Style and Necessity in Thucydides

Style and Necessity in Thucydides PDF Author: TOBIAS. JOHO
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198812043
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 369

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Book Description
Ancient literary critics were struck by what they described as Thucydides' "nominal style," a term that refers to Thucydides' fondness for abstract nominal phrases. As this book shows, Thucydides frequently uses these phrases instead of approximately synonymous verbal and personalconstructions. These stylistic choices tend to deemphasize human agency: people find themselves in a passive role, exposed to incidents happening to them rather than being actively in charge of events. Thus, the analysis of the abstract style raises the question of necessity in Thucydides.On numerous occasions, Thucydides and his speakers use impersonal and passive language to stress the subjection of human beings to transpersonal forces that manifest themselves in collective passions and an inherent dynamic of events. These factors are constitutive of the human condition and becomea substitute for the notion of divine fatalism prevalent in earlier Greek thought. Yet Thucydidean necessity is not absolute. It stands in the tradition of a type of fatalism that one finds in Homer and Herodotus. In these authors, the gods or fate tend to settle the outcome of the most significantevents, but they leave leeway for the specific way in which these pivotal events come to pass. Thus, the Greeks endorsed a malleable variant of necessity, so that considerable scope for human choice persists within the framework fixed by necessity. Pericles turns out to be Thucydides' prime exampleof an individual who uses the leeway left by necessity for prudent interventions into the course of events.

Style and Necessity in Thucydides

Style and Necessity in Thucydides PDF Author: TOBIAS. JOHO
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198812043
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 369

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Book Description
Ancient literary critics were struck by what they described as Thucydides' "nominal style," a term that refers to Thucydides' fondness for abstract nominal phrases. As this book shows, Thucydides frequently uses these phrases instead of approximately synonymous verbal and personalconstructions. These stylistic choices tend to deemphasize human agency: people find themselves in a passive role, exposed to incidents happening to them rather than being actively in charge of events. Thus, the analysis of the abstract style raises the question of necessity in Thucydides.On numerous occasions, Thucydides and his speakers use impersonal and passive language to stress the subjection of human beings to transpersonal forces that manifest themselves in collective passions and an inherent dynamic of events. These factors are constitutive of the human condition and becomea substitute for the notion of divine fatalism prevalent in earlier Greek thought. Yet Thucydidean necessity is not absolute. It stands in the tradition of a type of fatalism that one finds in Homer and Herodotus. In these authors, the gods or fate tend to settle the outcome of the most significantevents, but they leave leeway for the specific way in which these pivotal events come to pass. Thus, the Greeks endorsed a malleable variant of necessity, so that considerable scope for human choice persists within the framework fixed by necessity. Pericles turns out to be Thucydides' prime exampleof an individual who uses the leeway left by necessity for prudent interventions into the course of events.

Style and Necessity in Thucydides

Style and Necessity in Thucydides PDF Author: Tobias Joho
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192540033
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 369

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Book Description
Ancient literary critics were struck by what they described as Thucydides' "nominal style," a term that refers to Thucydides' fondness for abstract nominal phrases. As this book shows, Thucydides frequently uses these phrases instead of approximately synonymous verbal and personal constructions. These stylistic choices tend to deemphasize human agency: people find themselves in a passive role, exposed to incidents happening to them rather than being actively in charge of events. Thus, the analysis of the abstract style raises the question of necessity in Thucydides. On numerous occasions, Thucydides and his speakers use impersonal and passive language to stress the subjection of human beings to transpersonal forces that manifest themselves in collective passions and an inherent dynamic of events. These factors are constitutive of the human condition and become a substitute for the notion of divine fatalism prevalent in earlier Greek thought. Yet Thucydidean necessity is not absolute. It stands in the tradition of a type of fatalism that one finds in Homer and Herodotus. In these authors, the gods or fate tend to settle the outcome of the most significant events, but they leave leeway for the specific way in which these pivotal events come to pass. Thus, the Greeks endorsed a malleable variant of necessity, so that considerable scope for human choice persists within the framework fixed by necessity. Pericles turns out to be Thucydides' prime example of an individual who uses the leeway left by necessity for prudent interventions into the course of events.

