After the election in America last month, I decided to read The Peloponnesian War by Donald Kagan. During that 30-year-long war from 431- 404 BCE Athens fell from the its place as the pre-eminent power and the leading democracy in the Eurasian world to a defeated country under a tyrannical oligarchy. The oligarchy took over in 411 BCE.
Sparta finally won the war in 404 BCE, but allowed Athens to restore democracy. Several years later the Spartan empire began to crumble. Athens held on to democracy for another 80 years until the region fell under the sway of Alexander the Great.
I was interested in how Athens went from its dominant place under Pericles to defeat and ruin. Pericles is so revered for his leadership in government and in battle that it was sad to read how his strategy of restraint early in the war lead to financial ruin, to plague by crowding people into the city walls, and to eventual defeat even at sea.
For much of the war, both Athens and Sparta fought battles to keep their allies on their side or to punish allies that deserted them. As I read about these shifting allegiances I thought of how rapidly the world is changing now.
Bi-lateral alliances are the preference of tyrants. They want to make direct deals. Only democracies make grand, durable alliances. But in a world falling into oligarchy and tyranny as we are now, grand alliances don't survive.
Right now NATO exists and has expanded in the face of Russian invasion and tyranny. NATO added Sweden and Finland. NATO currently includes Hungary and Turkey. Can NATO survive with anti-democratic member states? When Syria collapses, Turkey will surely invade and try to take territory it claims as its own. Turkey will attack Syrian Kurds first.
Kurds by their actions are our best ally in the region. We betrayed and abandoned them in 1991 and 2018. Will we do it again?
I am currently living in Panama. In our hyper-connected world, I can watch the wars in Middle East and Ukraine on TV and my iPhone. I can also get news from home about America's accelerating descent into oligarchy. Rich, famous and shallow people will soon be in charge in Washington just as they were in Athens in 411 BCE when the oligarchy took over there.
The hero of the restoration of democracy in Athens was the general Thrasybulus. Will a great democratic leader emerge in the United States of America? Rome lost its Republic and remained under the rule of Caesars until its demise. Either path is very possible.
Hello sir, I came across your blog after searching for SPQR. I was going to correct you but then I started reading more and thought it would be a good idea to collaborate. I'm a classicist, not a vet. That said, I attended a NEH Program for finding out what classics has to say about PTSD. And had some profound discussions with active service and veterans.
ReplyDeleteI spent a year in Philadelphia (Fishtown), as classics gets together to talk about things like inclusion, and not doing a thing to help communities, I admire you.
I wanted to recommend two books for you (please don't interpret this as an academic assignment, I am not like that): Achilles in Vietnam and Odysseus in America. Dr. Shay, 20+years at the VA has some very compelling things to say about The Iliad and opened a door to do many things. The first and most important, hearing veteran stories, if they want to talk, and get the suicide rate down. The second is reading tragedy as a form of therapy. In America we live in this time where it seems like there are many scared white men for a lot of reasons. The people that I am talking about do not understand fear or worse, the loss of a comrade.
I am at Rutgers but also work for a non-profit, if you are interested in collaborating on a blog post, or talking about whatever you want (problems with classics/imperialism, the hope I have that African Americans and their poetry be included in western canon. Or if you know of people who are suffering and think I am talking some sense and come from a place of compassion.
I'll leave you with Nicias speech, Book VI.9, "Although this assembly was convened to consider the preparations to be made for sailing to Sicily, I think, notwithstanding, that we have still this question to examine, whether it be better to send out the ships at all, and that we ought not to give so little consideration to a matter of such moment, or let ourselves be persuaded by foreigners into undertaking a war with which we have nothing to do. [2] And yet, individually, I gain in honour by such a course, and fear as little as other men for my person—not that I think a man need be any the worse citizen for taking some thought for his person and estate; on the contrary, such a man would for his own sake desire the prosperity of his country more than others—nevertheless, as I have never spoken against my convictions to gain honour, I shall not begin to do so now, but shall say what I think best. [3] Against your character any words of mine would be weak enough; if I were to advise your keeping what you have got and not risking what is actually yours for advantages which are dubious in themselves, and which you may or may not attain. I will, therefore, content myself with showing that your ardour is out of season, and your ambition not easy of accomplishment."
My email is chrispton22@gmail.com. Thanks.I can provide the books, the ones mentioned and a ridiculous amount of others. Pick a war/period in antiquity.