The "axiosis" [Greek] of Words at Thucydides 3.82.4 Hogan, John T Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies; Summer 1980; 21, 2; Periodicals Archive Online pg. 139

The d<!iw(Ju; of Words 
at Thucydides 3.82.4 

John T. Hogan 

I N HIS FAMOUS CHAPTER on the revolutions engendered by 
the Peloponnesian War Thucydides notes that the effects of 
stasis reached even to the words people used: Kai r~v dw8viav 

di;iwaIV rwv OVO;UlrWV ec; ra epya dvnjAAai;av nJ JIKazwael (3.82.4). 
Scholars have usually taken this as an assertion that the political 
partisans changed the meanings of the words they used, and by 
this is understood the denotations of the words, their referents: 1 

thus (to use Thucydides' first example) acts which once were called 
'rash boldness' (roAfla dAoYlaroc;) were now called 'courageous 
loyalty' (dvJpeia qJIAhazpoc;)-the first phrase was abandoned 
while the second changed its referent. I wish to argue that this 
interpretation of Thucydides is imprecise. The root of di;iwaIC; 
suggests that it ought strictly to mean' act of assigning worth or 
value'.2 In addition to denoting objects or persons, words of the 
sort Thucydides gives as examples also have a certain value in 
themselves and are used to assign values to the objects denoted. 3 

In the normal course of affairs these words have generally ac­
cepted estimations; they carry praise or blame in accordance with 

1 See LSJ S.V. dC;iwa/;; IV; E. F. Poppo and J. M. Stahl, Thucydidis De Bello Pelopon­
nesiaco (Leipzig 1882-88) ad lac., "dc;iwG'/(; propria aestimatio hic significationis vim 
habet"; J. Classen and J. Steup, Thukydides (Berlin 1885-1914) ad lac.; A. W. Gomme, A 
Historical Commentary on Thucydides II (Oxford 1956) ad lac.; John H. Finley, Thu­
cydides (Ann Arbor 1963) 229; Albin Lesky, A History of Greek Literature2 (New York 
1963) 463. The passage has recently been treated in detail by L. Edmunds, "Thucydides' 
Ethics as Reflected in the Description of Stasis," HSCP 79 (1975) 73-92, esp. 74-75 (fol­
lowing the traditional interpretation); and by C. M. MacCleod, "Thucydides on Factions," 
PCPhS (1979) 52-68, who recognizes that a literal translation of ritv eiw(Jviav dc;iwG'IV 
would be "the 'traditional value' of words" (56) but who ultimately follows the usual 
understanding of the passage (61). 

2 The term thus should not refer to the result of an action, i.e., to a commonly assigned 
'meaning'. See P. Chantraine, La formation des noms en grec ancien (Collection Linguistique 
38 [Paris 1933]) 286-89. On the other hand, Thucydides' use of -sis nouns is relatively free, 
and axiosis can refer to the result of an estimation. C(. Gomme ad 2.37.1, 2.62.3-4, and 
2.65.8; and LSJ S.V. dc;iwG'lr; 1.1.2. 

3 I am indebted to an anonymous referee for this last phrase. 

139 



140 THE ASIDEIE OF WORDS 

traditional customs. In stasis, however, men may assign different 
values to these words, or they may confuse normal estimations by 
designating foul deeds by fair names (or vice versa). A determina­
tion of whether Thucydides is in fact describing a change in the 
estimation or value of words depends on an investigation of the 
passage in general and of the particular words in this introductory 
sentence. 4 

To take d~iwal(; first, while it occurs relatively infrequently in 
Greek, LSJ cite many of the passages in which it appears. Apart 
from the present use, which they put into a special category by it­
self, translating the phrase as "the established meaning of words," 
they divide the word into three different senses: (1) 'thinking 
worthy', etc., (2) 'demand, claim (on grounds of merit)', (3) 'opin­
ion, principle, maxim'. 

