Week 11- Thucydides Book 6

- Sicily- island in the Mediterranean which the Athenians attempted to conquer, not recognizing its grand size and population
- Sicanians- early settlers of Sicily but not the earliest; fled from Opicans in Italy
- Syracuse- city in Sicily founded by the Dorians of Corinth; one of the earlier Hellenistic settlements in Sicily
- Nicias- Athenian who tried to convince Athens not to pursue Sicily (6.9-14); addresses problems near the homeland, Sparta being the main threat, Sicily being too large and too far to have a large control over, and Athens only recently had plague and war
- Alcibiades- Athenian who was in favor of attacking Sicily and hoped to outdo Nicias in speech (6.16-18); argues that he should command the expedition with his history of “magnificence” at the Olympic games and his ability to unite the Peloponnesus for war & convincing the Spartans to put their efforts at Mantinea; also says that the Athenians can work together to easily divide a “politically weak” Sicily and that the Spartans aren’t a threat b/c of their weak navy; he is later put to trial concerning the mutilations to the Hermae (see below)
- Hermae- square statues that occupied many private houses and temples; all of the ones in Athens had been mutilated during preparations for the Sicilian expedition and this is seen as ominous for the journey
- drachma- unit of currency; one a day was given to each seaman on the voyage
- Hermocrates- Syracusan who warns Syracuse and other Sicilians that the Athenians were planning an attack, hoping to scare the Sicilians into joining Syracuse to fight them (6.33-34); suggests to Syracuse that they get as many allies as possible (old and new) or at least to prepare themselves for what was to come
- Athenagoras- Syracusan who opposes Hermocrates’ warning, saying that the Athenians are unlikely to come and even if Syracuse were to be attacked, it’d be difficult for the Athenians or anyone from the Peloponnesus to get past a strong Sicilian army (6.36-6.40)
- demos- people; Athenagoras mentions strength in the people in the above speech, and how an oligarchy only represents a select group of people and “keeps the whole of the profit” where as democracy includes everyone
- Corcyra- city that the Athenians stop at in order to send scouts to Italy and Sicily to see who will let them stay
- thetes- poorest group of people in Athens; hired as rowers for the expidition
- Lamachus- Athenian general who proposes immediate attack of Syracuse in order to catch them off-guard, but then agrees with Alcibiades to hold off
- Aristogiton and Harmodius- Hipparchus’ killers who were seeking revenge after he insulted Harmodius; Aristogiton was arrested and Harmodius was killed at the festival procession after killing Hipparchus
- Hippias and Hipparchus- Pisistratus (tyrant)’s sons; Hippias succeeded Pisistritus, proved by his various legitimate children and Hipparchus was killed at a festival (see above); after his brother’s murder, Hippias became a harder ruler on the Athenians
- Salaminia- ship that Alcibaides sailed on before he escaped as an outlaw to avoid trial or assassination, given that the Athenians still believed he had caused the destroyed statues in an attempt to destroy democracy
- Nicias’ encouragement speech- (6.68)
- Hermocrates’ address to the Camarinaeans- (6.76-6.81)
- Euphemus- Athenian ambassador who tries to convince the Camarina that Athens is expanding for security reasons and that it does not mean to conquer and enslave; tells them it would be in their best interest to be an alliance (6.82-87)
- Alcibiades’ plead to Sparta and his reveal of Athens’ plans- (6.89-92)