For both Herodotus and Thucydides, acmes produced by men arise, exert force, and self-destruct. Both historians also show that nature exerts force that overwhelms human powers, and their account of natural facts and events serves to put men's ambitions in the context of the necessary and the possible. In Thucydides' account of the meeting of Athens and the plague, a man-made acme of wealth and population confronted a natural acme. As was inevitable, the force of the natural acme prevailed.

The following chapter will conclude the exposition of Pericles' speeches in narrative context by comparing the simultaneously idealized and evasive presentation of Athenian imperial rule in Pericles' last two speeches with Thucydides' inexorably precise descriptions of the war and the plague. Once again, the argument will not offer a comprehensive analysis of the speeches, but will highlight the differences between Pericles and Thucydides. It will conclude with a discussion of Thucydides' praise of Pericles in chapter 65 of book two. If Thucydides displays Pericles' failings to this extent, how can he praise him so highly?

Pericles and Thucydides on the Reality of the Athenian Empire

Besides representing the Athenian empire as a single entity, subordinate to Athens, Pericles frequently depicts Athens as ruling the sea, or the earth and the sea. His imagery contrasts sharply with Thucydides' description of Athens' imperial existence, which discusses collecting money and putting down particular revolts.