Kinēsis, Navies, and the Power Trap in Thucydides
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23488015 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Arlene W Saxonhouse (0000-0002-1828-2435, University of Michigan, corresponding author) |
| Editors | Sara Forsdyke, Edith Foster, Ryan Balot |
| Year | 2017 |
| Publication date | 2017-03-06 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | BOOK |
| Venue | The Oxford Handbook of Thucydides (SOURCE_BOOK) |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199340385.013.33 |
| OpenAlex | W2706344372 |
| ISBN | 9780199340385 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
In the Archaeology of his History, Thucydides traces those factors that led to the rise of the cities that face one another in the war that he records. Foremost among them is the navy. I contend that this focus on the navy as the basis of political power captures for Thucydides the connection between movement and power: possession of power is not a static condition but always entails the unending search for more power, allowing the cities who possess navies/power no respite from constant motion. In contrast to what I call the “power trap” that ultimately leads to the destruction of the city engaged in the constant motion of pursuing power after power stands the permanence of the speech, the logoi, of the historian who can offer an “everlasting possession” such as eludes the political leaders of cities such as Athens caught up as they are in the power trap.
Navy · Political science · Politics · Possession (linguistics) · Power (physics) · Respite care · Classical Antiquity Studies · Crime, Deviance, and Social Control · History · Law · Philosophy
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,25 |
| Citation span | 2022 - 2022 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |