Thucydides set out to tell the story of what he believed to be a great war, requiring both great power and great leadership. Although he measured greatness by both economic and military prowess, Thucydides dictated the history of the Peloponnesian War through a multitude of magnificent speeches delivered by major figures in Greece to show the impact of the political leadership on the outcome of the war. Leadership was particularly vital in Athens because of the democratic nature of its government: city leaders were elected by the people and therefore reflected the mentality of the city-state and its citizens. The development of the Athenian Empire marked a radical break with Hellenistic tradition, and the building of a powerful navy, together with the timing of the Persian invasion, provided Athens with the opportunity to become the major force in the Mediterranean. Thucydides distinctly discusses the role of Athenian rulers in the expansion of the Athenian empire, from Pericles to Alcibiades, in order to highlight the decline of morality and justice in Athens. Thucydides clearly highlights the consequences of the lower quality of leadership in Athens, but does not specify what triggered the moral deterioration of the Athenian government. With this in mind, we must question the causes of the qualitative decline of the city's leaders. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay At the Second Lacedaemonian Congress, the Athenians argued that it was inevitable that they would seize the opportunity to build an empire when they had the opportunity, affirming: “The law has always been that the weaker must be subject to the stronger. » (I.76.2) Nevertheless, their conclusion linking the principles and actions of an empire to Athenian morale reflected a state-wide belief that "praise is due to all who...respect justice more unless their position obliges them to do so. (I.76.3) Pre-war Athens did not view the creation of an empire simply through the use of power; instead, they clearly distinguished between the two and believed that a powerful empire provided the opportunity for justice to reign supreme in the minds of its citizens. Thucydides considered Pericles "the best man of all for the needs of the state" because of his ability to instill this distinction in Athenian citizens. (II.65.4) Pericles saw the wealth and power of Athens as a means to political freedom and cultural growth. Declaring: “We cultivate refinement without extravagance and knowledge without effeminacy; the wealth we use more for use than for show,” he managed to dissuade Athenian citizens from being interested in personal gain, replacing it with interests in justice and cultural progress. He took this notion even further by asserting that it was always in the interests of the wealthy to maintain democracy even when civil unrest (due to the plague) threatened to destroy Athens' fragile political balance: I am d he view that national greatness is more for the benefit of private citizens than any individual well-being coupled with public humiliation. A man may be personally very well off, and yet if his country is ruined, it must be ruined with him; while a flourishing republic always offers chances of salvation to the unfortunate. Since a state can support the misfortunes of private citizens, while they themselves cannot support theirs, it is surely the duty of each to be forward in its defense. (II.60.1-5) Pericles argued that the rich benefited fromdemocracy and patriotism because it gave them a sense of security: the opportunity for public greatness still existed even if one were to lose one's high economic position. By creating a link between self-interest and national greatness in democracy, Pericles was able to confine personal gain to a domain distinct from but dependent on the public interests of the city. By effectively subordinating the pursuits of wealth and power and successfully linking self-interest to political justice and cultural progress, Pericles exemplified the pinnacle of Athenian greatness in Thucydides' eyes. His ideals emanated from the Athenian notion that an empire could be just, and his reign proved this to be true. After Pericles' funeral oration, Thucydides comments on the failure of successive Athenian leaders to effectively control the population and convince them to serve the city. . Of Pericles' successors, Thucydides says: “Each aspiring to supremacy, they ended by entrusting even the conduct of state affairs to the whims of the multitude. » (II.65.10) Without a ruler as sophisticated and compelling as Pericles, citizens began to aspire to personal luxury rather than the greatness of the state. (II.61.4) The Mytilenean debate marked the first stage in the decline of Pericles' Athens. The competing desires for power and self-interest symbolized the tensions of war, and the speeches delivered during the debate reflected a shift from Pericles' belief in the benefits of justice and democracy. Cleon, an Athenian statesman and former opponent of Pericles, denied the belief that justice deserves praise and instead held that praise is due to those who use their power to the fullest, regardless of their morality. Regarding the Athenian government, he asserts: “Your empire is a despotism, and your subjects are discontented conspirators, whose obedience is assured not by your suicidal concessions, but by the superiority which your force gives you. » (III.37.2) In Cleon's conception, the Athenian government only functioned because of its immense power and its ability to instill fear in its citizens. Justice was not Cleon's concern and morality was the equivalent of power itself. Although Cleon's position did not win a majority vote in the Athenian council, it is worth noting that "the hands raised were almost equal", proving that Pericles' mentality had been virtually abandoned or tainted, and that it would eventually by disappearing completely. (III.49.1) Several years later, Thucydides details a private debate between Athenian generals and Melian statesmen to determine the fate of Melos, a small island colony of Sparta. The points made by the Athenian generals during the debate symbolized the move away from Pericles' Athens, from the idealistic pragmatism of Pericles to the brutal and immoral abuse of power that epitomized the final years of the Peloponnesian War. While the idea that power is irresistible to all men has remained constant, the Athenian assertion that "good, in the present state of the world, is a question only between equals in power, while that the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must” directly. contradicts the justification for expansion put forward by Athenian citizens at the Second Lacedaemonian Congress. (V.89) Years of war had exhausted Athens' resources and emptied its citizens of their quest for justice and culture; Athenian motivations had undergone a complete reversal and the beliefs that symbolized the Athens of Pericles had been destroyed. Power had become Athens' main interest and what was best for the city as a whole, 1998.