By Tuesday, September 30, we'll have read three important excerpts from Thucydides. These are short but not completely easy, and I want you to use your response paper as an opportunity to plunge more deeply into one of these. So, please comment on one of the following topics:

a) Comment on how Pericles uses the word "honor" in the Funeral Speech. Is it similar to or different from the use of this word in the Iliad?

b) We discussed in class three areas in which the Plague seemed to contradict or undercut the ideals of Athens as portrayed in the Funeral Speech: the treatment of laws, ritual, and honor and shame. Is there any other respect in which the Plague narrative portrays men acting in ways that contradict the values of the Speech? Comment briefly.

c) Thucydides is often mentioned as the first thinker to analyze international relations as a "realist." Using the standards for "realism" provided by your International Politics text (find these in the index), comment briefly on what is "realistic" about this passage.

If you have questions, let me know. I'll try to provide promptly.