The first two definitions are very close to the root meaning of 
the verb d~16w. The third in fact is suspect. LSJ refer to Thucydides 
2.88 and compare Aeschines 3.220. In 2.88 Thucydides prefaces 
Phormio's speech to his troops before the second battle in the 
Corinthian Gulf. Phormio had always told his men that they must 
not retire before any multitude of Peloponnesian ships, no matter 
how great. As a consequence: Kai of arparzwral eK nOAAou ev aqJialv 
avrof~ r~v d~iw(Jlv ravrl1v eiAr,qJeaav, 1111t5iva 0XAOV 'A (}l1vaf 01 ovre~ 
IIeAonovvl1a[WV VeWV vnoXwpefv-"and the soldiers for a long time 
among themselves had held this appraisal [of themselves], that, 
being Athenians, they must not retire before any multitude of 
Peloponnesian ships." 1111t5iva ... vnoxwpefv expresses the content 
of the axiosis that the soldiers had taken up. This axiosis is the 
soldiers' appraisal (or estimate) of their abilities, as they have 
formed it in accordance with Phormio's exhortations, which he 
had based on an evaluation of his men's worth. 5 The root meaning 
of the word closely determines its sense here; 'opinion' would not 
adequately render the sense. 

Again, Aeschines is addressing Demosthenes: enrll1ij.~ Ji 1101, 
ei 11~ aVVeXW~, d,Ud t5laAeinwv npo~ rov t5ijJ10V npoaipxol1al, Kai 

4 For a general consideration of fifth-century sophistic theories of language see G. Murray, 
"The Beginnings of Grammar," in Greek Studies (Oxford 1946) 171-91; C. j. Classen, 
"The Study of Language amongst Socrates' Contemporaries," in Sophistik (Darmstadt 
1976) 215-47. For Protagoras' theory of orthoepeia see D. Fehling, "Zwei Untersuchungen 
zur griechischen Sprachphilosophie," RhM 108 (1965) 212-29; Charles Segal, "Protagoras' 
orthoepeia in Aristophanes' Battle of the Prologues," RhM 113 (1970) 158-62. 

5 'Existimatio' E.-A. Bhant, Lexicon Thucydideum I (Geneva 1843) S.V. dt,iw(Jlr;; 'An­
spruch' Classen-Steup. 



JOHN T. HOGAN 141 

T1JV dC;iw(Jzv ravrl1v oiez Aav8dvezv f.1erarpipwv OUK eK ~11f.10Kpariae;, 
aAA' e~ iripae; nOAlrdae;-"You censure me for coming before the 
people not constantly, but only at intervals. And you think it will 
escape notice that you borrow this evaluation from another form 
of government, not democracy." Here axiosis, usually translated 
'demand', refers to the content of Demosthenes' criticism of Aes­
chines. It should not be weakened to 'principle' or 'opinion'. Since 
Demosthenes makes his assessment on the basis of what he thinks 
is right, the root meaning of the word is close to the surface. 

The other occurrences ofaxiosis in classical Greek (in addition 
to those cited by LS]) will be seen also to retain the root meaning, 
'worth', 'value'. At Thucydides 3.9.2 axiosis has an active mean­
ing. The Mytileneans are asking for Spartan help in their revolt 
from Athens. They must first dispose of the commonplace that a 
deserter will not be a trustworthy ally to the one to whom he de­
serts. They say that this appraisal is not unjust (Kai OUK li.~zKoe; 
avrl1 r, ac;iwait; 8arlv), when the rebels and those from whom they 
are revolting are united in policy and sympathy and there is no 
ground for deserting. Their cause, of course, is different. Axiosis 
means 'judgement' or 'estimation',6 and refers to the value judge­
ment the Mytileneans must combat to win their plea. 

At 2.34.6 Thucydides describes the basis for the selection of the 
man to speak the funeral oration: tnez~av be KPV/f/W(Jl y1j, avitp 
r}PI1f.1ivoe; uno rije; nOAeWe; oe; tlV YVWf.1IJ re ~OK1j f.1ft ac;vveroe; sivaz Kai 
a~zwael np011KIJ, Aiyez en' avrofe; enalVOV rov npinovra-"But when 
they have buried the remains in the earth, a man chosen by the city, 
who is thought well-endowed with wisdom and who stands out in 
reputation, speaks over them the fitting praise." The wise man of 
outstanding reputation is chosen by the city. The passive sense of 
axiosis is uppermost. 7 The word means almost exactly the same 
thing at 2.37.1: f.1ireaTl be Kara f.18V rove; V0f.10Ve; npoe; ra ioza 
~ldrpopa na(Jl ro i'aov, Kara be ritv ac;iw(Jlv, we; eKaarOe; tv up ev~o­
Klf.1el, OVK ano f.1ipove; ro nAiov ee; ra Koiva if an:' aperije; n:poTlf.1araz­
"Concerning private disputes there is equality for all according to 
the laws, but in respect to a recognition of worth, as each one is in 
any way highly regarded, he is preferred to public honors not 
more because of his rank than because of his virtue." Men are 

