Ancient Greece’s ideology and perception of human nature.

  Both Plato and Socrates were prominent authors whose works influenced and shaped ancient Greece’s ideology and perception of human nature. A common topic of interest for both authors was the analysis of the root of human evil, which produces warfare, violence, and political unrest. According to Plato, “When come wars, and fighting, and factions, if not from the body and the body’s desires? Wars are caused by the love of money, and money has to be acquired for the sake and in the service of the body… the body is always breaking in on us, causing turmoil and confusion in our inquiries, and so upsetting us that we are prevented from seeing the truth” (Plato Excerpt B). Plato perceived warfare and political rest as an overflow of man’s bodily desires and selfish ambitions that inevitably impedes us to search after worldly pleasures, including power and wealth. Similarly, Thucydides claimed that “the cause of all these evils was love of power due to ambition and greed, which led to rivalries from which party splitting sprung” (Thucydides Excerpt B). While analyzing the causes of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides came to the conclusion that man’s inherently evil nature brings about rebellion against the law and the pursuit of uncontrolled passions. Despite this commonality, Plato and Thucydides differ in the overall focus on their work. Thucydides primarily centered his work around the Peloponnesian War and the prevention of future occurrences, outlining cold hard facts that explained the political and social implications of the war. For example, Thucydides commented on the violence of the war, explaining that “this is not revolt-revolt implies oppression; it is deliberate and wanton aggression; an attempt to ruin us by siding without bitterest enemies; a worse offense than a war undertaken on their own account on the acquisition of power” (Thucydides Excerpt A). Thucydides poured into his research on the Peloponnesian War, exploring the major personalities on each side of the conflict and examining the political origins of the clash between Sparta and Athens as his main point of focus throughout literature. On the other hand, Plato maintained a broader, more holistic focus on human nature and our relationship with reality. In the Allegory of the Cave, Plato illustrates his perception of human nature by describing a shadow of appearances that hides the world of eternal nonmaterial realities beyond. The soul is imprisoned in the body, and must be broken free into the ideal Form. He explains how men who understand the true reality of the world must take on the responsibility of bringing others into awareness. Essentially, well being, happiness, high virtue, and right moral action is the epitome of ethical practice and life (Plato Excerpt: The Theory of Ideas: The Allegory of the Cave). Ultimately, Plato and Thucydides differ in the sense that Thucydides focuses on a narrower subject, whereas Plato takes on a broader perspective of human nature in a bigger context.