Transcript Peithō on Trial: Aeschylus’ Oresteia

Exemplary Statesman or
Stealthy Tyrant?
Plutarch’s Life of Pericles
Periclēs turannos?
“A certain persuasion resided on his lips, such was his
magic. And he alone of speakers could leave behind a sting
in his listeners.”
(Eupolis Demes fr. 102 PCG, on Pericles’ rhetoric)
“Athens was in name a democracy, but in fact was a
government by its first man”
(Thucydides on Pericles, History p. 57)
“He came to hold more power in his hands than many a
king and tyrant”
(Plutarch’s Pericles p. 182)
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Agenda
•
Oral Report (cont’d)
•
Recap and update. . .
•
Spin and Dialogue
•
Advisor or “Tyrant”?
• Monoson on Thucydides
• Pericles, Democracy, Empire, Spin
• Evaluative accent
• Revalorization
• The Pericles’ Debate
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Oral Report (cont’d)
Monoson on Thucydides
Recap and update. . .
Pericles, Democracy, Empire, Spin
Athenian Democracy ca. 485
“The polis . . .
9 archons
10
stratēgoi
dēmos
diskastēria
Areopagus…
boulē 500
. . . of the Athenians”
Athenian Democracy 461
“The polis . . .
9 archons
10
stratēgoi
dēmos
diskastēria
boulē 500
. . . of the Athenians”
Timeline
495 Pericles born to Xanthippus and Agariste
477 Delian League founded. (454 treasury transferred to Athens.)
463-1 Ephialtes ascendant. Areopagus partially disempowered.
461 Ephialtes murdered.
461-429 Pericles ascendant.
• Archonship qualification broadened (458)
• Archons, jurors paid
• Archonship, council lottery absolute
• Pericles’ citizenship legislation (451/50)
• Free speech (isegoria) achieved
• Liturgy system introduced/perfected
458 Oresteia produced.
447 Parthenon begun.
446/5 30-years peace, Athens-Peloponnesians.
442 Adopts sever style.
431-404 Peloponnesian war.
Spin and Dialogue
• Evaluative accent
• Revalorization
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Spin in Thucydides …
• Debate at Sparta
polupragmosunē
versus
apragmosunē
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• Corinthian
• Athenian
• Spartan
• Archidamus
• Stheneleidas
argument
from
probability
• Pericles’ first speech
• Funeral Oration
• Pericles Last Speech
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Pericles’ and His Several Masks
• Exemplary statesman?
• Resourceful demagogue?
• Stealth tyrant?
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Fit Man to Model. . .
QUOTES
ANALYTIC CONCEPTS
• “Whenever I throw him at
wrestling, he beats me by arguing
that he was never down”
• “He succeeded in bribing the
masses wholesale” (ca. 462)
• “The secret of [his] power
depended … not merely on his
oratory, but [on his proving]
himself … indifferent to bribes”
• “He was usually able to carry the
people with him by rational
argument and by persuasion”
• “He was no longer so docile
toward the people” (444-429)
• Speech acts generally
• “Ideological chain”
• Spin
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– evaluative accent
– revalorization
• Dahl’s criteria
– effective participation
– enlightened understanding
• Mass-elite dialectic
• Homonoia v. isēgoria
• Frank v. gratifying speech
– parrhēsia v. kolakeia
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Advisor or “Tyrant”?
The Pericles’ Debate
Journal & Class Debate
RESOLVED: Periclean democracy
was democratic in fact as well as
in name.