6 The scholiast (Scholia in Thucydideum, ed. Carolus Hude [Leipzig 1927]) defines the 
word here as ~ b6¢a, ~ Kpialr;, 6 AoymJ1.6r;. Poppo-Stahl compare 2.88.2; 'Ansicht, Beur­
teilung' Classen-Steup. 

7 So Classen-Steup; E. C. Marchant, Thucydides Book II (London 1891) ad loc.; 
'dignatio' Betant and Poppo-Stahl. 



142 THE ASIDEIE OF WORDS 

preferred to public office in accordance with their merit or a recog­
nition of worth. S So too at 2.65.8, the esteem in which Pericles was 
held (lxwv br' d~l(haBl) allowed him even to anger and contradict 
the people. 

At Thucydides 1.69 the Corinthians castigate the Spartans for 
allowing the Athenians to increase their power. The Spartans are 
the true subjugators of Hellas: ou yap 0 <5ovAwaapBVOe;, UAA' 0 
<5vvapevoe; piv navaat neplOpWV Ji uAYfOiarepov aura <5pfj., einep Kai 
riJv d~iwmv rije; uPerije; we; iAeVOePWV riJv 'EAAa<5a (fJiperat-"Not 
the one who enslaves, but the one who is able to stop enslavement 
and overlooks it, is the truer enslaver, especially if he carries the 
axiosis of the excellence of liberating Greece." Here axiosis may 
have either an active or passive sense, 'claim' or 'esteem'.9 

In fr.15N. of Euripides the physical beauty of royal offspring is 
envisioned: 

1<501Pl <5' aurwv lKYOV' apaeV' upaivwv· 
npwrov PBV el<5oe; a~lOv rvpavvi<5oe;· 
nAeiarYf yap dperiJ rovB' vnapxov iv Picp, 
riJv d~iwmv nov KaAwv ro awp' [XBIV. 

The last line seems to mean "for the body to have the esteem of the 
handsome."lo The last important instance ofaxiosis to be con­
sidered comes from the De{initiones, a work spuriously ascribed to 
Plato: peyaAonpineta d;;iwme; Kara AOYlapov opOav rov aepvorarov 
(412E), "Magnificence is being esteemed in accordance with a 
right reckoning of the most noble." 11 The idea of evaluating is here 
again predominant in axiosis. 

Thus, in all its occurrences the meaning ofaxiosis is determined 
by its root. If, then, axiosis at Thucydides 3.82.4 is defined in 
agreement with its root, it will be translated 'judgement of worth' 
or 'estimation', and it will refer (when taken with dwBvfav) to the 

8 cr. Marchant: "dt;{wGl!;-existimatio, the consideration accorded to merit, recognition 
of personal claims." Classen-Steup (followed by Gomme): "Den VOP.OI, welche einem jeden 
ein unbedingtes Recht gewahren, ist die dt;{WGlr;, das Urteil der Offentlichen Meinung, 
entgegengestellt, das durch Verdienste gewonnen sein will." 'Dignatio' Betant. 

9 Pappa-Stahl: "d';iwazr; aut passivam hic vim habet, ut sit dignitas ... vel existimatio, 
laus, aut activam, ut sit assertio, vindicatio." Classen-Steup take it as passive, 'Anerken­
nung'. 'Existimatio' Bhant. 

10 See to a rather different effect C. B. Gulick Athenaeus VI (Cambridge [Mass.] 1970 
[LCL]) 57 note g.: "The poet goes on to say that it is a great merit to have a physical beauty 
in keeping with noble estate." 

