Killing the Past in Thucydides' Plataean Debate (original) (raw)

This article explores the rhetorical and literary implications of the Plataean Debate in Thucydides' work, focusing on how the past is portrayed as being doomed to forgetfulness and neglect during the Peloponnesian War. It argues that the speakers in the debate invoke a lost value system tied to earlier historical allegiances, which starkly contrasts with the prevailing attitudes of their contemporaries. The work further emphasizes Thucydides' deliberate literary strategies in reconstructing the debate and highlights the broader theme of human nature's tendency to forsake historical commitments when they are politically inconvenient.