Cleon's Speech to the Athenians (Leaf from Thucydides)
Cleon's Speech to the Athenians (Leaf from Thucydides)
Artist
Johannes Rubeus
Author
Thucidides
Place of OriginItaly, Treviso
Dateabout 1485
ClassificationPrints
Object number
1928.50
Not on View
DescriptionThis incunable leaf comes from a Latin edition of Thucydides’ Bellum Peloponnesiacum (History of the Peloponnesian War), printed by Johannes Rubeus in Treviso around 1485. The visible heading, Oratio Cleonis apud Athenienses, introduces the speech of Cleon before the Athenian Assembly following the revolt of Mytilene in 427 BCE. In it, Cleon argues for harsh punishment of the rebels, warning that mercy endangers empire. The opposing speech by Diodotus, advocating restraint, immediately follows. The pair became classical exempla of political rhetoric and moral reasoning.
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