11 D. F. Ast, Lexicon Platonicum I (Leipzig 1835) s.v. d';iwazr;, defines the word here as 
'dignitas'. For the text see H. Richards, ClQ 3 (1909) 15. 



JOHN T. HOGAN 143 

customary use of words to assess worth, to praise and blame. 
Thucydides is saying that in stasis men changed the customary 
evaluative power of words. A consideration of the remainder of 
the sentence confirms this. 

Different and specialized meanings have also sometimes been 
given to nj bllwlwael. 12 Dikaiosis basically means 'making or set­
ting right'; Thucydides' use of it conforms to this core meaning. 13 

!lj blKalWael is a type of instrumental dative, the dative of cause, 
expressing a motive. Its grammar resembles the second dative in 
the following expression from Thucydides: of /lev dnopi{l dKO­
AovBwv, ot' be dnuni{l "some (carried their own food) because they 
lacked servants, others through distrust of them" (7.75.5). Since 
this dative is frequently used with verbs of emotion, it is appro­
priate here in the context of the heightened emotions of partisans 
in stasis. 14 Because men made their own self-serving judgements of 
what right was, they changed the axiosis of words to suit and 
support their judgement. 

er; ra {pya has also created some difficulty. Classen-Steup take 
the phrase with TlJv d~iwazv and translate it 'ftir die Dinge'. Gomme, 
on the other hand, asserts that "er; ra {pya goes surely with dvr-
1jAAa~av 'with a view to their actions', not with r~v d~iwalv."15 But 
er; often means 'with respect to' in Thucydides, and it can easily 
mean that here. There is no reason to regard er; ra {pya as nar­
rowly referring only to the purposes of each party, and to say that 
party-members changed the axiosis of words in order to accom­
plish ('with a view to') certain ends (ra {pya). Rather er; ra {pya 
goes with both r~v d~iwazv and with dvr1jAAa~av. The partisans 
changed the estimations of words as applied to deeds, but they had 

12 'At their will and pleasure' LSj S.V. JIKaiwa/!; III; cf. Walter Miiri, "Politische Meto­
nomasie," MusHelv 26 (1969) 67f, 'nach ihrer Willkiir'. Classen-Steup: "die subjektive 
Auslegung, wie sie nach dem Umstanden recht d.i. gelegen war." 

13 JIKaiwal!; occurs in four other places in Thucydides. At 1.141.1 it means 'claim of 
right' -so LSj S.v. II, cf. Classen-Steup ("eine mit dem Anspruch auf ein Recht ... gestellte 
Forderung"). The same meaning is at 5.17.2. At 4.86.6Iaxvo!; J,Ka,wael must mean 'right 
of the stronger', that is, justification consisting in strength. For 8.66.2 LSj S.v. 1.1 translate 
'condemnation, punishment'. The word could easily be understood here as 'judgement of 
right' (which would lead to punishment). In any case, 'condemnation' implies a 'judgement 
of right'. 

14 See R. Kuhner! B. Gerth, Ausfiihrliche Grammatik der griechischen Sprache 3 II.1 
(Hanover and Leipzig 1898) 438-40 (section 11). The example and its translation are from 
H. W. Smyth, Greek Grammar (Cambridge [Mass.] 1956) § 1517. The first dative (dnopif,l) 
expresses external cause. 

15 But cf. Miiri (supra n.12) 67-68, who argues successfully against Gomme. 



144 THE ASIDEIE OF WORDS 

their own purposes in mind. The real point of e~ ra epya, how­
ever, is that the axioseis were changed in respect to the true value 
of the deeds (in the eyes of a neutral observer). 

dV'l'1iAAa~av literally means 'exchange' rather than 'change', but 
the latter translation better conveys the sense of the sentence, for 
'exchange' requires that what a thing was exchanged for be spe­
cified, which Thucydides does not do. He only implies that the 
customary axioseis of words were exchanged for new ones. Thu­
cydides' sentence may now be translated: "Men changed the cus­
tomary estimation of words in respect to deeds in judging what 
right was." 

