and Sparta autocratic. They point out that while Athens may have been a democracy domestically, when it came to other city-states in Greece it behaved as an empire. Similarly, it has been argued, while Sparta may have been an autocracy internally, when it came to its alliances with other citystates, Sparta was more democratic than Athens. Do you think that Thucydides takes this view? If so, how do you think it affects his telling of the war? Do you think that this is an accurate representation of the Athenian and Spartan alliances? In one of the most dramatic episodes in this story, Athens debates what to do about, with, or to the defeated rebels of Mytilene. At first the Athenian assembly decides on a drastic course of action, then changes its mind. Which course of action did Thucydides think was wisest? Which do you think was wisest? And what implications does Thucydides judgment (and yours) have for the conduct of the war more broadly? This war does not just involve military action between alliances led by Sparta and Athens. Various city-states undergo internal strife, up to and including civil war, during the course of 2

3 the conflict. Some have suggested that these conflicts were usually between oligarchic and democratic factions within each city-state, with the democratic factions supporting Athens and the oligarchic factions supporting Sparta. Was this Thucydides view? Whether or not it was Thucydides view, do you think it is an accurate representation of these conflicts? Some have suggested that the Spartan general, Brasidas, is portrayed in a particularly favorable light by Thucydides. Do you agree? Why do you think Thucydides portrayed Brasidas as he did? What are the implications of Thucydides portrayal of Brasidas for his account of the war as a whole? And what is your view of Brasidas? How does your view of Brasidas affect your view of the war? At one point the Peace of Nikias seemed to have brought the Peloponnesian War to an end, but that peace did not hold. Who does Thucydides think came out best under the terms of the Peace of Nikias? Why does Thucydides think the Peace of Nikias did not hold? What is your answer to those two questions? Some believe that the Athenian position presented in the Melian Dialogue represents Thucydides theory of international relations. Others believe that Thucydides disagreed with the position the Athenians took in Melos. Do you think that Thucydides agreed or disagreed with the Athenian position in that dialogue? Do you agree or disagree with the Athenian position in that dialogue? The Athenian expedition to Syracuse takes up roughly one-quarter of the work and ends in disaster for the Athenians. To what does Thucydides attribute this disaster? Does Thucydides mean to suggest that the disastrous Syracusan expedition was the cause of Athens defeat in the war? What do you think caused the disastrous failure of the Syracusan expedition? Do you think this defeat caused Athens to lose the war? A strong case can be made that Alcibiades is the most fascinating and most complicated character in this work. What does Thucydides make of Alcibiades? What do you make of Alcibiades? Late in this work, the Persians play a significant part in the war. What importance do you think Thucydides attributes to the Persian role in this war? What importance do you attribute to the Persian role? This war places huge economic strains on both Athens and Sparta. How does Thucydides think economic constraints affected the two sides in this war? What difference do you think the cost of the war made? As we have seen, Sparta and Athens were governed very differently; Athens was a democracy and Sparta an oligarchy. But Sparta and Athens were also very different socially. Sparta was primarily a land-based, agricultural society, rigidly divided between a warrior caste rulers and near-slaves who did the vast majority of the productive work. Athens was a much larger, more mercantile, more cosmopolitan city, comprised not only of citizens and slaves but foreigners, permanent residents who were neither citizens nor slaves, and traders who had multiple allegiances? How does Thucydides think these very different social situations contributed to the course of the war? What difference do you think these large social differences made? Your must choose a topic and turn it in no later than 4:20 pm, Wednesday, January 23. This assignment will count for four percent of your grade. You will get full credit for turning it in on time, half credit for turning it in late, and no credit if you do not turn it in before the next assignment is due. 3

