Transcript The Plague in Athens, 430 BC

History-writing in the Ancient
World
Sources
The following pages are the six sources
combined with the source analysis questions
in a student scaffold
Authorship: Who wrote the document? Where did he come from?
Was he an eye-witness of the events described? Judge whether he
had a particular point-of-view, or perspective, and what it was?
Audience: Who did the author write for? Who might be interested
in this information? What do you think a ‘physician’ is?
The Plague in Athens, 430 BC
... I had the disease myself, and watched its effects of others...As a rule, however, there was no ostensible cause; but people in good
health were all of a sudden attacked by violent heats in the head, and redness and inflammation in the eyes, the inward parts, such as
the throat or tongue, becoming bloody and emitting an unnatural and fetid breath. These symptoms were followed by sneezing and
hoarseness, after which the pain soon reached the chest, and produced a hard cough. When it fixed in the stomach, it upset it; and
discharges of bile of every kind named by physicians ensued, accompanied by very great distress. In most cases also an ineffectual
retching followed, producing violent spasms, which in some cases ceased soon after, in others much later. Externally the body was not
very hot to the touch, nor pale in its appearance, but reddish, livid, and breaking out into small pustules and ulcers. But internally it
burned so that the patient could not bear to have on him clothing or linen even of the very lightest description; or indeed to be
otherwise than stark naked. What they would have liked best would have been to throw themselves into cold water; as indeed was done
by some of the neglected sick, who plunged into the rain-tanks in their agonies of unquenchable thirst; though it made no difference
whether they drank little or much. Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War Book 2 writing around 403 BC, Athenian
general and historian
Purpose: What is the author describing? List three symptoms.
Why do you think the author wanted to record these events?
Conclusion: How might an historian living today use this source?
Write a one paragraph summation of this material OR an
evaluation of what it tells us about ancient times.
Which language?
The Plague in Athens, 430 BC
ἐγὼ δὲ οἷόν τε ἐγίγνετο λέξω, καὶ ἀφ᾽ ὧν ἄν τις σκοπῶν, εἴ ποτε καὶ αὖθις ἐπιπέσοι,
μάλιστ᾽ ἂν ἔχοι τι προειδὼς μὴ ἀγνοεῖν, ταῦτα δηλώσω αὐτός τε νοσήσας καὶ
αὐτὸς ἰδὼν ἄλλους πάσχοντας. τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἔτος, ὡς ὡμολογεῖτο, ἐκ πάντων
μάλιστα δὴ ἐκεῖνο ἄνοσον ἐς τὰς ἄλλας ἀσθενείας ἐτύγχανεν ὄν: εἰ δέ τις καὶ
προύκαμνέ τι, ἐς τοῦτο πάντα ἀπεκρίθη. τοὺς δὲ ἄλλους ἀπ᾽ οὐδεμιᾶς προφάσεως,
ἀλλ᾽ ἐξαίφνης ὑγιεῖς ὄντας πρῶτον μὲν τῆς κεφαλῆς θέρμαι ἰσχυραὶ καὶ τῶν
ὀφθαλμῶν ἐρυθήματα καὶ φλόγωσις ἐλάμβανε, καὶ τὰ ἐντός, ἥ τε φάρυγξ καὶ ἡ
γλῶσσα, εὐθὺς αἱματώδη ἦν καὶ πνεῦμα ἄτοπον καὶ δυσῶδες ἠφίει: Thucydides
History of the Peloponnesian War Book 2 writing around 403 BC, Athenian
general and historian
Authorship: Who wrote the document? Where did he come from?
Which language? What reasons does the author give for studying
history?
Audience: Why would his audience be interested in ‘vicissitudes
of fortune’, the ‘calamities of others’, and the unexpectedness of
events? What does this tell us about his history?
1. Had previous chroniclers neglected to speak in praise of History in general, it might perhaps have been necessary for me to recommend
everyone to choose for study and welcome such treatises as the present, since men have no more ready corrective of conduct than
knowledge of the past. 2 But all historians, one may say without exception, and in no half-hearted manner, but making this the beginning
and end of their labour, have impressed on us that the soundest education and training for a life of active politics is the study of History,
and that surest and indeed the only method of learning how to bear bravely the vicissitudes of fortune, is to recall the calamities of others.
3 Evidently therefore no one, and least of all myself, would think it his duty at this day to repeat what has been so well and so often said.
4 For the very element of unexpectedness in the events I have chosen as my theme will be sufficient to challenge and incite everyone,
young and old alike, to peruse my systematic history. 5 For who is so worthless or indolent as not to wish to know by what means and
under what system of polity the Romans in less than fifty-three years have succeeded in subjecting nearly the whole inhabited world to
their sole government — a thing unique in history? Polybius The Histories Book I writing around 146-120 BC, Greek hostage living
in Rome
Purpose: How many years does the author say it took the Romans
to build an empire? What is the subject of his history? Why did the
author write this history?