Thucydides' full meaning becomes clear in an examination of 
his examples: rOAf.1a f.1ev yap dAoYlaro~ dvbpeia qJlAerazpo~ eV0f.1fa()'f/, 
f.1eAA'f/al~ be npOIl'f/()r,~ belA fa evnpe1l1i~ KrA. (3.82.4). The traditional 
interpretation of these clauses originates with Dionysius of Hali­
carnassus, who understands the introductory sentence to mean: ra 
re eiw()ora ovof.1ara eni ro~ npaYf.1aal Aeyea()al f.1erarl()eV'l'e~ dAAW~ 
ti~iovv avra KaAeiv-"Changing the names customarily applied to 
deeds they deemed it right to call them by new names."16 When 
this interpretation is applied to the examples, the first member of 
each clause denotes what Thucydides considers the customary (ra 
eiw80ra ovof.1ara) and correct name for the erga, the second mem­
ber gives what the partisans thought the action was, and what they 
called it. It gives the new name (aAAwd for the erga. 

Friedrich Solmsen asks the following question about the exam­
ples Thucydides offers: 

... the longer we look at the sentences purporting to acquaint 
us with the new meanings of words, the more we are bound to 
wonder whether people really developed the habit of praising a 
man for dvc5peia rpzUr:azpor; or blaming him for &zAia evnpemjr;. 
Had they ever, when discussing ruthless daring, spoken of 
dAoYlarOr; rOA/1a ?17 

16 Dionysius of Halicamassus, De Thucydide 29. Cf. W. K. Pritchett, Dionysius of 
Halicarnassus: On Thucydides (Berkeley 1975) 113 n.10 (I have followed Pritchett's trans­
lation closely). So too several of the scholia on Thucydides (M, rp, C2, in the notation of 
Hude): nlv a"llaniav' .. . IlETI!(}eaav TtZ QVOllara ... ' neplrppaarlKWe; dvri r06 eineiv rn 
c.ivollara eip"Ke r~v deiwalv rwv QVOllcirwv. 

17 Intellectual Experiments of the Greek Enlightenment (Princeton 1975) 110. Solmsen 
decides in favor of the traditional interpretation both here and in his article "Thucydides' 
Treatment of Words and Concepts," Hermes 99 (1971) 395. Solmsen describes Thucydides' 
observations as the discovery of a "new type of synonym." For Solmsen, the synonymy 
consists in, for instance, rOApa dMy/ame; being called dvopeia qllAira/poe; during stasis and 



JOHN T. HOGAN 145 

No satisfactory answer to this question can be given unless it is 
kept in mind that Thucydides does not use the verb KaAiw but 
rather vO/li(w. If he had used eKA~B1J, this would have supported 
Dionysius' interpretation: deeds were called by new words (a 
change in referent). 

But Bvollia()" invokes not what men said but what they thought. 
During stasis citizens confounded in thought previously distin­
guishable concepts. This confusion revealed itself in two different 
ways. When men saw an action that was objectively rOAlla dAO­
yunoe;, either they thought (or pretended to think) that it was 
dv~pefa qJlAiralpOe; and called it that (Dionysius' interpretation); or 
they considered rOAlla dAoYlaroc; to be a good thing and when 
praising it called it by its right name. Certainly the latter is not an 
impossible occurrence, and Thucydides knew of examples similar 
to it. Cleon, for instance, in his speech concerning the Mytileneans, 
praises dllaBia (3.37.3-4) and urges the Athenians not to show 
themselves soft, but to go out with opy~ .18 Cleon praises a kind of 
rOA/la dAoYlarOe;, yet he calls it by its correct name and even claims 
that it is just (3.40.4).19 This situation I will call 'realistic' from the 
'realistic' use of words to denote what they usually denote. In a 
similar fashion, during normal times men would consider /liAA1JO"l'; 
npo/l1JB~e; a good thing, a sign of intelligence and wisdom, while in 
stasis they might sometimes 'realistically' have called it /liAA1JO"le; 
npo/l1JB~e;, but used the phrase to express disapproval. It is pre­
cisely because Dionysius does not take account of this common 
phenomenon, in which there is no change of denotation or ref­
erent, that his interpretation is insufficient. 20 