4 The next step is to decide on your argument and make an outline of your paper. First, think about the argument you want to make. What is your main point, and why do you think it s true? Craft a concise (250 word) explanation of your main argument and put that at the top of your outline. Then, think about your argument, about opposing arguments, and how to present your argument. This should help you generate an outline of your paper. Someone who reads this outline should be able to figure out how you plan to develop and present your argument. Turn in this concise explanation of your argument and outline no later than 4:20 pm, Monday, February 11. This assignment will count for twelve percent of your grade. If you turn it in late, you will get at most half credit for it. If you submit your outline on time, it will be returned to you with comments and grade on February 18. Once you have completed your research and have an outline of your paper, it s time to begin writing. This is not to be a rough draft. It should be complete, grammatically correct, and formatted in proper academic style. If you are unfamiliar with the conventions of academic style, please consult Turn in this draft no later than 4:20 pm, Monday, March 4. This assignment will count for twenty percent of your grade. If you turn it in late, you will get at most half credit for it. If you submit your outline on time, it will be returned to you with comments and grade on March 11. Good writers always revise, and so shall you. Use our comments on your first draft as a guide for revision. The revised, final version of your paper is due no later than 5 pm, Wednesday, March 20. Late papers will not be accepted. This assignment will count for 32% of your grade. General policies regarding the research paper: Collaboration is encouraged, but your written assignments should be in your own words and represent your own work. In case of plagiarism consisting of use of one student s work or words by another, both the student who appropriated another s work/words and the student who allowed his/her work/words to be appropriated will be penalized according to the policies detailed below under Academic Integrity. Work formatted in any recognized academic style (APA, Chicago, MLA, etc.) will be accepted. If you are not already in mastery of one of these styles, it is recommended that you consult and adopt the author-date style found there. In this class The Peloponnesian War will be the primary source for your research paper. There is a voluminous secondary literature on Thucydides and this war, and you are encouraged to use that literature if you desire. If you wish to delve into the second literature, you are encouraged to make an appointment with the instructor or the teaching assistant to get help in finding the most relevant sources. More generally, you are encouraged to call upon the instructor and the teaching assistant for help with your paper or with the class more generally. The instructor s office hours fill up fast, so if you wish to consult him please make an appointment in advance. The teaching assistant is available for consultation by appointment or on a drop-in basis during his office hours. It is your responsibility to make sure that your assignments are received on time. To that end we strongly recommend that you your assignments to both the instructor and the teaching assistant and submit a physical copy of your paper. 4

5 Academic Integrity This course adheres to DePaul s Academic Integrity Policy as detailed in the document found at You should familiarize yourself with this document. I have found that most students are unaware of the various forms of plagiarism. You should know that all of the following constitute plagiarism: 1. Quotation without attribution. 2. Quotation enclosed in quotation marks, but without proper citation. 3. Quotation with proper citation, but not enclosed in quotation marks or otherwise set off from main text in such a way as to clearly indicate direct quotation. 4. Paraphrase without proper citation. 5. Close paraphrase (changing the original form of a text only slightly), even with proper citation. Obviously, there is a large gray area here. The best practice is either to quote directly, or use only your own words. In the case of inadvertent plagiarism (2, 3, and sometimes 4 or 5), I will lower the grade on the assignment by at least one full letter. In the case of overt plagiarism (1 and sometimes 4 or 5), I will give the assignment a failing grade. Multiple instances of plagiarism, whether inadvertent or overt, will result in failure of the course. Course Schedule Credit where credit is due. I did not write the descriptions of the various sections of the book that you will find below. I have copied them from Steven Lattimore s table of contents to his translation of Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War (Indianapolis, IN: Hackett, 1998), vii-xii. Monday, January 7 Role play of the Melian Dialogue Introduction to structure of the course Wednesday, January 9 Introduction to the historical context of the Peloponnesian War. Before class read pp. ix-xxiii and in The Landmark Thucydides. Monday, January 14 Discussion of Book I, chapters 1-88 (Don t freak out at the assignment of 88 chapters. Most chapters are one paragraph long.) Chapters 1-24: Introduction. Conditions in early Greece. The author s subject, methods, and aims. Chapters 24-65: The immediate causes of the war; clashes between Athens and Corinth. Chapters 65-88: Meeting of the Peloponnesian alliance at Sparta; general condemnation of Athenian aggression, sentiments in favor of war. Before class read pp of The Landmark Thucydides. Wednesday, January 16 Discussion of Book I, chapters Chapters : The underlying causes of the war; growth of Athenian power after the defeat of the Persians. Chapters : Second meeting of the Peloponnesians at Sparta; preparations for war. 5

