Pericles: One the Greatest War Strategist - Essay Example

Pericles: One the greatest war strategist and a visionary The Peloponnesian war, fought between Athenians and Sparta, was one of the longest wars inthe annals of history. It also went on to become one of the first wars to be recorded as historical event by the eminent fifth century historian Thucydides. The war, fought for nearly three decades, has all the drama encompassing brilliant war strategists, warfare, treaties, unholy alliances and treason. It was a war that was supposed to be won by trying to cut off food supply! The war, in retrospect, was full of human ambitions and betrayals and highlights the treacherous nature of the man. Of the numerous leaders and representative of the Peloponnesian war, the one leader that stands out, according to me, is General Pericles. He became General of the Athenian army in 444 BC and continued to guide the army till 403 BC when he died due to some infectious disease. His strategic brilliance and his desire to avert a bloody encounters with the Sparta during the first phase of Peloponnesian war, have been seen as one of the greatest strategic manoeuvres of the time while exhibiting calm and exceptional self control. Pericles was born in Athens in around 495 BC and had royal connections from his mother’s side. He was the son of famous Greek politician Xanthppus who had led to the victory of Greek contingent in the war of Mycale. His family wealth helped him to pursue his education and artistic inclinations at great lengths. He was a highly skilled musician who also dabbled in philosophy. His friends and acquaintances include great philosophers like Protagoras, Zeno and Anaxagoras. His attributes like his calmness in the face of adversity and his self control are believed to be influenced by Xanagoras’s philosophy of life. His ascendancy into politics happened in 461 BC when Cimon, his political opponent was accused of secretly supporting Sparta, their arch enemies and betraying their tribe. During his political span, Pericles has been renowned for his policies of empowering poor by legalising their participation in political system and public offices which had been inaccessible to them previously. This particular move of Pericles won him the trust of his people and later when he became the General of the Athenian army, his soldiers gave him their full support because majority of them belonged to the lower class, who had been bestowed egalitarian status by virtue of Pericles’ political policies. His concept of radical democracy later became the foundation of sound democratic guidelines for the future leaders of the world. Pericles education and his artistic inclination went a long way in establishing Greece as one of the greatest culturally refined and advanced civilizations. The surviving structures of Acropolis, Parthenon bear witness to an era of artistic greatness. His efforts for beautification of the cities led to increased employment opportunities which were welcome diversions for the people who had been undergoing the socio-economic strains of the ongoing war. His charismatic leadership made him popular among the masses. His statesmanship and diplomacy was such that even when he was defeated in battles against the enemies, people always ended up praising him and endeavours. During his leadership of the Athenians, Greece became of the most powerful country with formidable naval power. Literature and Arts thrived during his reign. He was responsible for the rebuilding of the Athenian temples which included the Golden statue of Athena made by his friend Phidias. He constructed walls around Athens which later protected the people from the invasions of the Sparta. Pericles foray into politics prepared him to become a much more tolerant and dynamic General of the Athenian Army. He believed in friendly alliances with other Greek cities. Under his leadership, truce between Persia and Athens became possible even though, it later became contentious. Though, Pericles led Athens into several wars which mostly led to the victory but his war against the barbarians of Gallipoli, made him the hero of the people. He expelled the barbarians and formed Athenian colony in the regions and letting people decide for themselves. It was around 446 BC that Athens was targeted by different enemies and Pericles surrendered Boeotia in order to recover the prisoners taken during the battle. Pericles also diffused the crisis of Attica by tactful negotiations and bribery. His troops crushed the uprising in Euboea and though he was known as tolerant general, he nevertheless, meted out stringent punishment to people who had aided the Spartan army by either confiscating their property or by expelling them and getting Athenians settled in their stead. This crisis became crucial in the history because it ushered 30 years’ peace between the Athenians and Spartan with both sides agreeing to stick to their own allies. It was Pericles’ initiative that Athenians surrendered their contentious possessions in order to forge peaceful treaty with Spartans. Pericles’ believed in preserving and maintaining a status quo rather than expanding his territory. He basically wanted to avert crisis which could lead to unnecessary bloodshed and destruction. He was also aware of the economic strain that long drawn wars tended to inflict. He education and his strong bent towards literature and arts, made sure that he use his oratory power to compensate destructive retaliation and unnecessary aggression. Though he was not a coward but whenever the need arose, he tried to evaluate the situation before going in for war as a last resort. As in the case of Boeotia, he always made efforts to take into account the needs and requirements of his soldiers than to put them at the mercy of the enemies. It was Pericles farsightedness that Athenians took up trade activites with other countries through the sea routes which later came of use during the first Peloponnesian war in 430 BC. The 30 years peace lasted only 3 years and the Spartans attacked Attica in the war that came to be known as Peloponnesian war. Athenians were forced into the war to preserve their honour and to show that unjustified demands of the Spartans and their allies would not be tolerated. Peloponnesian war, in fact, became the flagship of the Pericles’ policy which was based on honour and principles. This war also showed the strategic superiority of the Athenians under the leadership of Pericles. Spartans’ move of attacking Attica and destroying crops and later surrounding Athens and thereby forcing Athenians either to starve or fight, actually boomerang on them only because Pericles traded grain through the sea route and employed his naval force to conquer the coastline of the peloponnese while peloponessian army sat in front the walls of Athens uselessly. His death in 429 BC would always be remembered as a strategic setback for the Athenians. Unlike other leaders and Generals of the army of Athenians and Spartans, Pericles holds the indisputable honour of the most popular leader of the time with a high moral character, untainted by corruption or treachery. The Peloponnesian war is crammed with ambitious Generals whose treachery and betrayal have resulted in the bloodiest and the longest war of the history. Acbiades tops the list of the generals whose frequent betrayals and self interest have sullied the army of Athenians as well as Spartans. Pericles’ indomitable strength of character and his visions made it possible for the Athenians later on, to develop and modify his strategies to protect Athens while at the same time, the political democratic fabric, helped the Generals to get the support of the soldiers and expand territories. It is for this reason that Pericles would always be remembered as the architect of modern Greece whose promotion of literature not only made Greece culturally superior but his concept of radical democracy laid the foundation of democratic values for the rest of the world. Read More