Thucydides and Plato

Thucydides and Plato on Virtues and Constitution

Ryan XXXXXXXX

XXXXXX University

Text : 1580 words

I . Introduction

In the beginning of his History of the Peloponnesian War Thucydides offers an account of King Archidamus ' speech before a war-fixated council in Sparta , in which he urges caution in declaring war against the Athenians . The speech revolves around the concept of courage as it relates to shame , self-control and honor . Likewise , in his discussion of the training of guardians towards ruling of the Republic , Plato emphasizes the importance of similar concepts . At

first glance , it seems that these two accounts of state virtue appear identical however as I will argue in the following essay , the constitutions of the ideal citizens are essentially different insofar as they are based on essentially different metaphysical foundations and directed toward essentially different ends . Whereas Sparta is founded upon nomos categories associated with custom and tradition in the service of upholding Spartan honor , the guardians of the republic ground themselves upon logos categories in to remain connected to the eternal forms .II . King Archidamus on Spartan Virtues and Constitution

King Archidamus begins his speech with a polemical edge by which he not only presents a case for why Sparta should not rush into war , but also argues for why failing to engage Athens immediately does not prove Sparta cowardly . For Archidamus , with his long experience with the complexities of war , the first consideration in any declaration should be whether or not war is necessary . As he states...