Greece Quotes

• Athens feared that, under the influence of Perdiccas and of the Corinthians, Potidaea might be induced to revolt [Thucydides]
• some maintaining that war was necessary and others saying that the Megarian decree should be revoked and should not be allowed to stand in the way of peace [Thucydides]
• [Athens had the] widest experience of the sea [Thucydides]
• [Athens was] very wealthy both as individuals and as a state [Thucydides]
• helots would be glad to eat a Spartan raw [Xenophon]
• nor to think that war is a good thing or a safe thing [Thucydides]
• Make preparation by winning over new allies both among Hellens and among foreigners [Thucydides]
• the most terrible thing of all was the despair into which the people fell [during the plague] [Thucydides]
• decided to put to death not only those now in their hands but also the entire adult male population of Mytilene, and to make slaves of the women and children [Thucydides]
• Departing from his necessary interest sought how he could most quickly make peace with the Athenians and get rid of Brasidas [Thucydides]
• received supreme power by sea without having to fight for it [Diodorus]
• the Spartan authorities promised to invade Attica if Athens attacked Potidaea [Thucydides]
• the unorthodoxy of the Athenians [Thucydides]
• what made war inevitable was the growth of Athenian power and the fear which this caused in Sparta [Thucydides]
• Athens has deprived some states of their freedom and is scheming to do the same thing for others [Thucydides]
• the chief reason for the failure of the Persian invasion was the mistaken policy of the Persians themselves [Thucydides]
• Do you really suppose a thousand men would fight an army like mine? [Herodotus]
• I think it's an allusion to Cleon, who so shamelessly feeds on filth all by himself [Aristophanes]
• afforded you an opportunity for peace more than once, but you have always preferred war [Aristophanes, Peace]
• the Megarian decree, set the city aflame [Aristophanes, Peace]
• they attacked the well-filled purses of the richest among our allies on the pretence that they belonged to Brasidas' party [Aristophanes, Peace]
• When the Lacedaemonians started to show signs of irritation at Athens' increasing power, Pericles encouraged the Athenian people to entertain even more grandiose designs [Plutarch]
• but after their arrival they became nervous about the courage and brilliance the Athenians displayed and dismissed them on the grounds that they were fomenting revolution [Plutarch]
• When the people of Thasos had rebelled against Athens, he [Cimon] defeated them at sea [Plutarch]
• Themistocles appreciated the danger of this situation and not only waived the command in favour of Eurybiades, but also set about calming the Athenians down [Plutarch]
• Thucydides was overthrown and absolutely all the political affairs of the Athenian people passed into Pericles' hands [Plutarch]
• He [Themistocles] proposed that they should use the money from the mines to build a fleet for the war [Plutarch]
• they were consequently in a high state of military prepardness [Thucydides]
• every Spartan is a match for ten men of mine [Herodotus]