When addressing the charges, Pericles spoke with determination, offering no apologies – “I was expecting this outburst of indignation; the causes of it are not unknown to me… I allow that for men who are in prosperity and free to choose it is great folly to make war. But when they must either submit and at once surrender independence, or strike and be free, then he who shuns and not he who meets the danger is deserving of blame. For my own part, I am the same man and stand where I did. But you are changed; for you have been driven by misfortune to recall the consent which you gave when you were yet unhurt, and to think that my advice was wrong because your own characters are weak… Anything which is sudden and unexpected and utterly beyond calculation, such a disaster for instance as this plague coming upon other misfortunes, enthralls the spirit of a man.” As he spoke to the Athenian Ecclesia, Pericles still urged courage and strength while appealing for understanding – “…being the citizens of a great city and educated in a temper of greatness, you should not su

Before long Athenian morale had fallen sharply. In an attempt to boost his peoples’ sagging spirits and restore the confidence they had lost, Pericles spoke about the City’s greatness during the annual “public funeral” that was held to honor her war dead.

“Our form of government does not enter into rivalry with the institutions of others. We do not copy our neighbors, but are an example to them. …we are called a democracy, for the administration is in the hands of the many and not the few,” the Athenian leader declared. “There is no exclusiveness in our public life… we are lovers of the beautiful, yet simple in our tastes, and we cultivate the mind without loss of manliness. Wealth we employ, not for talk and ostentation, but when there is a real use for it. To avow poverty with us is no disgrace; the true disgrace is in doing nothing to avoid it. An Athenian citizen does not neglect the state because he takes care of his own household; and even those of us who are engaged in business have a very fair idea of politics,” he added before addressing the courage of the City’s defenders who had fallen in battle. “Methinks that a death such as theirs… gives the true measure of a man’s worth; it may be the first revelation of his virtues… And when the moment came they were minded to resist and suffer, rather than to fly and save their lives; …on the battle-field their feet stood fast, and in an instant, at the height of their fortune, they passed away from the scene, not of their fear, but of their glory. Such was the end of these men; they were worthy of Athens.”[1]

Yet the epidemic was too great for Athenians to bear, which was made even worse by the hot summer as described by Diodorus Siculus – “the etesian winds… by which normally most of the heat in the summer is cooled failed to blow; and when the heat intensified and the air grew fiery, the bodies of the inhabitants, being without anything to cool them, wasted away.”[2]

Social order collapsed as many abandoned the dead along with their sick friends and family since “strong and weak constitutions proved equally incapable of resistance...”[3] To Thucydides, this was the worst part of the epidemic – “By far the most terrible feature in the malady was the dejection which ensured when any one felt himself sickening, for the despair into which they instantly fell took away their power of resistance, and left them a much easier prey to the disorder; besides which, there was the awful spectacle of men dying like sheep, though having caught the infection in nursing each other. …On the other hand, if they were afraid to visit each other, they perished from neglect; indeed many houses were emptied… for want of a nurse: on the other, if they ventured to do so, death was the consequence.”[4]

At the same time, as mentioned earlier, many suffering from the affects of the plague threw themselves into cisterns and water tanks – “…all the illnesses which prevailed at the time were found to be accompanied by fever, the cause of which was the excessive heat. And this was the reason why most of the sick threw themselves into the cisterns and springs in their craving to cool their bodies,”[5] Diodorus Siculus added. Some even amputated extremities such as fingers and toes in a desperate attempt to survive. “[N]umerous unburied bodies were left lying here and there.”[6]

Per Thucydides, “The bodies of dying men lay one upon another, and half-dead creatures reeled about the streets and gathered round all the fountains in their longing for water. The sacred places also in which they had quartered themselves were full of corpses… for as the disaster passed all bounds, men, not knowing what was to become of them, became utterly careless of everything… All burial rites before in use were entirely upset, and they buried the bodies as best they could… [Wood used for pyres, became scarce.] Sometimes getting the start of those who raised a pile, they threw their own dead body upon the stranger’s pyre and ignited it… Fear of the gods or law there was none to restrain them… No one expected to be brought to trial for his offenses, but each felt that a far severer sentence had been already passed upon all.”[7] Even beasts and birds of prey avoided the dead – “All the birds and beasts that prey upon human bodies, either abstained from touching them, or died after tasting them. In proof of this, it was noticed that birds of this kind actually disappeared; they were not about the bodies, or indeed to be seen at all,” Thucydides wrote.[8]

