Future historians writing about this period will undoubtedly take special note of the way in which the neoconservatives based their principles on half-baked readings of ancient history and philosophy. I'm not counting the late Leo Strauss, a real academic who had lively, perceptive things to say about Plato and other ancient writers. I'm thinking more of the people like William Kristol, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, and Michael Ledeen, who often seem to have only a partial understanding of the classics. For example, it always gives me a mordant chuckle to think of the name of the venture capital firm, Trireme, in which Richard Perle was a partner. The image of the Athenian trireme evokes the two conflicts in which it played a pivotal role, the Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian War. The first is a triumphal story of how Greek civilization mustered the resources and acumen to twice defeat major invasions by the Persian Empire. The second is a cautionary tale about how easily a great power can squander its most important assets, including its own principles.
Athens maintained its century-old democracy throughout most of the Peloponnesian War. (Like the Hundred Years War, the Peloponnesian War was actually a series of conflicts, interrupted by peace declarations and lulls in the fighting.) It wasn't until the disaster in Sicily that Athenian democracy was threatened. Athens had, for internal political reasons, turned what should have been a minor expedition into a major assault with the majority of its fleet and hoplites. As large as the venture was, it was assembled a bit too hastily, lacking the cavalry that proved to be a severe weakness in the Sicilian campaign.
A series of mistakes and misfortunes led to defeat. The Syracusans, with help from Sparta and its allies, destroyed the Athenian fleet and captured or killed most of its army. Athens never fully recovered, since the cost of rebuilding and maintaining the fleet proved too high—particularly when many of the cities in the Athenian empire revolted. Athens lost not only tribute, but a secure sea route for the grain it imported from the Black Sea. The Persian Empire's entry into the war tipped the scales against Athens even further.
In 411 BCE, soon after the Sicilian disaster, a group of oligarchs seized power in Athens. Arguing that the Athenians could not afford the luxury of a democracy any longer, they moved swiftly to enact a new constitution, which gave "The Four Hundred" control of the state.
Unfortunately for the oligarchs, their only political course was to bring the war to an immediate end. Continuing the war effort meant depending on the sailors who manned Athens triremes, a class in Athenian society that was strongly pro-democratic. These "citizen sailors" were the most immediate threat to the Four Hundred, who had otherwise terrorized or browbeaten other important groups into submission.
The oligarchs quickly drafted a proposal to Sparta that would have amounted to the unconditional surrender of Athens, which would cede all of its empire and even portions of Attica, the region surrounding the Athenian polis. The treaty would probably have handed Greek colonies in Ionia to the Persian Empire and made Sparta the hegemon over all that was left of an independent Greece. To save themselves, the oligarchs would have handed Sparta and the Persian Empire the greatest victory possible short of the annihilation of Athens.
Fortunately, democratic factions regained power. What followed was several years of war in which, had Athens not been Athens, another city-state probably would have been defeated far earlier. Athens won many battles, lost others. However, the Athenians were never able to break the stranglehold on its grain route, remove the threat of the Spartan army, or restore the state's depleted finances.
Athens' tenacity in the face of defeat arose from the same source as Athens' power before the Sicilian campaign: its democracy. Democracy harnessed the abilities and energies of a larger segment of the population than in other states. (Contrast Athens with Persia, whose petty rivalries among satraps and indolent military posture made it far less of a menace than it might have been.) Democracy was a powerful diplomatic tool that helped build and cement with other, like-minded cities. Democracy kept the interests of the ruling class in closer alignment with the rest of Athenian society. The contrast with the oligarchs willing to surrender the Athenian empire in exchange for their personal survival could not be more striking.
I hope I don't have to say too much to explain why I think there are salutary lessons for us in the history of the Peloponnesian Wars. We can learn from Athens how to avoid making the strategic mistake of investing too much in a conflict peripheral to your core interests, then compounding the mistake by insisting on "staying the course" until you've broken your national military. I'm even more struck by the importance of democracy in the Peloponnesian Wars for Athens' well-being at home and abroad. For example, after the Four Hundred were thrown out, Athens fought a series of naval and land battles to regain control of the Hellespont. Rather than executing the leaders of these small cities, who had betrayed Athens when the opportunity to revolt arose, Athenian leaders won assurances that their allies would return to the fold, and sometimes did not even leave behind an Athenian garrison to ensure good conduct. The loyalty the Athenians re-won owed much to their moral standing as champions of democracy, in both word and deed.
I'm equally struck at the important of the "citizen sailors" to the maintenance of Athenian democracy. The people who bankrolled, captained, piloted, and rowed the triremes had a clear stake in maintaining the democracy they defended. Over two millennia later, the composition of the US military, which traditionally has been "citizen soldiers," is also important in explaining the survival of American democracy. This question may have been argued more openly and broadly in the 18th century, when the balance between regular and militia forces was the major concern, but there are equally important issues about the character of our armed forces today.