Conclusion: How might an historian living today use this source?
Write a one paragraph summation of this material OR an
evaluation of what it tells us about ancient times.
Which language?
Εἰ μὲν τοῖς πρὸ ἡμῶν ἀναγράφουσι τὰς πράξεις παραλελεῖφθαι συνέβαινε
τὸν ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς τῆς ἱστορίας ἔπαινον, ἴσως ἀναγκαῖον ἦν τὸ προτρέπεσθαι
πάντας πρὸς τὴν αἵρεσιν καὶ παραδοχὴν τῶν τοιούτων ὑπομνημάτων διὰ τὸ
μηδεμίαν ἑτοιμοτέραν εἶναι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις διόρθωσιν τῆς τῶν
προγεγενημένων πράξεων ἐπιστήμης. ἐπεὶ δ᾽ οὐ τινὲς οὐδ᾽ ἐπὶ ποσόν, ἀλλὰ
πάντες ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν ἀρχῇ καὶ τέλει κέχρηνται τούτῳ, φάσκοντες
ἀληθινωτάτην μὲν εἶναι παιδείαν καὶ γυμνασίαν πρὸς τὰς πολιτικὰς πράξεις
τὴν ἐκ τῆς ἱστορίας μάθησιν, ἐναργεστάτην δὲ καὶ μόνην διδάσκαλον τοῦ
δύνασθαι τὰς τῆς τύχης μεταβολὰς γενναίως ὑποφέρειν τὴν τῶν ἀλλοτρίων
περιπετειῶν ὑπόμνησιν, Polybius The Histories Book I writing around
146-120 BC, Greek hostage living in Rome
Authorship: Who wrote the document? Where did he come from?
Which language? At what stage of his life did the author write
history? What did he do in his earlier life?
Audience: Why is the author writing in the first person? Do you
think the work was read to an audience before it was published?
Do you think his audience agreed with him that Roman
government had become ‘cruel and intolerable’?
When I myself was a young man, my inclinations at first led me, like many another, into public life, and there I encountered many
obstacles; for instead of modesty, incorruptibility and honesty, shamelessness, bribery and rapacity held sway...Accordingly, when my
mind found peace after many troubles and perils and I had determined that I must pass what was left of my life aloof from public affairs,
it was not my intention to waste my precious leisure in indolence and sloth, nor yet by turning to farming or the chase, to lead a life
devoted to slavish employments. On the contrary, I resolved to return to a cherished purpose from which ill-starred ambition had diverted
me, and write a history of the Roman people, selecting such portions as seemed to me worthy of record; and I was confirmed in this
resolution by the fact that my mind was free from hope, and fear, and partisanship. I shall therefore write briefly and as truthfully as
possible...But when our country had grown great through toil and the practice of justice, when great kings had been vanquished in war,
savage tribes and mighty peoples subdued by force of arms, when Carthage, the rival of Rome's sway, had perished root and branch, and
all seas and lands were open, then Fortune began to grow cruel and to bring confusion into all our affairs...Hence the lust for money first,
then for power, grew upon them; these were, I may say, the root of all evils. For avarice destroyed honour, integrity, and all other noble
qualities; taught in their place insolence, cruelty, to neglect the gods, to set a price on everything. Ambition drove many men to become
false... finally, when the disease had spread like a deadly plague, the state was changed and a government second to none in equity and
excellence became cruel and intolerable. Sallust ius Crispus The War With Catiline writing around 50-35 BC, Roman senator and
historian
Purpose: Why did the author write history? What does ‘ worthy of
record’ mean? Did he have a particular point-of-view? What words
does he use to describe the Roman system of government?
Conclusion: How might an historian living today use this source?
Write a one paragraph summation of this material OR an
evaluation of what it tells us about ancient times.
Which language?
Omnis homines, qui sese student praestare ceteris animalibus, summa ope niti
decet, ne vitam silentio transeant veluti pecora, quae natura prona atque ventri
oboedientia finxit. Sed nostra omnis vis in animo et corpore sita est: animi
imperio, corporis servitio magis utimur; alterum nobis cum dis, alterum cum
beluis commune est. Quo mihi rectius videtur ingeni quam virium opibus
gloriam quaerere et, quoniam vita ipsa, qua fruimur, brevis est, memoriam
nostri quam maxume longam efficere.Sallust ius Crispus The War With
Catiline writing around 50-35 BC, Roman senator and historian
Authorship: Who wrote the document? Where did he come from?
Which language? Was he an eye-witness of the events described?
