"Pericles and the Peloponnesian War​" Topic

"Thucydides's account of the Peloponnesian War provides for a range of lessons about the nature of strategy applicable to a wide audience. The period demonstrates the inherent complexity in understanding the concept of strategy, a concept that remains devoid of a coherent, agreed, and universal definition. What is certain is that strategy indeed exists, with survival of the state and subsequently the pursuit of power as key features, and is ultimately a fundamental element of statecraft. Simply, strategy is taken here to mean how the objectives of the state (the purpose, or ends) are achieved through the actions of the state (the means, or combat).

A senior Athenian statesman and general of the Peloponnesian War, Pericles provided Athens a central figure whose genius and understanding of the nature of strategy contributed greatly to the growth of the Athenian Empire. Sparta, the main rival to Athenian power, despised the Athenian democratic way of life, and felt threatened by the expansion of its empire around the Mediterranean. Equally, Sparta (and her allies) feared for the survivial of their own Peloponnesian League owing to the growth of Athenian hegemony. The clash of wills that ensued was an outcome of the power struggle between the Athenian democracy and the Spartan oligarchy…"
Main page
link

Amicalement
Armand