Thucydides view of Democracy
Mike Rocchio
This a picture of the eduacation of Athenian youth, which Thucydides would have backed whole
heartedly as long as they were being taught the proper lessons.
Thucydides seems to not trust the common man in being able to run a government yet at the same time he feels that the common man should have a say it what a city decides, but that it should be heavily influenced by the likes of a higher standing citizen, such as Pericles. It is well known that Thucydides held the view that human nature had become wild and uncontrollable and that it needed the guidance of this man of higher status.
This can be seen in how much he stresses the speeches of Pericles and his feelings that the Athenian citizens should back what he is saying. He felt that a democracy, such as the one in Athens, needed to be controlled by a Pericles who could have the stabilizing effect of a monarch. (Woodruff XXVI.) Thucydides feels that human nature is wild and uncontrollable and must always continue to be trained and watched by a stronger being. That is why Thucydides had so much respect for a man like Pericles that he decided to mention many of the speeches made by him during the Peloponnesian is his histories. By putting Pericles' speeches in his histories he forever immortalized this man whom he felt had control of his nature and also had the ability to lead the people of Athens to victory in a proper and true Athenian way.
By writing down these speeches Thucydides also had a record that people could follow in the future when they came into conflict. The citizens could read these speeches and be inspired by the powerful words of Thucydides a man whose human nature was that to be aspired to by every other man. At the same time however Thucydides is bringing to light the power that one man can possess over people whose human nature has gone wild and weak. This is why Pericles was able to convince the entire Athenian body of citizens to continue fighting the Spartans and their allies and not accept peace. Thucydides views human nature as the ultimate tool used by the famous speakers of ancient Greece in order to persuade the weaker minds of the average citizen of Athens into believing that what they are saying is best for everybody. He views this as both a necessity for the government to successfully function, but at the same time he sees it as a way for the speaker to gain power in the interest of himself and not the state. In this regard Thucydides regards human nature as always have some slight deception and ill-cause. It is the people whom, however, show the least amount of these qualities in their nature that must rise up and lead the mass of people in times that a decision is needed, because if there was no person like a person the dark human nature of the ordinary citizen would destroy all that Athens and her policies stood for.
It is for this reason in part that Thucydides recorded these speeches of people such as Pericles, because he felt that human nature was and always would be dark and especially in times of war. So he knew that later in the future the people might need to have a reference to what was the proper way to conduct themselves in these times of crisis and that it would take the words of a wise man in order to keep the nature of man from ruining the greatness that there was at Athen.
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Image Source:
Education of Athenian Youth- Berlin Antikensammlung-www.perseus.tufts.edu.
Book Source: Woodruff, Paul. "Thucydides On Justice Power and Human Nature."