If not, how did he know of the events he describes?
Audience: Who did the author write for? What types of things do
you think his audience were interested in?
Hannibal crosses the Alps, 218 BC
37 At last, when men and beasts alike were worn out by their fruitless exertions, a camp was formed on the summit, after the place had
been cleared with immense difficulty owing to the quantity of snow that had to be removed. The next thing was to level the rock through
which alone a road was practicable. The soldiers were ordered off to cut through it. They built up against it an enormous pile of tall trees
which they had felled and lopped, and when the wind was strong enough to blow up the fire they set light to the pile. When the rock was
red hot they poured vinegar upon it to disintegrate it. After thus treating it by fire they opened a way through it with their tools, and eased
the steep slope by winding tracks of moderate gradient, so that not only the baggage animals but even the elephants could be led down.
Four days were spent over the rock, and the animals were almost starved to death, for the heights are mostly bare of vegetation and what
herbage there is buried beneath the snow. In the lower levels there were sunny valleys and streams flowing through woods, and spots
more deserving of human inhabitants. Here the beasts were turned loose to graze, and the troops, worn out with their engineering, were
allowed to rest. In three days more they reached the open plains and found a pleasanter country and pleasanter people living in it. Titus
Livius (Livy) The History of Rome Book 21 writing around 28 BC- 17 AD, Roman Knight and historian
Purpose: Why did the author write history? Did you find the
passage interesting and entertaining? Why? Did you find it easier
to read than other ancient historians? Why?
Conclusion: How might an historian living today use this source?
Write a one paragraph summation of this material OR an
evaluation of what it tells us about ancient times.
Which language?
Hannibal crosses the Alps, 218 BC
37 tandem nequiquam iumentis atque hominibus fatigatis castra in iugo
posita, aegerrime ad id ipsum loco purgato—tantum nivis fodiendum atque
egerendum fuit. inde ad rupem muniendam, per quam unam via esse poterat,
milites ducti, cum caedendum esset saxum, arboribus circa immanibus
deiectis detruncatisque struem ingentem lignorum faciunt eamque, cum et vis
venti apta1 faciendo igni coorta esset, succendunt ardentiaque saxa infuso
aceto putrefaciunt. ita torridam incendio rupem ferro pandunt molliuntque
anfractibus modicis clivos ut non iumenta solum, sed elephanti etiam deduci
possent. quadriduum circa rupem consumptum iumentis prope fame
absumptis; nuda enim fere cacumina sunt, et si quid est pabuli obruunt nives.
inferiora valles et apricos quosdam colles habent rivosque et prope silvas et
iam humano cultu digniora loca. Titus Livius (Livy) The History of Rome
Book 21 writing around 28 BC- 17 AD, Roman Knight and historian
Authorship: Who wrote the document? Was he an eye-witness of
the events described? What did he do for a career? Judge whether
he had a particular point-of-view, or perspective, and what it was?
Audience: Who did the author write for? Why does he refer to who
the consuls were? Does the speech add drama to the story? Why
was Cordus tried?
The Death of Cremutius Cordus , the Historian, 25 AD
When Cornelius Cossus and Asinius Agrippa were the consuls, Cremutius Cordus was prosecuted, with the new and for the first time
heard charge, of publishing a history in which he had praised Brutus, and had called Cassius the last of the Romans. Clients of Sejanus,
Satrius Secundus and Pinarius Natta, were the prosectors. That was ruinous for Cremutius - as was the Emperor’s grim expression
hearing the defence, which Cremutius, already resolved upon abandoning life, began in the following way:
Senators, my words are being denounced; so guiltless of deeds am I. And nor are my words with reference to the Emperor or the father
of the Emperor, whom the law of treason embraces. I am said to have praised Brutus and Cassius, of whose public deeds many have
written, and whom no-one remembered without respect... But to freely express an opinion about those whom death had released from
hatred or partiality was totally exempt and without hindrance. Indeed are the armed Brutus and Cassius on the plains of Philippi and am
I inciting the people from the platform to the cause of civil war. Or even though they were destroyed seventy years ago, aren’t they
known by their own wax effigies, which the victor certainly did not abolish, and so through historians they remain a part of our
memory? Posterity repays to every man his own dignity. Nor will those be wanting, if condemnation is imminent, who will not just
remember Cassius and Brutus but also myself.” Then he marched from the Senate and ended his life by starvation. Tacitus Roman
History (14 - 70 A.D.) Book 3, ch. 34-35 writing around 100-118 AD, Roman senator and historian
Purpose: Why did the author write this passage? Is it relevant that
the historian is writing about the persecution of another historian
by an emperor? Why is free speech important for history-writing?
Conclusion: How might an historian living today use this source?
