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Ambleside Online Plutarch's Life of Themistocles
Study Guide by Anne White INTRODUCTION If you read anything about ancient Greece, especially about the Persian War period (499-479 B.C.), it's hard to avoid Themistocles. He was a statesman, a leader of Athens; he convinced the Athenians to build up a navy; and he was responsible for the Greek victory over the Persians at Salamis (probably the first battle ever fought at sea). Because there is so much information out there about the Persian Wars (starting with the history written by Herodotus in the fifth century B.C.), this study could take a very long time. But since we are studying Plutarch's Life of Themistocles, we will try to focus on the life and character of Themistocles rather than on the war itself. I think Plutarch assumes that his readers are familiar with the major events he is discussing, and many Ambleside Online students will have covered them in their history studies. You can find chapters on Marathon, Thermopylae and Salamis in Hillyer's A Child's History of the World, Guerber's The Story of the Greeks, and Van Loon's The Story of Mankind. I also like The Story of Greece by Mary MacGregor and Temple on a Hill by Anne Rockwell, in addition to references written for adults. Any of these may be helpful for maps and for extra details about Greek and Persian ships and so on. It's also very easy to find online information and photographs. I like PBS's page-by-page introduction to Themistocles, here: http://www.pbs.org/empires/thegreeks/characters/themistocles.html . (Or click on http://www.pbs.org/empires and follow the links to Themistocles (he is the second face from the left). The study notes are based on the Dryden/Clough translation of Themistocles. We have provided a slightly edited version of the text, divided into twelve readings. The editing was done mostly for length rather than to omit certain events; however, there is one sentence in Lesson One that was omitted because of unsuitable content. (If you are using a complete text rather than our version, it follows the sentence "Eager from the first to obtain the highest place, he unhesitatingly accepted the hatred of the most powerful and influential leaders in the city, but more especially of Aristides, the son of Lysimachus, who always opposed him.") Spelling and Pronunciation Notes If you're searching for Themistocles (Them-MIS-to-kleez), it is occasionally spelled Themistokles. Aristides (Ar-iss-TYE-deez) is sometimes spelled Aristeides. LESSON ONE INTRODUCTION It's always interesting to read about the early life of someone who later became great or famous, and to find out what he or she experienced as a child. What did he read? What events of history made an impression on him? Who were his teachers? What did he play, or what did he do while other children were playing? What did his parents say to him? Plutarch tells us all of these things about the Athenian statesman Themistocles. (Don't worry about the rather convoluted argument in the first long paragraph about the philosophers Themistocles admired most; Plutarch seems only to be adding his own two cents' worth to an ongoing argument.) VOCABULARY of a quick apprehension -- quick
to learn READINGS: The readings for this study have already been marked in the edited text, so I will not repeat them here. NARRATION AND DISCUSSION IDEAS Describe the main characteristics of Themistocles as a young man, as Plutarch describes him. Which of these do you think would serve him well later, and which ones might turn out to be negative? Why did Themistocles feel that leadership and management skills were more important than manners and social success? Do you agree that one is more valuable than the other? Discuss this sentence: "His master would often say to him, "You, my boy, will be nothing small, but great one way or other, for good or else for bad." Do you know (or know of) anyone else like this? What do you know so far of Aristides? Compare him to Themistocles.
INTRODUCTION This reading goes back and forth a bit in time. The main event described is the building up of the Athenian navy, under Themistocles, just before the Persian invasion of 480 B.C. Athens had never had a navy. Athens didn't even have its own harbour. Why would they be getting into ship building? Themistocles convinced them--or at least enough of them--that it was the smartest way to spend the dividends from the city's silver mine. Xerxes was going to attack by land and by sea; Themistocles reasoned that they would have to fight Xerxes by sea as well. Ships could also provide a means of escape for the people, if Athens was attacked. And--looking at the longterm picture--having a navy would give Athens much more power over other Greek city-states who weren't so up-and-coming. The reading also gives some more general description of Themistocles--what he was like, what he wanted; good and bad points about his character. Money seems to be a big factor in a lot of these stories. Money is the reason that the Athenian ships got built; and money, in the end, is the way that Themistocles solves another big problem. READINGS: The readings for this study have already been marked in the edited text, so I will not repeat them here. VOCABULARY the silver mines at Laurium --
the Athenians had discovered a rich vein of silver in some
publicly-owned land (the modern-day equivalent might be "they struck
oil"), and their usual procedure was to divide any income from it
amongst the citizens PEOPLE AND PLACES Aeginetans -- people from the
island of Aegina NARRATION AND DISCUSSION IDEAS Plato, later on, said that Themistocles "took away from the Athenians the spear and the shield, and bound them to the bench and the oar." Plutarch takes this as an accusation that Themistocles "injured the purity and true balance of government." Are these accusations true? Are they just? How does Plutarch use Xerxes' reaction as a point in Themistocles' favour? "He went beyond all men in the passion for distinction." Explain and give some examples. How does "distinction" differ from just showing off? Themistocles is sometimes accused of being stingy, but he also knows how to use large amounts of money to fuel his own big ideas. Is there anything wrong with that?