The program of "reform" started by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld before the 9/11 attacks, and accelerated since then, attacks the emphasis on citizen soldiers at its very roots. While ostensibly concerned with creating a lighter, more agile military force that can more quickly deploy to hot spots, the Rumsfeld policy achieves these goals by replacing American soldiers with local forces and contractors. In short, it is a deliberate or unintentional revival of the imperial Roman model, divided among legionaries, auxiliaries, and mercenaries. Aside from other criticisms you might make of the Rumsfeld plan—for example, contractors are not as cheap as you think, and often harder to control than regular US forces—the way in which it transforms the character of the US military should be more widely debated than it is today. We must avoid both mistakes of the Peloponnesian Wars: risking too much of our military in a peripheral conflict; and abandoning democratic principles that give the United States its durability and strength,
They are saddled due to the burden of employing to figure out which transactions are online casino related, and denying all these transactions. The Grail Maiden game is probably unique from most all the other online slots in your current fact that there become no pay lines. iphone 5 Accessories ipad cover with keyboard Michael kors iphone case iphone 4 wallet case (grizzlygadgets.com) cases for the samsung galaxy s3 ipad 2 case iphone 4 wallet case Best Iphone 5 Cases best ipad 3 case cases for ipad 2 best ipad 4 cases Iphone 5 Cases Best iphone 5 cases mini ipad covers iphone 5 accessories ipad 2 case Iphone 5 Lifeproof Case new ipad accessories ipad 3 cover iphone aluminum case best galaxy s3 accessories ipad cover accessories for iphone 5 ipad 3 cases With keyboard coolest iphone cases case for samsung galaxy s3 samsung galaxy s3 cases iphone charger iphone 4s cases ipad covers best galaxy s3 accessories iphone 4s accessories iphone 4s cases ipad mini covers logitech ipad keyboard best iphone 4s cases iphone 5 cases metal iphone 5 cases phone cases for iphone 4 - grizzlygadgets.com, ipad 2 Cases galaxy s2 accessories case for samsung galaxy s2 (http://grizzlygadgets.com/samsung-galaxy-s2-case) iphone 5 screen protector ipad case with keyboard apple ipad 2 case cases For galaxy s2 iphone leather case ipad 3 accessories cheap iphone 5 cases best case for galaxy s3 new ipad cases S3 Accessories samsung galaxy s2 accessories best iphone case iphone 5 leather case (grizzlygadgets.com) samsung s3 accessories Ipad 3 Cover iphone 5 headphones ipad mini cases ipad 2 keyboard coolest iphone 5 cases samsung galaxy s3 phone cases ipad smart cover Unique Iphone 4 cases ipad cases (http://grizzlygadgets.com/ipad-accessories) best iphone 4s cases ipad 4 cases iphone 5 cable (grizzlygadgets.com) best iphone 5 cases iphone accessories ipad covers iphone 4 cases (grizzlygadgets.com) best ipad mini cases Iphone 4 Case accessories for iphone 4s iphone 4 cases ipad bluetooth keyboard (grizzlygadgets.com) iphone 5 Case ipad mini keyboard case best iphone cases Keyboard For Ipad custom galaxy s3 case iphone 5 accessories metal iphone 5 case - http://grizzlygadgets.com/aluminum-iphone-cases, iphone 5 cable phone Cases for galaxy s3 iphone accessories (Grizzlygadgets.com) ipad 2 cases iphone 4 battery - grizzlygadgets.com - custom ipad 3 cases [grizzlygadgets.com] best ipad keyboard leather iphone 4 case [http://grizzlygadgets.com/leather-iphone-cases] best Iphone 5 Cases cool Iphone accessories cases for the samsung galaxy s3 (http://grizzlygadgets.com) ipad 3 cases with keyboard mini ipad cases best iphone 4 cases Ipad Covers iphone 4 aluminum case (grizzlygadgets.com) ipad mini cases (http://grizzlygadgets.com/) ipad 2 keyboard Ipad keyboard iphone 4s case best iphone 5 case - http://grizzlygadgets.com/best-iphone-cases - iphone case best case for iphone 5
Posted by: iphone 5 Accessories | 10/03/2013 at 08:01
Woah! I'm really enjoying the template/theme of this website. It's simple, yet effective. A lot of times it's very hard to get that "perfect balance" between usability and visual appeal. I must say you've done a superb joob with this. Also, the blog loads vry quick for me on Chrome. Excerllent Blog!
Posted by: montreguessfemme.net | 11/16/2013 at 03:36
Thank you for any other wonderful post. The place else could anyone get that kind of info in such a perfect means of writing? I have a presentation subsequent week, and I'm on the look for such information.
Posted by: montrefestinahomme.com | 11/16/2013 at 17:31
Highly energetic post, I liked that a lot. Will there be a part 2?
Posted by: barredeson.com | 11/16/2013 at 19:13