Yet of course his interpretation is partly true. Politicians very 
often call bad deeds by good names (or vice versa), as Thucydides 
was well aware: ware evaepd{J.llev ov~irepOl evolll(OV, evnpend{J. ~e 
AOYOV oie; ¢,VIlPal1J enup()ovwe; rz ~lanpd¢,aaBal, a/leIVOV fjKOVOV 
(3.82.8). This common occurrence, which I will call the 'deceptive' 

rOA.pa dhjy/(no~ in normal times. I, on the other hand, believe that these different words 
were used at the same time and under the same conditions (stasis) to describe the same 
deed. Werner Jaeger, Paideia {2 (New York 1945) 335-36, seems to interpret Thucydides 
along the lines suggested by Solmsen's question, although he still speaks of "a change in the 
meaning of words." 

1B See Gomme ad 3.82.2 for oppj. 
19 For Pericles' view of stupidity cf 1.140.1; of intelligence, 2.40ff. For Thucydides' own 

opinion cf. 1.138.3 and 2.65.13. 
20 dV7:17A.A.a~av does not then refer to an exchange of one word for another, but to the 

assumption of the new valuations for words. In any case, Thucydides does not say that men 
exchanged words, but their axiosis. 



146 THE ASIDEIE OF WORDS 

rhetorical situation, from the deceptive or misleading use of words 
to indicate deeds other than those to which they normally refer, 
also involves a change in the estimation or evaluative power of 
words. To Thucydides rOAlla dAoYIO'ro~ was doubtless a bad thing, 
and dw5peia rplAiralpo~ a good thing. 21 In stasis when men thought 
of rDAlla dAoYIO'ro~ as dvbpeia qJlAirazpO~ and called it dvbpeia 
rplAirazpO~, they devalued this phrase (from Thucydides' point of 
view) by using it as praise for unworthy deeds. Of course, those 
who employed dvbpeia qJlAirazpO~ to name what was actually 
rDAlla dADYIO'ro~ relied (whether consciously or unconsciously) on 
the high estimation of dvbpeia rplAirazpO~ in order to carry their 
points. In this sense they did not change the estimation of words, 
but in fact depended on its remaining the same. Yet they did, from 
Thucydides' point of view, ultimately lower this evaluative power: 
through frequent application to what was actually blameworthy, 
the praise the word formerly conveyed was worn away. The same 
analysis applies to the next example. Faction members thought 
that what Thucydides would call1liAAIJO'l~ npOIl1Je1j~ was belAia 
evnpen1j~. In condemning lliAA1JO'l~ npOIl1Je1j~ as <JelAia evnpen1j~ 
they have increased the estimation of the latter by using it to refer 
to what had been a good thing. 

When someone uses dvbpeia rplAirazpo~ for what is rOAlla dAO­
ylO'ro~, it may seem that he has changed the meaning of dvbpeia 
rplAirazpo~ so that it includes rOAlla dAOYIO'ro~. But in what sense 
has he changed the meaning? Certainly for an objective observer 
the word retains its original meaning. If the man tries to deceive 
his audience by his conscious misuse of terms, he has not even 
changed the meaning in his own mind. If, caught up in the rhetoric 
of the moment, he is himself deceived, he does not know what he is 
saying. But Thucydides avoids the difficult issue of how conscious 
the speaker is of the true meanings, or even of the true estimations, 
of his words. He simply notes the surface phenomenon, the per­
version of the customary estimations of value-laden words-when 
these words are compared with the true estimations of the deeds. 

Thucydides' next two examples-ro be O'wrppov rou dwivbpov 
npoO'XIJlla, Kai ro npo~ anav ¢"Vverov eni miv dpyov-are in the form 
of the second example. An (objectively) good thing was considered 
bad. In the fifth example (ro b' ellnA1jKr(J)~ 6¢"v dvbpo~ lloipfJ. npoO'-

21 There is no reason to suppose that in Thucydides ({nUralp0C; should have an obviously 
bad connotation. At 82.5 the implication is not that 1j era/peiu is bad, but that men value it 
too highly; the same is true of era/pll(6v in 3.82.6. 



