The timeliness and actuality of Thucydides Some thoughts

The timeliness and actuality of Thucydides. Some thoughts and an educational scenario regarding recent events in Ukraine Pashalis Theotokidis Dimitris Tahmatzidis Head Master of 4 th Lyceum of Veria Teacher of Classics – 4 th Lyceum of Veria

Conception - Inception • February 2014 • «History teaches us that we are being taught by history nothing at all!» • Paradox! • National Curriculum: Thucydides text, Book 3, Chapters 70 to 83 • Recent events in Ukraine • Oleksandr Turchynov’s statements as Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament and acting President of Ukraine, regarding “neutrality”.

Teaching method & time planning • blended learning: face 2 face teaching, e-mails we send to students regarding media (news reports from Associated Press – mainly from You Tube) & book – historical research regarding Thucydides and civil war and Corcyra and discussion using Susan Lyle’s Community of Inquiry (C. O. I. ) • Thucydides 3 rd Book of History, Chapters 70 – 73 & 80 – 83 • Target group: 25 boys and girls (14 -15 yrs) • 4 hours (45 minutes each) • 1 st hour – f 2 f: introductions to historical time frame and background (events that took place in summer of 427 B. C. ) • e-mail to students (asynchronous learning: students had one week to watch media and reflect upon them) • 2 nd hour: Commentary chapters 70 – 73 (note: students studied the ancient Greek text but were given an translation in modern Greek as well, even though some translation skills were required) • 3 rd hour: main student activity in classroom (students had 45 minutes to answer 2 question regarding civil war in Corcyra and the imminent civil war in Ukraine) • 4 th hour: watching videos, talking about Lysias text (C. O. I. )

1 st hour • “Killing stereotypes”. • Even before the Peloponnesian War (431 – 404 B. C. ) the two great rivals, city – states, were Athens and Corinth and Athens were in fierce competition. • One city is trying to beat the other, displacing one another from their strategic positions. • Corinth was in control of the whole of western Greece, southern Italy and Sicily. Moreover, had the advantage of controlling the Isthmus, a strategic pass to trade routes from East to West Mediterranean Sea. • Athens was a naval superpower and had one and only strategic goal: to obtain somehow access to the west, mainly Sicily, in order to control the trade even if she had to conquer all the major Western markets. • The competition between the two cities involved many areas of everyday life, regarding even cultural aspects, such as, for example, pottery techniques and manufacturing (Table 1)

1 st hour

1 st hour • Corfu: Field of conflicting interests • Corfu: strategic objective of the Athenians (must have) • Corfu: Corinthian colony • Regimes: constitutions covering opposing interests • Corinth: oligarchy regime • Athens: democratic regime • Behind constitutions are different (conflict) interests

E-mails at students • Videos 1. Neutrality is impossible: https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=n. Yh 60 cw. VDNQ&list =UU 5 e 4 WUe. QOq. I 9 joi 2 kq 36 Mlw 2. Violence at the streets of Kiev: https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=6 j. TR_uy. SXX 8&list= UU 5 e 4 WUe. QOq. I 9 joi 2 kq 36 Mlw 3. Ukrainian people suffering: https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=P_9 CEMHr. ORQ&list =UU 5 e 4 WUe. QOq. I 9 joi 2 kq 36 Mlw 4. Direction e-mailed to students: «We will discuss the relation between civil war in Corfu and the imminent crisis in Ukraine. Please take time to simply watch the attached you tube videos regarding our topic and note down questions or remarks you may have. Thank you!»

