War, Plague, and Strife in the Golden Age of Athenian Democracy

Following the catastrophic events of war and disease that ravaged Athens and brought about the end of the Athenian Golden Age under Pericles, Plato writes his Republic. The utopian vision that Plato posits on the heels of these earth-shattering events addresses the political and moral corruption that ultimately destroyed Athenian democracy.

Having seen his mentor put to death by a corrupt government-- which purported to be a democracy but was really a thinly guised oligarchy-- Plato considers what went wrong with the golden rule of democracy. In his Republic, Plato envisions a society resistant to the sort of internal rot and decadence Athens fell into during the Pelopponessian War(s) and the plague of 430 b.c.e. In his utopia, Plato theorizes that the most just form of government is not democracy, but rather enlightened monarchy wherein education and equal opportunity are woven together to produce a just society of individuals working together in the interest of communal good.

The Republic is Plato’s attempt to sidestep the problems plaguing his beloved Athens and propose solutions to the inherent ills that bedevil democratic politics, namely the primacy of the individual over that of the group. It seems that he recognized the corrupting influence of special interest groups that would eventually drowned out the voice of the people. Because he saw this as a fatal flaw in any democratic system, Plato sought to elevate the needs of the many over the needs of the one, understanding that before anyone can conceive of justice writ large and apply it to any government or group, one must first address what constitutes and engenders the “just” individual. In his Republic, a ten book philosophical treatise on this topic (as well as in various other of his dialogues) Plato delineates his formula for the best possible social structure.

But before you can understand the cultural shift he postulates, you must first understand the sordid details of his historical context. To this end, I have affixed a couple of texts that I hope will bring his socio-political influences into sharp focus. The first is from http://www.sarissa.org , a wonderful website of historical timelines and cultural insights. The second excerpt is Thucydides’ description of the plague that killed not only Pericles but also claimed 1/3 of Athen’s population, taken from Art and Experience in Classical Greece.

Excerpt 1 from http://www.sarissa.org : “In 430 B.C.E. Athens was stricken down by another enemy: plague. The plague struck Athens killing about 1/3 of her population. In 429 B.C.E. the plague took the life of Athen's brilliant statesman, Pericles. With Pericles gone his successors attempted to wage the war on land and sea. Three confrontations followed. The first in 425 B.C.E. at Sphacteria at which Athens defeated Sparta. The second in 424 B.C.E. at Delium at which Athens was decisively beaten by the Boeotians. The third occurred at Amphipolis in 422 B.C.E. During this engagement Cleon, the Athenian leader, and Brasidas, a Spartan commander, were killed. A temporary halt to the fighting was called soon afterwards in 421 B.C.E.”

Excerpt 2 from Art and Experience in Classical Greece: Thucydides’ description of the plague:

“There was the awful spectacle of men dying like sheep through having caught the infection nursing one another. The infectious nature of the disease meant that the more honorable and compassionate a man was, the more certain he was of destruction. Dejection swept the city ‘where even the members of the family were at last worn out by the moans of the dying, and succumbed to the force of the disaster…The bodies of the dying men lay one upon the other, 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 of persons that had died there, just as they were; for as the disaster passed all bounds, men, not knowing what was to become of them, became utterly careless of everything, whether sacred or profane. It came to the point where some would usurp funeral pyres prepared by others or casually throw the corpse which they bore on a pyre already burning. Nor was this the only form of lawless extravagance which owed its origin to the plague. 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 alike as things of the day. Perseverance once in what man 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 offences, 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.”

(from Art and Experience in Classical Greece pp. 52-4)