The Oxford Handbook of Thucydides

The Oxford Handbook of Thucydides PDF Author: Ryan Balot
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190647744
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 801

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Book Description
The Oxford Handbook of Thucydides contains newly commissioned essays on Thucydides as an historian, thinker, and writer. It also features chapters on Thucydides' intellectual context and ancient reception. The creative juxtaposition of historical, literary, philosophical, and reception studies allows for a better grasp of Thucydides' complex project and its intellectual context, while at the same time providing a comprehensive introduction to the author's ideas. The volume is organized into four sections of papers: History, Historiography, Political Theory, and Context and Reception. It therefore bridges traditionally divided disciplines. The authors engaged to write the forty chapters for this volume include both well-known scholars and less well-known innovators, who bring fresh ideas and new points of view. Articles avoid technical jargon and long footnotes, and are written in an accessible style. Finally, the volume includes a thorough introduction prefacing each paper, as well as several maps and an up-to-date bibliography that will enable further study. The Oxford Handbook of Thucydides offers a comprehensive introduction to a thinker and writer whose simultaneous depth and innovativeness have been the focus of intense literary and philosophical study since ancient times.

On Justice, Power & Human Nature

On Justice, Power & Human Nature PDF Author: Thucydides
Publisher: Hackett Publishing Company Incorporated
ISBN: 9780872201699
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 172

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Book Description
Designed for students with little or no background in ancient Greek language and culture, this collection of extracts from The History of the Peloponnesian War includes those passages that shed most light on Thucydides' political theory--famous as well as important but lesser-known pieces frequently overlooked by nonspecialists. Newly translated into spare, vigorous English, and situated within a connective narrative framework, Woodruff's selections will be of special interest to instructors in political theory and Greek civilization. Includes maps, notes, glossary.

Thucydides, Book IV

Thucydides, Book IV PDF Author: Thucydides
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Greece
Languages : en
Pages : 484

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Book Description


Thucydides Book IV

Thucydides Book IV PDF Author: Thucydides
Publisher: CUP Archive
ISBN:
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 120

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Book Description
This edition of Thucydides is in the original Greek and contains an introduction, generous notes and a vocabulary section.

Thucydides. Book 1. Edited by E.C. Marchant

Thucydides. Book 1. Edited by E.C. Marchant PDF Author: Thucydides
Publisher: Sagwan Press
ISBN: 9781340253691
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 342

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Book Description
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Thucydides Translated Into English; Volume 2

Thucydides Translated Into English; Volume 2 PDF Author: Thucydides
Publisher: Legare Street Press
ISBN: 9781020337277
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This masterful translation of Thucydides' epic history of the Peloponnesian War is an essential read for anyone interested in ancient Greece or military history. With its gripping narrative style and powerful insights into human nature, this work remains one of the most important texts of the Western canon. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Thucydides Book IV

Thucydides Book IV PDF Author: Thucydides
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521066341
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 468

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Book Description
Originally published in 1962, this edition was prepared for new students of Greek who had reached the stage of the 'First School Examination'. It contains chapters 1-41 of Thucydides, Book 4, in original Greek, together with an introduction, generous notes and a vocabulary section. This book will remain of value to anyone with an interest in ancient Greece and the teaching of Greek.

Thucydides and the Ancient Simplicity

Thucydides and the Ancient Simplicity PDF Author: Gregory Crane
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520918746
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 461

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Book Description
Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War is the earliest surviving realist text in the European tradition. As an account of the Peloponnesian War, it is famous both as an analysis of power politics and as a classic of political realism. From the opening speeches, Thucydides' Athenians emerge as a new and frightening source of power, motivated by self-interest and oblivious to the rules and shared values under which the Greeks had operated for centuries. Gregory Crane demonstrates how Thucydides' history brilliantly analyzes both the power and the dramatic weaknesses of realist thought. The tragedy of Thucydides' history emerges from the ultimate failure of the Athenian project. The new morality of the imperialists proved as conflicted as the old; history shows that their values were unstable and self-destructive. Thucydides' history ends with the recounting of an intellectual stalemate that, a century later, motivated Plato's greatest work. Thucydides and the Ancient Simplicity includes a thought-provoking discussion questioning currently held ideas of political realism and its limits. Crane's sophisticated claim for the continuing usefulness of the political examples of the classical past will appeal to anyone interested in the conflict between the exercise of political power and the preservation of human freedom and dignity.