6 Chapters : Exchange of complaints between Sparta and Athens; stories of Kylon, Pausanias, and Themistokles. Athenian rejection of Spartan ultimatum. (You will note that Kylon and Themistokles are spelled differently here than in your textbook. That is because some Greek words that used to be transliterated with a c or a ch now are often transliterated with a k. You can follow either style in your writing, but be sure to use one or the other consistently). Before class read pp of The Landmark Thucydides. Monday, January 21 Class cancelled in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Wednesday, January 23 Discussion of Book II, chapters 1-46 Chapters 1-9: Theban attack on Plataia and outbreak of war (431 B.C.E.); sentiments of most Greeks pro-spartan. Chapters 10-33: Peloponnesian invasion of Attica, large-scale Athenian counteroffensive elsewhere. Chapters 34-46: Oration over Athenian war dead by Perikles. Before class read pp of The Landmark Thucydides. Choice of topic due by 4:20 pm. Monday, January 28 Discussion of Book II, chapters Chapters 47-70: Beginning of the second year of the war. The plague in Athens. Thucydides summing up of Perikles and his policies. End of the second year of the war. Chapters 71-94: Plataia besieged by the Peloponnesians and Boiotians. Athenian naval victories in the Gulf of Corinth. Chapters : Macedon invaded by a Thracian ally of Athens. End of the third year of the war. Before class read pp of The Landmark Thucydides. Wednesday, January30 Discussion of Book III, chapters 1-50 Chapters 1-35: Lesbian revolt against Athens, led by Mytilene. Escape of many of the besieged Plataians. End of the fourth year of the war. Unsuccessful Peloponnesian attempts to help Mytilenians; surrender of Mytilene. Chapters 36-50: Debate at Athens between Kleon and Diodotos over the punishment of the Mytileneans; Athenian decision to spare the lives of most of the population. Before class read pp of The Landmark Thucydides. Monday, February 4 Discussion of Book III, chapters Chapters 51-68: Surrender of Plataia; trial and execution of the Plataians. Chapters 69-90: Civil war on Corcyra; author s observations on the psychology of political revolution. Athenian actions in Sicily. End of the fifth year of the war. 6

7 Chapters : Demosthenes and the Athenians defeated in Aitolia. Athenian purification of Delos. Chapters : Victories of Athenians under Demosthenes in Ambracia. End of the sixth year of the war. Before class read pp of The Landmark Thucydides. Wednesday, February 6 Discussion of Book IV, chapters 1-74 Chapters 1-51: Athenian victories at Pylos; Spartan offer of peace and alliance refused. Surrender of Spartan soldiers and their imprisonment at Athens. Massacre of oligarchic faction on Corcyra, ending the civil war. End of the seventh year of the war. Chapters 52-74: Athenian successes against Sparta. General peace agreement among the Greeks of Sicily. Civil war at Megara, ending in Athenian failure, establishment of enduring oligarchy at Megara. Before class read pp of The Landmark Thucydides. Monday, February 11 Discussion of Book IV, chapters Chapters : Spartan expedition under Brasidas to Thrace; revolt of some Athenian allies there. Athenians defeated by Boiotians at Delion. Capture of Amphipolis by Brasidas. End of the eighth year of the war. Chapters : Armistice between the Athenians and the Spartans. Further revolts against Athens by the Greeks in Thrace. End of the ninth year of the war. Before class read pp of The Landmark Thucydides. Outline of paper due by 4:20 pm. Wednesday, February 13 Discussion of Book V, chapters 1-39 Chapters 1-12: Unsuccessful Athenian attempt to recover Amphipolis; deaths in battle of Brasidas and Kleon. Chapters 13-39: Peace and fifty-year alliance between Athens and Sparta. End of the tenth year of the war. Intrigues among disaffected Spartan allies. End of the eleventh year of the war. Before class read pp of The Landmark Thucydides. Monday, February 18 Discussion of Book V, chapters Chapters 40-83: Alliance between the Athenians and the Argives and some other Peloponnesians. End of the twelfth year of the war. War between Argos, aided by Athens, and Epidauros. End of the thirteenth year of the war. Athenians, Argives, and their allies defeated by Spartans at Mantinea; peace and fifty-year alliance between Argives and Spartans. End of the fourteenth year of the war. Shift of Argos away from Sparta and toward Athens. End of the fifteenth year of the war. Chapters : Athenian expedition against Melos, dialogue between Athenian and Melian representatives; Melian resistance. Surrender of Melos; execution or enslavement of population. 7

