Prologue
Power politics in fourth-century Greece
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 September 2009
Summary
On the next day the ambassadors reported the terms on which the Lacedaemonians were prepared to make peace. Theramenes acted as their spokesman, and he urged [his fellow Athenians] that it was best to obey the Lacedaemonians and to tear down the city walls. While some spoke in opposition to him, the greater number supported him, and so it was voted to accept the peace. After this Lysander sailed into the Piraeus, the exiles returned, and the Peloponnesians began with great enthusiasm to demolish the walls to the music of flute-girls, thinking that that day was the beginning of freedom for Greece.
Xenophon's famous account of the end of the Peloponnesian War (432/1–404) is puzzling, and his underlying message difficult to discern. But the laconic style of his depiction may very well provide a telling clue as to what he wanted to portray. The scene is nothing if not bizarre. Picture hundreds of men eagerly hammering on Athens’ great walls, driven by the beat of the music performed by cheering females and, more importantly, a firm belief that their efforts are for an ultimate good: the freedom of Greece.
In retrospect, Xenophon may have wondered how naive they must have been. At the time of his writing, in the later part of the 360s and the 350s, it had become clear that their hopes for freedom – and peace – were utterly shattered.
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- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2008