With no one certain that they would survive since it seemed like everyone regardless of the precautions they took, fell ill – “Athenians avoided each other but perished anyway,”[9] most ignoring the “moans of the dying”[10] as they “hastened to gratify their tastes, and abandoned themselves to the greatest moral depravity.”[11]

Per Thucydides, “Men now coolly ventured on what they had formerly done in a corner, and not just as they pleased, seeing the rapid transitions produced by persons in prosperity suddenly dying and those who before had nothing succeeding to their property. So they resolved to spend quickly and enjoy themselves, regarding their lives and riches as alike things of a day. Perseverance in what men called honor was popular with none, it was so uncertain whether they would be spared to attain the object; but it was settled that present enjoyment, and all that contributed to it, was both honorable and useful. Fear of gods or law of man there was none to restrain them. As for the first, they judged it to be just the same whether they worshipped them or not, as they saw all alike perishing; and for the last, no one expected to live to be brought to trial for his offenses, but each felt that a far severer sentence had been already passed upon them all and hung ever over their heads, and before this fell it was only reasonable to enjoy life a little.”[12]

At the same time, with 25% of the City’s population dead, the people turned on their leader. They blamed Pericles, whom they viewed as “the author of the war”[13] for the outbreak (because of his strategy of bringing everyone within the City’s walls even though he “had had no [viable] alternative… since it would have been suicidal to engage the larger and better-trained [Laced?monian] infantry”[14] in the Attica countryside) and even urged capitulating to Laced?monia’s demands. According to Diodorus Siculus, “Athenians, now that the trees of their countryside had been cut down (by the Laced?monians who ravaged their lands) and the plague was carrying off great numbers, were plunged into despondency and became angry with Pericles…”[15] This emboldened Pericles’ political opponents, Kleon, Simmias, and Lakratidas, to bring suit against him on frivolous grounds of “mismanagement of public funds.”[16]

When addressing the charges, Pericles spoke with determination, offering no apologies – “I was expecting this outburst of indignation; the causes of it are not unknown to me… I allow that for men who are in prosperity and free to choose it is great folly to make war. But when they must either submit and at once surrender independence, or strike and be free, then he who shuns and not he who meets the danger is deserving of blame. For my own part, I am the same man and stand where I did. But you are changed; for you have been driven by misfortune to recall the consent which you gave when you were yet unhurt, and to think that my advice was wrong because your own characters are weak… Anything which is sudden and unexpected and utterly beyond calculation, such a disaster for instance as this plague coming upon other misfortunes, enthralls the spirit of a man.” As he spoke to the Athenian Ecclesia, Pericles still urged courage and strength while appealing for understanding – “…being the citizens of a great city and educated in a temper of greatness, you should not suc

Yet the epidemic was too great for Athenians to bear, which was made even worse by the hot summer as described by Diodorus Siculus – “the etesian winds… by which normally most of the heat in the summer is cooled failed to blow; and when the heat intensified and the air grew fiery, the bodies of the inhabitants, being without anything to cool them, wasted away.”[2]

Social order collapsed as many abandoned the dead along with their sick friends and family since “strong and weak constitutions proved equally incapable of resistance...”[3] To Thucydides, this was the worst part of the epidemic – “By far the most terrible feature in the malady was the dejection which ensured when any one felt himself sickening, for the despair into which they instantly fell took away their power of resistance, and left them a much easier prey to the disorder; besides which, there was the awful spectacle of men dying like sheep, though having caught the infection in nursing each other. …On the other hand, if they were afraid to visit each other, they perished from neglect; indeed many houses were emptied… for want of a nurse: on the other, if they ventured to do so, death was the consequence.”[4]

At the same time, as mentioned earlier, many suffering from the affects of the plague threw themselves into cisterns and water tanks – “…all the illnesses which prevailed at the time were found to be accompanied by fever, the cause of which was the excessive heat. And this was the reason why most of the sick threw themselves into the cisterns and springs in their craving to cool their bodies,”[5] Diodorus Siculus added. Some even amputated extremities such as fingers and toes in a desperate attempt to survive. “[N]umerous unburied bodies were left lying here and there.”[6]

Per Thucydides, “The bodies of dying men lay one upon another, and half-dead creatures reeled about the streets and gathered round all the fountains in their longing for water. The sacred places also in which they had quartered themselves were full of corpses… for as the disaster passed all bounds, men, not knowing what was to become of them, became utterly careless of everything… All burial rites before in use were entirely upset, and they buried the bodies as best they could… [Wood used for pyres, became scarce.] Sometimes getting the start of those who raised a pile, they threw their own dead body upon the stranger’s pyre and ignited it… Fear of the gods or law there was none to restrain them… No one expected to be brought to trial for his offenses, but each felt that a far severer sentence had been already passed upon all.”[7] Even beasts and birds of prey avoided the dead – “All the birds and beasts that prey upon human bodies, either abstained from touching them, or died after tasting them. In proof of this, it was noticed that birds of this kind actually disappeared; they were not about the bodies, or indeed to be seen at all,” Thucydides wrote.[8]

