Problems of leadership "Golden Years"
Leaders are often praised for their ability to strive for "more and better" and to inspire others similarly. See, for example, Xenophon's portrait of Cyrus the Great in "He Will Rock You." There Xenophon says that Cyrus was celebrated for his "philotimia," often translated as "ambition" or literally "the love of being honored." Xenophon says that Cyrus' philotimia gave him a love of labor (philoponia) and a propensity to take risks (philokindunia). But...
1. Pericles seems to be cautioning the Athenians against the impulse to seek additional conquests and take more risks. How, then, does a leader (and her/his followers) decide how to moderate the community's ambition?
2. What is the proper level of risk for a leader to take and to advocate?
N.B. It is with tragic foresight that Thucydides has Pericles speak these words of caution. For after Pericles' death the Athenians will in fact engage in further conquests and take risks under the leadership of Alcibiades, all to fairly disastrous results.