In his recount of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides presents the speech of the Spartan King Archidamus as a part of the debate that occurred at the Sparta War Council. In his speech, Archidamus hopes to convince the Spartans that, contrary to conventional belief, they are not truly courageous if they give in to the urging of their allies and immediately went to war with Athens. Rather, self-control, expressed in the form of prudent decision-making, represents true courage because the exercise of self-control is able to endow its possessor with other Spartan ideals—namely, good judgment, a sense of shame, and moderation. Through tying his conception of courage with other highly esteemed traditional Spartan ideals, Archidamus espouses a vision of the …show more content…
For instance, at the beginning of his speech, Archidamus first warns the Spartans that rushing head first into a war without adequate preparations would undoubtedly “bring shame and trouble on the Pelopennesus” (Thucydides 27) and is therefore a demonstration of foolishness rather than courage. On the other hand, he argues that the Spartans’ self-discipline “makes [them] good soldiers and gives [them] good judgment” (Thucydides 27) through “[being] the chief cause of a sense of shame [as well as a] shame of courage” (Thucydides 27). This quotation indicates Archidamus’ belief that self-control, expressed through prudent and level-headed decision-making, represents true and durable courage because it endows its possessor with other Spartan virtues—namely, good judgment, moderation, and a sense of shame—that are both intrinsically good for themselves as well as for their