Thucydides: On The Early History of the Hellenes (c. 395 BCE)

The theme of this reading is to break down the lifestyle of the Hellenes. In the article, Thucydides explains about the different regions within the country of Hella and how the regions became one country and Hella's different rulers. He says that when the country was first formed as multiple areas, the people more nomadic than settled. Thucydides goes on to tell of the evolution of the people of Hella and how they adapted to the circumstances in their lives.

In the beginning of the article, Thucydides describes the Hellenes as "always ready to migrate." He describes the Hellenes as a partially nomadic people that could quickly leave their homes whenever needed. The idea of living a completely migratory lifestyle stood out to me because it is so different from the culture that most people are used to in today's time. The fact that the Hellenes were able to pick up everything and just leave is something so foreign to the way I was raised that I made that section to catch my attention more than the others.

One idea that the article has created was how easily the Hellenes were able to adapt to their circumstances and surroundings. Being a nomadic people, they were always able to move from location to location, and subsequently, situation to situation. Also, the reading tells about how the people chose to wear armor in everyday life as an adjustment to a period of unrest and fighting. This makes me think that people should learn to able to adjust more readily to the situation and to not get to attached the way things are in their current situation.

A parrallel to the modern world that I saw in this reading is the changes in the ways of the people of Hella and the current situation in the Middle East with so many of the countries in that region shifting rulers and political ideas. I think these parrallel to each other because the Hellenes went through many changes and the Middle Eastern people are doing much of the same thing now. The specific kind of change is different, but both the Hellenes learned to adapt to change and many of the people in the Middle Eastern region are learning to do the same thing.