JOHN T. HOGAN 147 

eri()'l), although a new verb has taken the place of evof.1,ia()'l, there 
is only a superficial difference. For aw5poe; f.1,oipq. is a virtue, and 
ro J' Bf.1,1CA1jKrwc; O(V is an opposing vice. This example thus resem­
bles the first. ampaAelq. & ro 81ClfJOVAevaaa()al a1Corpo1Cije; 1Cporpame; 
dJAoyoe;, the next example, for which the verb to be supplied is ,;v 
or evoj1io-(J1], is like the second, third, and fourth. 

In section 82.5 Thucydides shifts from the abstract nouns of 
82.4 to more 'active' participial forms: Kai 6 xaAe1Caivwv maroe; 
aid, 6 J' avnAiywv avrcjJ v1Co1Croc;. 81C1{30VAevaac; Ji riC; rvxwv (VVerOC; 
Kai v1Covo1jaac; en &lVOr:epOC;' 1CpOfJOVAevaac; Ji 01CWC; f.1,'lJiv avrwv 
&1jael, rije; Ji iralpiae; JWAVr:11e; Kai rove; evavriove; f.K1Ce1CA'lYf.1,ivoe;.22 
Despite the change, these clauses, like their predecessors, may be 
analyzed according to both the 'deceptive' and 'realistic' interpre­
tations. The example emfJovAEvaae; ... &lvorepOC; presents some 
difficulty. When the phrase ro npoe; anav ~VVerov was 'realistically' 
used for condemnation, it was devalued, but here the successful 
plotter is (VVErOC;, so that this case resembles the first and fifth. 
When the plotter was 'deceptively' called ~VVeroe;, praise was in­
tended. Thucydides thus implies that the word was used both for 
praise and for blame. And here too there is a devaluation. Before 
the staseis the word referred to intelligence, yet in civil strife it was 
devalued (in Thucydides' eyes) to a praise for success. Thucydides 
(and Pericles) surely rated mere success lower than synesis. Kai 
vnovo1jaae; en &lvorepOe; is more complicated. Either an objec­
tively bad thing (suspicion) would be called by a good name (syne­
sis), or what had been a bad name (suspicion) would become a 
good one. But &IVOr:epOC;, as well as meaning more clever, also has 
the familiar undertone of more terrible (cf. Gomme ad loc.). Thu­
cydides thus suggests the same types of changes in praise and 
blame as in the other examples, and in addition implies that these 
new estimations of suspicion and success are false, for the one who 
suspected was in his eyes more terrible. 

In 82.5 Thucydides moves beyond words to more general com­
ments about how men acted and felt in stasis, while at the same 
time reinforcing his remarks about the revolution of values in 
Hellas. 23 He who anticipated an evil-doer, or he who provoked 
someone who was not intending a crime, was praised (82.5). Kin-

22 The verb to be supplied with these examples is apparently ,;V or ivof.!,iaO". If ,;V is 
supplied, we should probably understand "was by custom, that is the new custom," as 
Solmsen says (supra n.1 7), 109 n.49. 

23 C(. L. Strauss, The City and Man (Chicago 1964) 147 n.8. 



148 THE ASIDEIE OF WORDS 

ship began to have a weaker hold on men than party or faction 
(82.6). Revenge was of more account than not suffering at all 
(82.7). Oaths lost their power (82.7, 83.2). No longer did men 
practice piety, but those who used fair-seeming words had a better 
reputation (82.8). Finally, simplicity (ro eVl1{}er;), in which honor 
holds the largest share, was ridiculed and disappeared. In short, 
Thucydides' examples suggest that it was the power of words to 
evaluate, not simply to denote, that changed in stasis. 