2 nd hour • • • Ancient Greek text (with translation in modern Greek) Pithias: an Athenian agent (etheloproxenos), leader of the democrat party. Objective : to organize a democratic party and get the island on behalf of the Athenians. 1 st STAGE – LEGAL PROSECUTIONS 1 st action: the oligarchic Corcyraeans sue Pithias that he wants to bring their city into the servitude of the Athenians (the exact ancient Greek word is “καταδουλοῦν” which means “to enslave the island to the Athenians” - political accusation) 2 nd action : Pithias is acquitted and now he takes his turn in suing 5 richest Corcyraeans on religious issues (religious accusation) 2 nd STAGE - VIOLENCE 1 st action: The oligarchic Corcyraeans kill Pithias and 60 other democrats. 2 nd action: The oligarchic Corcyraeans after taking over every political power, they declare neutrality for their island. Then they called the people of Corcyra to an assembly, and told them that what they had done was for the best and that they should not be now in bondage to the Athenians; and for the future they advised them to be in quiet and to receive neither party with more than one galley at once and to take them for enemies if they were more. And when they had spoken, forced them to decree it accordingly. 3 rd STAGE – DEPLOMACY The Corcyraeans sent ambassadors to Athens both to show that it was fit for them to do what they had done and also to dissuade such Corcyraeans as were fled thither of the other faction from doing anything to their prejudice for fear the matter should fall into a relapse.

nd 2 hour • Locating the paradox and commenting it: • It is impossible to kill the Athenian leader and declare neutrality! • It is impossible to declare neutrality when your country is a field of conflict interests. • It was ridiculous to kill the Athenian leader in Corcyra and then send ambassadors to Athens to inform them about neutrality, since their strategic aim was to enslave Corcyra. • The only logical thing to do for the Corcyraeans was to declare war to Athens. • The Athenians imprisoned the Corcyraean ambassadors.

3 rd hour – main student activity

3 rd hour – main student activity

4 th hour – C. O. I. • • Watch the videos in classrooms Talk about them Discuss students answers The role of political parties in Ukrainian and Corcyrean crisis The conflict of interests in strategic areas Is Democracy better than Oligarchy or any other constitution? Paul Davies, The cost of realism Lysias text – oration - Defence against a Charge of subverting the Democracy, section 7 - 9

• http: //data. perseus. org/citations/urn: cts: greek. Lit: tlg 0540. tlg 025. perseus-eng 1: 7 • 7. I will now try to explain to you who of the citizens are inclined, in my view, to court oligarchy, and who democracy. This will serve as a basis both for your decision and for the defence that I shall offer for myself; for I shall make it evident that neither under the democracy nor under the oligarchy has my conduct suggested any inclination to be disloyal to your people. • [8] Now, first of all, you should reflect that no human being is naturally either an oligarch or a democrat: whatever constitution a man finds advantageous to himself, he is eager to see that one established; so it largely depends on you whether the present system finds an abundance of supporters. That this is the truth, you will have no difficulty in deducing from the events of the past. • [9] For consider, gentlemen of the jury, how many times the leaders of both governments changed sides. Did not Phrynichus, Peisander and their fellow demagogues, when they had committed many offences against you, proceed, in fear of the requital that they deserved, to establish the first oligarchy? And did not many of the Four Hundred, again, join in the return of the Peiraeus party, while some, on the other hand, who had helped in the expulsion of the Four Hundred, actually appeared among the Thirty? Some, too, of those who had enlisted for Eleusismarched out with you to besiege their own comrades!

Students answers

Results - Conclusions • Historic laws are recurring (civil wars will happen again and again) because humans are always acting upon sustaining or implementing their strategic interests. • Different – opposing interests will eventually lead to conflict. • The crisis in Ukraine and Corcyra were historically inevitable. • Civil wars, however, are a result of specific political selections and political management, which means they can be avoided. • Political parties will use constitutions or institutions (conservatives or democracies) as rhetoric, in order to cover different or opposing interests and that is why they will be used as an excuse or pretense to escalate a crisis. • Political parties will not represent people or public interest, on the contrary, they will divide people in order to impose their own interests, even if that process will lead to civil war. • Education and teaching (history) will help people: • to understand the historic laws and their dynamics by seeing similar historic events, • to realize that the only interest is the public interest • to see that political parties are mainly dividing instead of uniting people • new constitutions, collectiveness and institutions should be made • civil wars can be avoided through different political selections