Love of Glory and the Common Good

Bibliographic Data

ID2697657
AuthorsMichael Palmer (0000-0002-7015-1221), Michael J Palmer (0000-0002-6037-4421, University of Alberta, corresponding author)
Year1982
Volume76
Issue4
Pages825-836
Publication date1982-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Political Science Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0003-0554 • E-ISSN: 1537-5943
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/1962974
OpenAlexW4252820278
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited14

How the city, the political community, may ask its citizens to sacrifice their lives for the sake of its preservation has plagued us since the birth of political philosophy. This article examines Thucydides' presentation of Pericles' attempt to solve this problem by reconciling the highest good of the individual and the good of the city by means of the love of glory. I contrast the central themes of Pericles' speeches in Thucydides, especially his renowned funeral oration, with other parts of Thucydides' presentation of Periclean Athens, in particular his famous account of the plague, to demonstrate his doubts about the efficacy of the Periclean solution to the political problem

Ancient history · Epistemology · Form of the Good · Glory · Plague (disease · Political science · Politics · Presentation (obstetrics · Sociology · Classical Antiquity Studies · Classical Philosophy and Thought · History · Law · Medicine · Organic Chemistry Synthesis Methods · Philosophy