In Book 8 of the Republic Socrates' discussion of the democratic 
man and the stasis in his soul parallels Thucydides' description of 
what happens to political discourse in stasis. Both Thucydides and 
Plato see that stasis is naturally fostered when parties in the state 
bring in outside allies, and that in stasis political discourse de­
generates. In Republic 8 (5 60n) the boasting speeches in the soul 
of the democratic man do battle with the speeches of the older 
men and at last conquer them. As Socrates outlines the battle, the 
boasting speeches, calling shame simplicity, thrust out al&hr; as a 
dishonored fugitive (drillWr; qJVya<>a); calling moderation a lack of 
manliness, they spatter mud on it and exile it (nponl1AaKi(ovrer; 
fxpaAAOVal).24 They also drive out measure and well-ordered ex­
penditure, while castigating them as rustic and illiberal (dYPolKiav 
Kai dVeAeV{}epiav). Although he here refers only to calling things by 
new names (i.e., to 'deceptive' rhetoric), Socrates does, by his use 
of vivid metaphors, emphasize that the boasting speeches blame 
those qualities that were formerly praised. He does not say that in 
stasis men change the denotation of words such as 'moderation' 
((JwrpP0(JUVl1) and 'measure' (llerplorl1r;). After Adeimantus agrees 
with Socrates' description, Socrates recounts the corresponding 
new praise of what had been blameworthy: the boasting speeches 
next in blazing light bring back from exile insolence, anarchy, 
wastefulness, and shamelessness (fJPPlv Kai dvapxiav Kai d(Jwriav 
Kai dvai<>elav) directly praising them and also calling them by fair 
names (eYKwllla(Ovrer; Kai vnoKopl(OlleVOI). They call insolence a 
good education, anarchy freedom, wastefulness magnificence, and 
shamelessness manliness. 25 

In Republic 1 Thrasymachus' arguments provide a good exam­
ple of a 'realistic' change in the estimation of words, when Socrates 

24 With Plato's (]wrppO(]VV"V bi dvavbpiav KaAoDvrec; (560D) compare Thucydides' ro bi 

ucixppov roD avavbpov npouX'lJla (3.82.4), noted by James Adam, The Republic of Plato 
(Cambridge 1902) ad lac. 

25 For a parallel see Ronald Syme, The Roman Revolution (Oxford 1939) 149-61, esp. 
153-56. 



JOHN T. HOGAN 149 

presses him for his true views on the nature of justice and injustice. 
Thrasymachus had begun by asserting that justice is the interest of 
the stronger (338c), which is a redefinition of justice. But Socrates 
forces Thrasymachus to reveal his true position (cr. 349A), that 
perfect injustice is more profitable than perfect justice (348B). 
Finally Thrasymachus denies that justice is a virtue and injustice 
a vice; he calls justice yevvaia evr,8eza and injustice eVpov}.Ja (348c­
D).26 This is a new and more difficult position, Socrates concludes 
(348£). For if Thrasymachus had set down injustice as profitable, 
but nevertheless agreed that it is base or shameful, Socrates and 
Thrasymachus would be able to speak in accordance with the 
customary usage (Kara ra V0f.11(0f.1eva). But Thrasymachus will 
clearly ascribe to injustice beauty and strength (KaJeov Kai i(Jxvp6v), 
and all the other qualities that used to be granted to justice, since 
he has dared to place it with virtue and wisdom (dpenJ ... Kai 
(JO(pif1., 349A). As Socrates understands it, Thrasymachus still calls 
injustice by its proper name, yet he praises it, and, we may infer, 
condemns justice. 27 

Thus, in Plato as in Thucydides stasis overturns normal customs 
of praise and blame. Plato also shows in this argument of Thrasy­
machus that he was aware that an angry man who had a new case 
to make might continue to use the same words for the same ideas, 
but might value those words and ideas differently.28 

THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, CHAPEL HILL 

May, 1980 

26 With this view of eV1j(Jua cf. Thuc. 8.83.1, with Adam (supra n.24) ad 3480. For 
a summary of Thrasymachus' arguments and a review of the scholarship on them see 
W. K. C. Guthrie, A History of Greek Philosophy III (Cambridge 1969) 88-97, esp. 92 
and 94, where Guthrie discusses the parallels between Thrasymachus' positions and Thuc. 
3.82.4ff. 

27 Edmunds (supra n.1) 86-87 draws several close parallels between Hesiod's description 
of the Iron Age (Op. 174-201) and Thucydides' treatment of stasis, among them the 
inversion of language (Op. 190-92). It is interesting that Hesiod speaks in terms of the 
perversion of customs of praise and blame rather than of the changing denotations of 
words. 

28 I wish to thank Kent J. Rigsby, William H. Willis, and the anonymous referee for 
many helpful criticisms and suggestions.