Representation and Rhetoric: National Identity in the Anonymous Speeches of Thucydides

This thesis is about patterns in the speeches of Thucydides' unnamed ambassadors which create a sense of the national identity of the speakers. While general scholarly opinion had tended to regard Thucydidean speakers as not able to be differentiated, some scholars have demonstrated characterising patterns in the speeches of named individuals, such as Nikias or Archidamos. I focus on three poleis, Athens, Corinth, and Sparta, and base my own investigations on those of the named speeches. I argue that patterns can be discerned in the anonymous speeches which differentiate these three poleis, and which suggest national characterisation. The first part of this thesis considers stylistic features of the anonymous speeches, in the form of a case study of the Spartan anonymous speech, as the statistical evidence highlights some unexpected features of this speech. Thus, I first consider sentence organisation, arguing that while the Spartans in their speech utilise an unusual amount of subordination, the speech retains the brevity and simplicity one would expect of Spartans, relative to speakers of the other poleis. I then consider two features of vocabulary which we would not expect to see in the Spartan speech, arguing that these features suggest an attempt by the Spartans to ingratiate their speech to the Athenians, and that the vocabulary underscores the unusualness of the speech and, due to two programmatic statements in the speech, ultimately serves to re-emphasise Spartan national character. The second part of this thesis considers broader rhetorical features. First, I consider how the speakers frame the persuasive purpose of their speeches, arguing that the Athenians frame their speeches as the giving of advice, as opposed to the Spartans' openness of purpose, while the Corinthians stand between the two. Then I consider the approaches to argumentation, arguing that the Spartans couch their arguments in a conservative, Doric framework, that the Corinthians are also conservative, and that the Athenians highlight the openness to risk-taking of the polis, and consideration of what is profitable, or advantageous. I conclude that differences in organisation of the speeches, length and relative complexity, and rhetorical posturing would suggest national character to a sensitive reader. That is, the Spartan speeches suggest a conservative, Doric polis, the Athenian speeches reflect a democratic state in which sophistic education is freely available, and open to risk-taking, and the Corinthian speeches reflect their geographical and cultural middle point between the poles of Athens and Sparta.