8 Before class read pp of The Landmark Thucydides. Outline returned with grade and comments. Wednesday, February 20 Discussion of Book VI, chapters 1-32 Chapters 1-7: Athenian plans to invade Sicily. Account of the island s inhabitation. End of the sixteenth year of the war. Chapters 8-32: Expedition to Sicily launched; Nikias and Alcibiades generals, despite Nikias public misgivings against the expedition; accusations of sacrilege against Alcibiades. Before class read pp of The Landmark Thucydides. Monday, February 25 Discussion of Book VI, chapters Chapters 33-61: Debate at Syracuse over the likelihood of the reported Athenian expedition. Athenian arrival and efforts to gain local support and funding. Recall of Alcibiades, his escape and exile. Chapters 62-88: Syracusans defeated by Athenians; reorganization of Syracusan defenses under Hermokrates. Debate at Kamarina between Hermokrates and Athenian envoy Euphemos, both seeking alliance; Kamarinian choice of neutrality. Chapters : Alcibiades defection to Spartans; his role in persuading them to attack Athenians in both Sicily and Attica. End of the seventeenth year of the war. Athenian victory over Suracuse and investment of the city. Arrival of Peloponnesian relief force under Spartan Gylippos. Before class read pp of The Landmark Thucydides. Wednesday, February 27 Discussion of Book VII, chapters 1-49 Chapters 1-30: Revival of Syracusan war effort. Nikias letter asking the Athenians to reinforce the expedition or else withdraw it; Athenian dispatch of reinforcements in response. End of the eighteenth year of the war. Spartan invasion of Attica; establishment of fortified Spartan outpost. Destruction of Mykalessos by Thracian auxiliaries of Athens. Chapters 31-49: Athenian navy defeated by Syracusans and their allies in harbor of Syracuse. Arrival of Athenian reinforcements under Demosthenes. Athenian attempts to capture Syracusan fortifications by night attack; near success and catastrophic defeat. Departure for Athens urged by Demosthenes but delayed by Nikias. Before class read pp of The Landmark Thucydides. Monday, March 4 Discussion of Book VII, chapters Chapters 50-71: Desperate attempt of the Athenians to escape by sea, determination of the Syracusans to prevent them; decisive Syracusan naval victory. Chapters 72-87: Athenian retreat by land under constant enemy attack. Surrender after great slaughter, Demosthenes and Nikias put to death; survivors imprisoned under terrible conditions. Before class read pp of The Landmark Thucydides. First draft of research paper due by 4:20 pm. 8

9 Wednesday, March 6 Discussion of Book VIII, chapters 1-44 Chapters 1-6: Decision of Athenian people to fight on. Peloponnesian enthusiasm and confidence about quick and final victory; numerous prospects of revolt among Ionians, possibility of Persian subsidies for Peloponnesian forces. End of the nineteenth year of the war. Chapters 7-18: Renewed fighting; Spartans discouraged by defeat at sea. Revolt of Chios, engineered by Alcibiades, followed by that of Miletos and others. Treaty concluded between the Persian king and his governor Tissaphernes and the Spartan alliance. Chapters 19-44: Constant, indecisive fighting, mainly in Ionia. Persian subsidies begin, in return for concession of some territory formerly ruled by Persia; revisions of Spartan-Persian treaty. Before class read pp of The Landmark Thucydides. Monday, March 11 Discussion of Book VIII, chapters Chapters 45-60: Rupture between Spartans and Alcibiades; his defection to Tissaphernes and his advice that the Persians play the Greeks off against one another. Oligarchic intrigues among Athenian armed forces in hopes of gaining Persian subsidies through Alcibiades offices; people of Athens reluctantly persuaded. End of the twentieth year of the war. Chapters 61-88: Democracy at Athens replaced by narrow and violent oligarchy; strong opposition among Athenian armed forces, threat of civil war. Strained relations between Peloponnesians and Persians. Chapters : Disintegration and overthrow of oligarchy at Athens. Peloponnesian victory at sea neutralized by Spartan lack of enterprise. Major Athenian naval victory at Kynossema. Before class read pp of The Landmark Thucydides. First draft of research paper returned with grade and comments. Wednesday, March 13 The conclusion of the Peloponnesian War and its aftermath Before class read pp of The Landmark Thucydides. Wednesday, March 20 Final revision of research paper due by 5 pm. 9