With no one certain that they would survive since it seemed like everyone regardless of the precautions they took, fell ill – “Athenians avoided each other but perished anyway,”[9] most ignoring the “moans of the dying”[10] as they “hastened to gratify their tastes, and abandoned themselves to the greatest moral depravity.”[11]

Per Thucydides, “Men now coolly ventured on what they had formerly done in a corner, and not just as they pleased, seeing the rapid transitions produced by persons in prosperity suddenly dying and those who before had nothing succeeding to their property. So they resolved to spend quickly and enjoy themselves, regarding their lives and riches as alike things of a day. Perseverance in what men called honor was popular with none, it was so uncertain whether they would be spared to attain the object; but it was settled that present enjoyment, and all that contributed to it, was both honorable and useful. Fear of gods or law of man there was none to restrain them. As for the first, they judged it to be just the same whether they worshipped them or not, as they saw all alike perishing; and for the last, no one expected to live to be brought to trial for his offenses, but each felt that a far severer sentence had been already passed upon them all and hung ever over their heads, and before this fell it was only reasonable to enjoy life a little.”[12]

At the same time, with 25% of the City’s population dead, the people turned on their leader. They blamed Pericles, whom they viewed as “the author of the war”[13] for the outbreak (because of his strategy of bringing everyone within the City’s walls even though he “had had no [viable] alternative… since it would have been suicidal to engage the larger and better-trained [Laced?monian] infantry”[14] in the Attica countryside) and even urged capitulating to Laced?monia’s demands. According to Diodorus Siculus, “Athenians, now that the trees of their countryside had been cut down (by the Laced?monians who ravaged their lands) and the plague was carrying off great numbers, were plunged into despondency and became angry with Pericles…”[15] This emboldened Pericles’ political opponents, Kleon, Simmias, and Lakratidas, to bring suit against him on frivolous grounds of “mismanagement of public funds.”[16]

When addressing the charges, Pericles spoke with determination, offering no apologies – “I was expecting this outburst of indignation; the causes of it are not unknown to me… I allow that for men who are in prosperity and free to choose it is great folly to make war. But when they must either submit and at once surrender independence, or strike and be free, then he who shuns and not he who meets the danger is deserving of blame. For my own part, I am the same man and stand where I did. But you are changed; for you have been driven by misfortune to recall the consent which you gave when you were yet unhurt, and to think that my advice was wrong because your own characters are weak… Anything which is sudden and unexpected and utterly beyond calculation, such a disaster for instance as this plague coming upon other misfortunes, enthralls the spirit of a man.” As he spoke to the Athenian Ecclesia, Pericles still urged courage and strength while appealing for understanding – “…being the citizens of a great city and educated in a temper of greatness, you should not su

Per Thucydides, “The bodies of dying men lay one upon another, and half-dead creatures reeled about the streets and gathered round all the fountains in their longing for water. The sacred places also in which they had quartered themselves were full of corpses… for as the disaster passed all bounds, men, not knowing what was to become of them, became utterly careless of everything… All burial rites before in use were entirely upset, and they buried the bodies as best they could… [Wood used for pyres, became scarce.] Sometimes getting the start of those who raised a pile, they threw their own dead body upon the stranger’s pyre and ignited it… Fear of the gods or law there was none to restrain them… No one expected to be brought to trial for his offenses, but each felt that a far severer sentence had been already passed upon all.”[7] Even beasts and birds of prey avoided the dead – “All the birds and beasts that prey upon human bodies, either abstained from touching them, or died after tasting them. In proof of this, it was noticed that birds of this kind actually disappeared; they were not about the bodies, or indeed to be seen at all,” Thucydides wrote.[8]

With no one certain that they would survive since it seemed like everyone regardless of the precautions they took, fell ill – “Athenians avoided each other but perished anyway,”[9] most ignoring the “moans of the dying”[10] as they “hastened to gratify their tastes, and abandoned themselves to the greatest moral depravity.”[11]