Write a one paragraph summation of this material OR an
evaluation of what it tells us about ancient times.
Which language?
The Death of Cremutius Cordus , the Historian, 25 AD
Cornelio Cosso Asinio Agrippa consulibus Cremutius Cordus postulatur
novo ac tunc primum audito crimine, quod editis annalibus laudatoque M.
Bruto C. Cassium Romanorum ultimum dixisset. accusabant Satrius
Secundus et Pinarius Natta, Seiani clientes. id perniciabile reo et Caesar truci
vultu defensionem accipiens, quam Cremutius relinquendae vitae certus in
hunc modum exorsus est: 'verba mea, patres conscripti, arguuntur: adeo
factorum innocens sum. sed neque haec in principem aut principis parentem,
quos lex maiestatis amplectitur: Brutum et Cassium laudavisse dicor, quorum
res gestas cum plurimi composuerint, nemo sine honore memoravit. Tacitus
Roman History (14 - 70 A.D.) Book 3, ch. 34-35 writing around 100-118
AD, Roman senator and historian
Authorship: Who wrote the document? Were they an eye-witness
of the events described? Where did he come from? Which
language? What did he do for a career?
Audience: Who did the author write for? What types of things do
you think his audience were interested in? Determine whether this
was important for the subject matter and the style of the writing?
The Author’s Flight from the Siege of Amida, 359 AD
Therefore when the darkness of evening was coming on...I hid with two others in a secluded part of the city, and under cover of a dark
night made my escape through a postern gate at which no guard was kept; and, aided by my familiarity with desert places and by the
speed of my companions, I at length reached the tenth milestone. At the post-house there we got a little rest, and when we were making
ready to go farther and I was already unequal to the excessive walking, to which as a gentleman I was unused, I met a terrible sight,
which however furnished me a most timely relief, worn out as I was by extreme weariness. A groom, mounted on a runaway horse
without saddle or bit, in order not to fall off had tied the rein by which, in the usual manner, the horse was guided, tightly to his left
hand; and afterwards, being thrown off and unable to loose the knot, he was torn limb from limb as he was dragged through desert
places and woods, while the animal, exhausted by running, was held back by the weight of the dead body... From there we quickly
made our way to the Euphrates river, planning to cross to the farther bank by a boat which long continued custom had kept in that
vicinity for the transport of men and animals. But lo! we saw afar off a scattered band of Romans with cavalry standards, pursued by a
great force of Persians; and we could not understand how they appeared so suddenly behind us as we went along... Alarmed by this
danger, since now all hope of life depended upon speed, through thickets and woods we made for the higher mountains. Ammianus
Marcellinus The Roman History writing around 390 AD, Roman Government official, Syrian living in Rome
Purpose: Why did the author write history? Did you find the
passage interesting and entertaining? Why? Did you find it easier
to read than other ancient historians? Why?
Conclusion: How might an historian living today use this source?
Write a one paragraph summation of this material OR an
evaluation of what it tells us about ancient times.
Which language?
The Author’s Flight from the Siege of Amida, 359 AD
Itaque vespera tenebrante, cum adhuc licet iniqua reluctante fortuna,
multitudo nostrorum manu conserta distringeretur, in abstrusa quadam parte
oppidi cum duobus aliis latens, obscurae praesidio noctis postica per quam
nihil servabatur evado, et squalentum peritia locorum, comitumque adiutus
celeritate, ad decimum lapidem tandem perveni. In qua statione lenius
recreati, cum ire protinus pergeremus, et incedendi nimietate iam superarer,
ut insuetus ingenuus, offendi dirum aspectum, sed fatigato mihi lassitudine
gravi levamen impendio tempestivum. Ammianus Marcellinus The
Roman History writing around 390 AD, Roman Government official,
Syrian living in Rome
The full texts
• The following texts are held by the teacher for you to use and refer to:
– Herodotus, Rawlinson, G., & Blakeney, E. H. (1910). The history of Herodotus.
London: Dent.
– Thucydides, Warner, R., & Finley, M. I. (1972). History of the Peloponnesian
War (Rev. ed.). Harmondsworth, England ; Ringwood, Vic: Penguin Books.
– Polybius. (1922). The histories of Polybius. London: Heinemann.
– Sallust. (1963). The Jugurthine War ; The conspiracy of Catiline. In S. A.
Handford (Ed.) Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books.
– Tacitus & Grant, M. (1996). The annals of imperial Rome (Rev. ed.).
Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
– Ammianus Marcellinus (1986). The later Roman Empire (A.D. 354-378) (W.
Hamilton & A. Wallace-Hadrill, Trans.). Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin
Books.
– Hornblower, S., & Spawforth, A. (2003). The Oxford classical dictionary (3rd
ed.). Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press.