The reading I picked was "The Plague at Athens". I picked this reading because of the impact that plague had on classical Athens. One passage that jumped out to me when reading this is during the first part of the passage when physicians were dying. Physicians were dying because they were visiting a lot of sick patients that contracted the disease. They also had very few resources in place. This can relate to the Spanish flu of 1918, and the COVID-19 Pandemic of 2020. As people were dying from the plague, there was very little to help because of the growing number of cases, and treatment was limited. Treatment was limited to all these plagues because people during these times weren't prepared for what was about to happen. The author is trying to communicate what limited help does to people. This document tells me more about the turmoil of classical Athens as a lot of challenges were happening during this time. I would like to find out more about what can be done to prevent plagues like the Plague at Athens, the Spanish Flu, and the COVID-19 pandemic from happening if there's any, as these difficult events comes by surprise.

I chose Thucydides' account of the Plague at Athens because it serves as a balance between a detail-rich view and the destruction the plague caused during the Peloponnesian War. Of particular interest was how this disease ravaged not only the body but deeply touched the psyche and social structure of Athens. Thucydides describes the desperation of the sick, the collapse of traditional social expectations, and the failure of religious faith as clear instances of what such a disaster causes among human beings.

Thucydides seems to be pointing to the fragility of society in the face of such an uncontrollable disaster. He displays how it caused the abandonment of faith in the gods and laws and how it overturned hedonism, understood as a means of trying to deal with life's capricious nature. This breakdown of society people refused to follow even the ritual of burying their loved ones and totally disregarded their moral codes-is the sure reflection of the epidemic's psychological and social bedlam.

This extract reveals a society that was already struggling during the war, which the plague exacerbated. Thucydides depicted Athens as a city weighed down by threats from outside and within, where survival became the ultimate pursuit. It supports the other readings regarding how societies can be so vulnerable during times of crisis. I would very much like to learn more about how the psychological effects of the plague were interpreted at the time and how similar pandemics elsewhere in the world influenced cultural change.

Thucydides' "The Plague of Athens," was the reading I chose this week as it discusses the events that occurred in Athens with the deadly plague that took about 25 percent of the population. The main reason for choosing this reading was to witness and compare how Athenians felt about this epidemic/pandemic and if there is any correlation to how Covid-19 was dealt with. The first quote that stood out to me stated, "Neither were the physicians at first of any service, ignorant as they were of the proper way to treat it, but they die themselves..as they visited the sick most often" (Thucydides 47). This quote relates a lot to the pandemic seen in 2020 as many of our essential caregivers and health experts were the first to put themselves at risk and in danger of the deadly virus. Like the physicians in Athens, many of our doctors and nurses were passed trying to stabilize the death count and weren't given any proper support. As I continued to read the passage, the brutality of this disease was insane to read especially with the precise detailing of what the virus did to people. The disease traveling through the body causing different symptoms and bodily shutdowns makes one appreciate how far medicine has gotten. But also makes one question what type of virus was seen in this plague as I feel like this was more of a parasitic disease than a bacterial one. With this information, you can see that Athens was in extreme turmoil during this time. Seeing as their city-states fell to the disease one by one, it is undeniable to also see how quickly hysteria and conspiracy spread as many officials believed this disease traveled quickly due to international interference. In the end, I wonder how it would've felt being a young human or outsider stuck within Athens, was there discrimination present at this time, were there people like those in 2020 who didn't believe in the disease that possibly caused the spread of it?

I pitched “A Charge of Sacrilege” because I was curious about the title and what it was about. The passage that jumped to me was in our textbook “The Trial of Socrates” chapter nine. In both trials, there were abusive deeds. Socrates did not have a chance to prove he was innocent, but in “A Charge of Sacrilege” the person who was accused of doing things he did not do, got bail and was free. I think the author was trying to communicate that many people judge others in the name of their power. No matter what they will find a way to turn down others for their benefit. I think the document tells us that the oligarchy was unjust and did many outrageous deeds with people who did not have a voice or a better chance in life. The document seems to relate to politics and how they lie to society to maintain position and control. I would like to find out more about Democracy that works well for all and allows society to live the way they want. 

The reading i picked was the plague at Athens by Thucydides. The particular detail that jumped out at me is where Thucydides recounts how after the passing of Pericles affected Athens extremely. What i think the author was trying to communicate was to show the damages of the plague and how it not only affected Athens physically but also mentally and socially. The plague caused an extensive amount of trauma to Athenians with how much death caused from the plague that was surrounded by them. What i think this document was telling us about this time and place of this period in my opinion is how the unpredictability of human nature can affect anyone including such a high society place like Athens.

The reading I picked for this week is THUCYDIDES Civil War in Corcyra . I picked this reading because it shows how people can behave extremely selfish in desperate times. As I read the document one passage that stood out for me was “The cause of all these things was the pursuit of political power, motivated by greed and ambition. And out of these factors arose the fanatical enthusiasm of individuals now fully disposed to pursue political vendettas.” This means that greed and ambition can make people forget about being fair and act selfishly and cruelly. This document contradicts the ideas we have learned on our previous lessons, about what it means to be Greek, which is the belief to strive and improve themselves and their society. I would like to know more about how this war ended. 

The reading I picked this week was Civil War in Corcyra. The reason I chose this particular reading was thanks to the

class lecture. Corcyra gives a mirror into the bitter divisions between the Democrats, allied with Athens and the Oligarchs, allied with Sparta. One particular passage that jumped out to me was " One who displayed violent anger was “eternally faithful,” whereas any who spoke against such a person was viewed with suspicion. One who laid a scheme and was successful was “wise,” while anyone who suspected and ferreted out such a plot beforehand was considered still cleverer. Any who planned beforehand in order that no such measures should be necessary was a “subverter of the party” and was accused of being intimidated by the opposition. In general, the one who beat another at performing some act of villainy beforehand was praised, as was one who urged another on to such a deed which the latter, originally, had no intention of performing." Thucydides is describing a heavily divided population that was suspicious of the other. He portrays Corcyreans as divisive and treacherous.

