History of Greece, Volume 06 (of 12) — A Reader’s Guide

The Architecture of Empire

Grote devotes sustained attention to the structural apparatus of Athenian hegemony. He enumerates the large amount of revenue laid by and accumulated in the years before the war, and the numerous Athenian citizens planted out as kleruchs—in the Chersonesus of Thrace, at Sinope, and elsewhere. The commercial and personal relations between Athens and all parts of the Aegean are described as active and pervasive. The third Long Wall, the docks in Piraeus laid out by Hippodamus, and the Odeon, Parthenon, and Propylaea are presented as physical manifestations of imperial confidence. Grote notes that these creations of art and architecture had a powerful effect on the minds of contemporaries, and he records Pericles' attempt to convene a general congress of deputies from all Greek states—a scheme that failed but reveals the scope of his ambition.

Pericles vs. Thucydides: The Terms of Debate

The rivalry between Pericles and Thucydides son of Melesias is presented as a contest over two issues: peace with Persia and expenditure for the decoration of Athens. Grote defends Pericles' position as perfectly good against his political rivals, and notes that the contention was bitter enough to lead to the ostracism of Thucydides around 443 BCE. The narrative does not supply the arguments of the opposition in detail, but the framing makes clear that the debate was about the direction of Athenian resources and identity. Grote's own sympathies lie with Pericles' vision of an imperial city adorned with public works, though he does not suppress the fact that this policy was contested. The ostracism itself is treated as a decisive moment that left Pericles without a major opponent for nearly a decade.

The Spartan Embassy: Rhetoric and Reversal

The Lacedaemonian envoys appear before the Athenian assembly with a simple proposition: return the men in Sphakteria in exchange for peace and the alliance of Sparta. Grote quotes their conciliatory appeals, which admit the high and glorious vantage-ground of Athens and their own humbled dignity. They argue that Athens should use her present good fortune while she has it, not rely on its permanence, and that a peace granted generously would rest on Spartan honor and gratitude. They warn that if the men perish, a new and inexpiable ground of quarrel would be added. Grote notes the contrast with the earlier lofty declarations of the Spartan ephors and assembly, and observes that the terms of the armistice—including the surrender of sixty triremes—sufficiently attest the humiliation and anxiety of the Lacedaemonians. The episode is a study in diplomatic reversal.

Movement Between Scenes: From Delos to Sphakteria

Grote's narrative moves across a wide geographical and chronological canvas, but the transitions are governed by a clear structural logic. The volume opens with the Thirty Years' Truce and the exclusively maritime character of Athenian empire after that settlement. It then shifts to the foundation of Amphipolis in Thrace and Thurii in Italy, each presented as a deliberate act of imperial expansion. The political scene returns to Athens for the rivalry of Pericles and Thucydides, and then broadens again to the pan-Hellenic congress proposal. The outbreak of the Peloponnesian War is not narrated in this volume, but the blockade of Potidaea is given as the terminal point. The final extended episode is the Spartan embassy, which brings the reader back to the assembly at Athens. This alternation between Athenian domestic politics and external diplomatic or military events gives the volume a rhythm of contraction and expansion.

Readers approaching this volume will find that Grote's method is to let the sources speak through paraphrase and quotation, while his own judgments are woven into the connective tissue. The speeches he reproduces—especially the Spartan embassy—are worth reading for their rhetorical structure as much as their historical content. The volume is best understood as a study in the dynamics of power: how an imperial city manages its allies, how its leaders justify expenditure, and how a defeated enemy sues for peace. Grote's attention to the language of diplomacy and the material basis of empire gives the work a coherence that transcends the episodic nature of the narrative.

There’s a particular ache in Grote’s account of Pericles’ grand design—how much was built on voices that never got to answer back. I found myself wondering about the women in those gaps, the ones the speeches never mention. That’s why Feminism in Greek Literature from Homer to Aristotle — Background and Themes felt like finding a quiet room in a crowded house. Different silence, same longing.