Thucydides Essay -- Ancient History, Greek

In the year 426, the tensions between the oligarchs (the rich minority) and the democrats (poor majority) rose so high, that it developed into a civil war. It had begun with the democrats tricking the oligarchs in to believing that Thucydides recounts the events that took place during the civil war in Corcyra. He claims that the civil war was just the first of many within Greece. Once word spread to the rest of the country with what happened in Corcyra, many civil wars broke out between many political groups (3.82) The varying political ideas among the two main parties created even more of a division than there already was, setting the two groups into a major civil war. Thucydides explains it best in saying â€Å"civil war brought many hardships to the cities [...] and will happen always as long as human nature is the same.† (3.82) It just takes one disagreement between the oligarchs and democrats to set everything in motion. One of the major issues however, was during the civil war, the Corcyreans had nearly lost all of their human compassion and values. Throughout this paper, three of the major values that were lost during the civil war will be addressed, along with Thucydides’ reasoning as to why they were lost. One of the first values that were re-evaluated according to Thucydides was that there was a tendency to change the meanings of things to justify their actions: to give more credence to what they were doing. Thucydides mentions how â€Å"ill-considered boldness was counted as loyal manliness; prudent hesitation was held to be cowardice in disguise, and moderation merely the cloak of an unmanly nature.† (3.82) Furthermore, â€Å"a mind that could grasp the good of the whole was considered wholly lazy.† (3.82) Thucydides is s... ....84), you’re faced with a very real possibility of civil war. As we have seen, Thucydides attributes a large amount of the civil war to ones predisposed thirst for blood and savagery. Having examined three different values that were lost among the Corcyreans during the civil war, as well as Thucydides beliefs to why it happened, will provide a better understanding of human nature during ancient Greece. The civil war in Corcyra between the oligarchs and the democrats was one of the first in Greece, but it most certainly was not he last. Once word had spread throughout Greece about the events in Corcyra, many of the Greek cities had engaged in a war similar to that of the Corcyreans. In civil war, as is in any war, it promotes our most primal and aggressive desires and allows them to surface and in a time of peace, any and all aggression, is easily lost.