This reading supports the view of the never-ending polarization in the world of Hellas, with fractions and alliances coming and going. I would like to know more about Corcyra got to the place in which even family members were pin against each other, how would they rebuild their society after the turmoil.

The document I read for this week is The Plague of Athens by Thucydides. I picked it because reading about a plague seems like a very important part of the history of Athens. The passage that stood out to me was this "For the plague broke out so soon as the Peloponnesians invaded Attica, and never entering Peloponnese (not at least to an extent worth noticing), committed its worst ravages at Athens, and next to Athens, at the most populous of the other towns. Such was the history of the plague". This to me showed that it was a local plague, it did not spread outside of the Athenian area of Greece and did not reach Spartan territory. The author was trying to demonstrate that the plague was a massive blow to Athens and yet despite its crippling effect on Athens the people were not defeated, yet. What I would like to learn more about is the brief mention of the plague maybe being in Spartan lands, if its true then I'd like to hear accounts from there as well, it can be compared to Athens and hopefully a commonality can be observed helping to narrow down what the plague was exactly.

For my discussion this week I chose the Melian Dialogue. This reading interested me because I believe it highlights a major issue that the neutral Greek Polis faced during the Peloponnesian War in that the major sides of the war would not allow neutrality at all. One detail I found particularly interesting was the fact that the Melians would not allow the Athenians to publicly dialogue. This was because the Melian elites, as well as the rest of Ancient Greece, were fearful of the Athenians rhetoric, something we saw constantly during our class lectures. I believe the author is trying to communicate the plight of the Melians in maintaining their freedom and neutrality. The Melians are a free Polis and they want to continue their freedom in the ways they wish, the Athenians are in the wrong here by demanding that the Melians support them or die. Thucydides is trying to convey the emotion and tension that many Greek Polis faced during this time of war.

Something that I wish I knew more about was what the Lacedaemon were doing during this discussion, why didn't anyone go to help the Melians defend their neutrality? I understand that the Athenian navy was the strongest at this time and it may have been a bad idea to go and attempt to help the Melians but how could they just sit back and watch an entire polis be destroyed simply because they would not pick a side?

The reading I picked for this week is The Plague at Athens by Thucydides. The textbook suggests that through “DNA analysis of the teeth of plague victims…it was typhoid fever” and it briefly describes what it was like during the time the plague spread across the city. Reading about it in the textbook is what sparked my interest; so I chose this document because I wanted to get more detail. A passage that stood out to me as I read is Thucydides’ statement: “Not many days after their arrival in Attica the plague first began to show itself among the Athenians. It was said that it had broken out in many places previously in the neighborhood of Lemnos and elsewhere; but a pestilence of such extent and mortality was nowhere remembered”. The author is communicating to us the severity of the plague that took the city by storm. He goes on to describe the symptoms of the plague, stating that he himself survived it. The symptoms began in the head, then redness and inflammation of the eyes. One's throat and tongue also became bloody and inflamed. These symptoms were followed by sneezing, hoarseness, and coughs; as well as an upset stomach which produced violent retching and diarrhea. Externally, the body was red with ulcers; internally they were severely hot. Many lost their lives, and if they survived- lost their extremities like their fingers, and toes; as well as their eyes. There was no cure for this plague. This document is telling us about a pestilence that had never been encountered before, ultimately taking the lives of many Athenian citizens. This document supports what we have discussed in class because this devastation struck during a time when Athens and Sparta were in conflict; the Peloponnesian War. The plague had a significant impact on the Peloponnesian War. It destroyed the Athenian population, which made it that much easier for Sparta to seize control.

The reading that I picked was Perikles’s Funeral Oration by Thucydides. The reason that this reading interested me is because the author was able to commemorate the soldiers that died in battle. The detail in particular that jumped out to me as I read through the passage was the fact that the honor of patriotism was pointed out in the speech. The author made it known that this recognition is equivalent to a life worth living. The soldiers left their all on the battlefield. I believe the author was trying to communicate the fact that during the funeral oration the families of the lost soldiers were given comfort and not condolences. The difference being the fact that the soldiers were very fortunate to be able to stand up for the Athenian cause. The document is telling us that during this time and place the Athenians were in the middle of a war with the Spartans, the Peloponnesian War. During this war the Athenians have a lot at stake as a city-state. The fact that cowardice is frowned upon seems to relate to many generations of Greeks. The Greeks did not appreciate the soldiers that would not die for their cause. I would like to find out more about the impact that Thucydides had as an author on Greek culture and on the world today. The author's works seem to provide detailed depictions on life during this time of the Peloponnesian War.

I chose Thucydides Civil War in Corcyra as this week's reading. This was very telling and let's face it the blueprint to what the most awful, and destructive civil wars descend into. Initially the civil war in Corcyra is a battle between the democrats and oligarch which would be in essence a Athens vs Sparta proxy war. As the war rages on the fighting becomes worse. Treachery, sneak attacks, turning against one's family and atrocity becomes to be perceived as good. The wars breaks down into men vs women, family member vs family member and in essence team A vs Team b with a loss of probably why and what the war was about in the first place. Thucydides main purpose here was not only to show the destructive and irrational nature of civil wars where all sense of rational though becomes lost. It was also to show how societies become permanently destroyed in such wars as Corcyna was.