Per Thucydides, “Men now coolly ventured on what they had formerly done in a corner, and not just as they pleased, seeing the rapid transitions produced by persons in prosperity suddenly dying and those who before had nothing succeeding to their property. So they resolved to spend quickly and enjoy themselves, regarding their lives and riches as alike things of a day. Perseverance in what men called honor was popular with none, it was so uncertain whether they would be spared to attain the object; but it was settled that present enjoyment, and all that contributed to it, was both honorable and useful. Fear of gods or law of man there was none to restrain them. As for the first, they judged it to be just the same whether they worshipped them or not, as they saw all alike perishing; and for the last, no one expected to live to be brought to trial for his offenses, but each felt that a far severer sentence had been already passed upon them all and hung ever over their heads, and before this fell it was only reasonable to enjoy life a little.”[12]

At the same time, with 25% of the City’s population dead, the people turned on their leader. They blamed Pericles, whom they viewed as “the author of the war”[13] for the outbreak (because of his strategy of bringing everyone within the City’s walls even though he “had had no [viable] alternative… since it would have been suicidal to engage the larger and better-trained [Laced?monian] infantry”[14] in the Attica countryside) and even urged capitulating to Laced?monia’s demands. According to Diodorus Siculus, “Athenians, now that the trees of their countryside had been cut down (by the Laced?monians who ravaged their lands) and the plague was carrying off great numbers, were plunged into despondency and became angry with Pericles…”[15] This emboldened Pericles’ political opponents, Kleon, Simmias, and Lakratidas, to bring suit against him on frivolous grounds of “mismanagement of public funds.”[16]

When addressing the charges, Pericles spoke with determination, offering no apologies – “I was expecting this outburst of indignation; the causes of it are not unknown to me… I allow that for men who are in prosperity and free to choose it is great folly to make war. But when they must either submit and at once surrender independence, or strike and be free, then he who shuns and not he who meets the danger is deserving of blame. For my own part, I am the same man and stand where I did. But you are changed; for you have been driven by misfortune to recall the consent which you gave when you were yet unhurt, and to think that my advice was wrong because your own characters are weak… Anything which is sudden and unexpected and utterly beyond calculation, such a disaster for instance as this plague coming upon other misfortunes, enthralls the spirit of a man.” As he spoke to the Athenian Ecclesia, Pericles still urged courage and strength while appealing for understanding – “…being the citizens of a great city and educated in a temper of greatness, you should not su

Per Thucydides, “Men now coolly ventured on what they had formerly done in a corner, and not just as they pleased, seeing the rapid transitions produced by persons in prosperity suddenly dying and those who before had nothing succeeding to their property. So they resolved to spend quickly and enjoy themselves, regarding their lives and riches as alike things of a day. Perseverance in what men called honor was popular with none, it was so uncertain whether they would be spared to attain the object; but it was settled that present enjoyment, and all that contributed to it, was both honorable and useful. Fear of gods or law of man there was none to restrain them. As for the first, they judged it to be just the same whether they worshipped them or not, as they saw all alike perishing; and for the last, no one expected to live to be brought to trial for his offenses, but each felt that a far severer sentence had been already passed upon them all and hung ever over their heads, and before this fell it was only reasonable to enjoy life a little.”[12]

At the same time, with 25% of the City’s population dead, the people turned on their leader. They blamed Pericles, whom they viewed as “the author of the war”[13] for the outbreak (because of his strategy of bringing everyone within the City’s walls even though he “had had no [viable] alternative… since it would have been suicidal to engage the larger and better-trained [Laced?monian] infantry”[14] in the Attica countryside) and even urged capitulating to Laced?monia’s demands. According to Diodorus Siculus, “Athenians, now that the trees of their countryside had been cut down (by the Laced?monians who ravaged their lands) and the plague was carrying off great numbers, were plunged into despondency and became angry with Pericles…”[15] This emboldened Pericles’ political opponents, Kleon, Simmias, and Lakratidas, to bring suit against him on frivolous grounds of “mismanagement of public funds.”[16]

When addressing the charges, Pericles spoke with determination, offering no apologies – “I was expecting this outburst of indignation; the causes of it are not unknown to me… I allow that for men who are in prosperity and free to choose it is great folly to make war. But when they must either submit and at once surrender independence, or strike and be free, then he who shuns and not he who meets the danger is deserving of blame. For my own part, I am the same man and stand where I did. But you are changed; for you have been driven by misfortune to recall the consent which you gave when you were yet unhurt, and to think that my advice was wrong because your own characters are weak… Anything which is sudden and unexpected and utterly beyond calculation, such a disaster for instance as this plague coming upon other misfortunes, enthralls the spirit of a man.” As he spoke to the Athenian Ecclesia, Pericles still urged courage and strength while appealing for understanding – “…being the citizens of a great city and educated in a temper of greatness, you should not su

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