INTRODUCTION This reading covers the period when the Persians were threatening to invade Greece, through the battles at Artemisium and Thermophylae. They tried threats and they tried bribes, but the Athenians stubbornly refused to submit. There were a few false starts for the Athenians, usually because they weren't willing to trust completely in Themistocles' leadership; but their good showing at Artemisium convinced them that they were ready for sea fighting. I would suggest reading the Wikipedia article "Battle of Artemisium" or something similar to give a bit more context to Plutarch's version of the story. Artemisium is supposed to have happened on the same day (August 11, 480 BC) as the Battle of Thermopylae, which is mentioned in the last paragraph; you might look up Thermopylae as well if you need a refresher on that. READINGS: The readings for this study have already been marked in the edited text, so I will not repeat them here. The first paragraph is one of the most Plutarchian of long, long sentences. To make it somewhat easier, you could add in extra semi-colons, and stop between them to make sure that you're clear on what's been read: "When the king of Persia sent messengers into Greece, with an interpreter, to demand earth and water, as an acknowledgment of subjection, Themistocles, by the consent of the people, seized upon the interpreter, and put him to death, for presuming to publish the barbarian orders and decrees in the Greek language; this is one of the actions he is commended for; as also for what he did to Arthmius of Zelea, who brought gold from the king of Persia to corrupt the Greeks, and was, by an order from Themistocles, degraded and disfranchised, he and his children and his posterity; but that which most of all redounded to his credit was, that he put an end to all the civil wars of Greece, composed their differences, and persuaded them to lay aside all enmity during the war with the Persians; and in this great work, Chileus the Arcadian was, it is said, of great assistance to him." RECOMMENDED OMISSION AND TYPOS: If you are not using our edited version of the text, there is a bit omitted after "which, as Herodotus reports, he accepted and gave to Eurybiades…" It's not critical that this be omitted, but it does make the passage longer. "undoubtedly is to gain courage, Artemisium is in Euboea" should be "undoubtedly is to gain courage. Artemisium . . . " VOCABULARY as an acknowledgement of subjection
-- to show that they would submit themselves to the King of Persia's
rule PEOPLE AND PLACES You might want to look up the Straits of Artemisium on a map of Greece. Lacedaemonians -- Spartans NARRATION AND DISCUSSION IDEAS (choose one or more to discuss) Themistocles "composed their differences, and persuaded them to lay aside all enmity during the war with the Persians." How is it possible to be both a peacemaker and a defender of your country? (Remember that Greece was not a country as we know it.) Why did Themistocles yield his own command to Eurybiades? What did he mean by, "if in this war they behaved themselves like men, he would answer for it after that the Greeks, of their own will, would submit to their [the Athenians'] command." Was he right? Why did Eurybiades need to be bribed to stay, when the ships arrived at Aphetae? "Much elated by what had been done." Why? What is your favourite quote from this passage?
INTRODUCTION Themistocles is thoroughly in charge here, and he prepares as well as he can for the coming Persian invasion. Like a chess master, he sees the best moves to make, the ones that nobody else has thought of. He spreads a little propaganda (for the benefit of the Ionians) and uses a little "stagecraft" to move things along, in spite of the fact that the Spartans don't show up to help. The last image in this passage is one worthy of a painting: all the Athenians who were not in the navy being evacuated to Troezen, not knowing if they will ever be able to return. READINGS: The readings for this study have already been marked in the edited text, so I will not repeat them here. TYPOS: "Xerxes has already passed through Doris" -- could either be a typo for "had" or just one of Plutarch's slips in tense. "the shield with the head of Medusa was missing; and be" -- be should be "he" VOCABULARY hazarding -- risking PEOPLE AND PLACES I recommend looking up the History section of "Ionia" on the Wikipedia site. To make it very short, the Ionians were a colony of Greeks living in Persian territory (in what is now Turkey); and there was some question of their loyalty during these battles. Medes = Persians NARRATION AND DISCUSSION IDEAS (choose one or more to discuss) How did Themistocles show both experience and imagination during this time? Do you think he was too sneaky? Explain what Themistocles wanted the Ionians to do--why was he leaving messages for them on the rocks? Was it unusual to provide such generous pay for those who served in the navy? Where did Themistocles get the money, since there was no money in the public treasury? Narrate this passage in the voice of someone (a woman or someone too old or young to fight) being taken away to Troezen.
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