ABSTRACT
There are three possible outcomes in war: victory, defeat or stalemate, but even a stalemate can be construed as a moral victory or defeat, depending upon the war aims of the combatants. Pericles realized that the Athenians had little chance of winning a decisive war in the conventional manner, i.e. an invasion of the Peloponnese and the destruction of Sparta, since the Athenian army would be destroyed by the superior forces of the Peloponnesian League:
Therefore Pericles’ war aim was shaped by this knowledge, which he expressed in his final speech before the outbreak of war:
The Greek word ‘periesesthai’ is used in two other places by Thucydides to describe Pericles’ war aim (2.13.9; 2.65.7 – all references in this chapter are to Thucydides, unless otherwise stated), but there is an ambiguity about its meaning. It can be translated as ‘to be superior to’ or ‘to survive’, and for that reason ‘to win through’ is an effective translation. Sparta’s war aim was to destroy the Athenian Empire and thus, if the Athenians could survive their attacks and retain possession of their Empire, a stalemate would ensue. However, Pericles would view this as a victory for the Athenians, whereas the failure and the consequent loss of face by the Spartans would be judged as a defeat, especially if the Spartans could be made to seem the aggressors (7.18).
With these considerations in mind, Pericles devised a defensive strategy to ensure Athens’ survival:
