Introduction
Pericles was an Athenian statesman who became a prominent thinker and influenced the course of the Peloponnesian War. Additionally, the direction of Athenian politics was primarily shaped by the treatises and statements of Pericles as a significant person in the context of state activities. His speeches at different periods must be studied to understand their impact on the state and foreign policy. Comparing Pericles’ tone in different treatises can help form an opinion about his political actions and leadership.
Message Change
The changes in Pericles’ speeches were mainly due to the complex military situation, which influenced his further political actions. The combination of patriotic and inspiring tone in this speech positively impacted the mood of the soldiers and those who were just about to go to war (Thucydides, 1972). This effect was achieved by presenting the advantages of the Athenian political organization compared to the Spartans. Pericles depicted democratic values as an ideal system that should win under any circumstances. The figure’s message in “The Funeral Oration” was one of the last that retained the traditional spirit of presenting the supremacy of Athenian civilization.
As hostilities progressed, the tone of Pericles’ speeches noticeably changed, making them more depressing. Athens faced the ravages of war and plague, which led Pericles to broadcast more negative sentiments. This was seen in “Policy,” a collection of speeches a statesman proclaimed at a specified stage during developing events (Thucydides, 1972). These statements are characterized by a more pragmatic approach than the one that sounded at the beginning of his statements.
At this stage, Pericles pays attention to the importance of taking good care of the city’s resources so that all residents can survive the war. In addition, such warnings also concerned human resources without saving them, which, in the speaker’s opinion, would make further continuation of hostilities impossible (Thucydides, 1972). This change in tone was provoked by a protracted conflict in which Athens began to lose noticeably.
Political Action and Leadership
The circumstances around the changing political situation and the tone of Pericles’ speeches may indicate several essential factors, such as the tactical actions of the army and the position of a leader in society. One of the conclusions regarding Pericles’s political leadership and actions can be the pragmatism he showed at the beginning of hostilities.
The strategists developed relatively high-quality tactics that allowed Athens to resist a numerically superior enemy for a long time. An adequate perception of reality significantly allowed Pericles to create a suitable strategy to confront the Spartan troops (Thucydides, 1972). However, this approach stopped working because the war lasted too long. The inability to adapt to this outcome is another conclusion that comes from the speeches discussed by the politician.
The only manifestation of acceptance of the current situation was that Pericles began to understand the difficulties caused by the military situation in the area. Leaders must make difficult decisions that could affect the army’s performance in difficult circumstances. Pericles partially realized the harm of idealism and the need to make fundamental changes to influence the course of battles. However, his decisions and their reflection in the politician’s subsequent speeches indicated their extreme failure (Thucydides, 1972). This was manifested in the fact that Pericles, in speeches from the collection “Policy,” began to prepare people for the losses that they may encounter in the future.
An important conclusion from the analyzed treatises can be that the political actions and leadership of the figure led to a loss of authority and trust on the part of the people. Failure to anticipate the needs of rural and urban populations played an essential role in how Pericles structured his tactics (Thucydides, 1972). Closing all the people in Athens for defense in depth was a critically fatal decision for the strategic development of events.
Pericles’ speeches, in most cases, had the necessary effect on the people to calm them down and prevent them from committing impulsive actions. However, the Athenian population’s unity lasted until the polis’ citizens began to understand that the war would inevitably be lost. Thus, the speeches discussed suggest that political action and the strategist’s leadership played an essential role in preventing internal strife before the genesis of events (Thucydides, 1972). Nevertheless, despite the complexity of the war, Pericles’s speech reflects that his actions maintained a sufficient balance between idealism and pragmatism, which allowed him to defend himself for a long time with the help of small forces.
The “Mytilenean Debate” and the “Melian Dialogue” were critical elements during the Peloponnesian War. The first concept characterized the opposition between impulsiveness and rationality about the inhabitants of Mytilene, whom the Athenians initially wanted to show cruelty due to their separation from the Athenian Empire (Thucydides, 1972).
However, the decision was later changed, which showed the ability of the citizens of the policy to think more rationally and farsightedly. The “Melian Dialogue” emphasizes the power of military force over morality as the Athenians used their force to persuade the city of Melos to an alliance (Thucydides, 1972). Thus, Pericles’ foreign policy was quite aggressive towards other city-states.
Conclusion
Comparing Pericles’ tone during different periods of the war allowed us to evaluate his political and strategic actions as a leader. The idealistic and inspiring motives at the beginning of the war gradually began to give way to more gloomy ones due to the number of military losses. In addition, an essential factor in this was that Athens was forced to a greater extent on the defensive, which complicated the army’s activities. Pericles’ political leadership and actions were adequate to the extent possible given the circumstances.
Reference
Thucydides. (1972). History of the Peloponnesian War Finley, M. (Ed.), Warner, R. (Trans.). Penguin Classics.
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