Plutarch, Charinus, and the Megarian decree

DESPITE MANY misgivings, scholars for years generally accepted the view of the Megarian decree framed at the end of the last century, that this decree closing the harbors of the empire and the market of Attica to the Megarians was passed only shortly before the conference at Sparta at which the Megarians protested it (Thuc. 1.67.4) and that the decree was a more or less open act of imperialism against Sparta and its allies.1 The decree of Charinus declaring an enmity without truce against the Megarians and calling for biennial invasions of the Megarid, which is mentioned by Plutarch (Per. 30.3), if accepted at all, was seen as a relatively unimportant and emotional act occurring immediately before the war broke out in spring 431

The Motives for Athens’ Alliance with Corcyra (Thuc. 1.44)

DESPlTE ABLE STUDIES of the Epidamnian affair, and in particular of the Corcyraean and Corinthian speeches at Athens reported in Thucydides 1.32-43,1 the rationale of the Athenian decision to enter a defensive alliance with Corcyra has been misunderstood. This decision, described by Thucydides in 1.44, is more pragmatic, indeed Machiavellian, than regularly supposed

The Form and Content of Thucydides' Pentecontaetia (1.89-117)

READING THE PENTECONTAETIA is both easy and difficult. The narrative runs rapidly, with little of Thucydides' customary density and grammatical strain, yet its principles of arrangement and selection have remained obscure. Discussion has centered on two major difficulties: chronology and omissions. A. W. Gomme noted that the Pentecontaetia seems to share the very faults for which Thucydides criticized Hellanicus: it is both 1Ot<; xPOVOt<; OUK aKpt~£<; and ~paxuchronologically imprecise and brief. Explanations vary: to take two extremes, Russell Meiggs suggested that the excursus was "late and hurried and much less well digested than most of the history," while Ernst Badian, starting from the assumption that Thucydides composed the excursus after the Peloponnesian War" in order to establish his thesis of Sparta's responsibility for the war and the correctness of Pericles' vision," has recently accused Thucydides of gross distortion of the historical record, through cunning omissions, innuendo, and outright falsification

Plutarch’s Compositional Technique: The Anecdote Collections and the Parallel Lives

OUR NOTION of Plutarch’s preparations for his Parallel Lives, as for many works of the Moralia, must recognize a certain flexibility and experimentation on his part. After he had decided to write on certain figures as biographical subjects, and reviewed his general historical knowledge, he no doubt began specific readings in the histories of the periods concerned and in the contemporary documents he had been able to discover. He would als\o have considered different possible interpretations of the heroes’ characters, and tried to identify specific anecdotes or incidents that he might be able to use. This applies particularly to his note-taking, whether in the form of anecdote collections or summary historical narratives, and to the manner in which he reworked these materials in preparing the Lives

Discrete Event Command and Control for Formation Flying of Distributed Small Spacecraft Systems

A distributed, multi-vehicle concept for future space missions has been conceived as a solution to the problem of advancing space-based operations within budgetary constraints. Broadly named formation flying, this approach to designing distributed systems across multiple, spatially disbursed platforms is enabled by collectively coordinating a fleet of autonomous spacecraft to function as a unified system. Formation flying offers potential advantages of improved robustness, capability, and cost relative to complicated, single platform systems by using multiple, often small, spacecraft to perform complex multi-sensor tasks. A necessary element in the realization of formation flying systems is the development of methods and technologies that facilitate the transition from treating a distributed spacecraft system as individual elements, to viewing a formation as a coordinated system unified by common objectives. This paper describes the results of research performed to identify fundamental issues that affect the development of command and control (C2) methods applicable to coordinating distributed small spacecraft systems. A discrete event method of distributed command and control is described that is particularly well suited to small spacecraft formation flying. Utilized in many complex terrestrial systems, discrete event systems (DES) concepts facilitate coordination of distributed systems at multiple levels of resolution in an efficient manner. DES also provide a means to integrate intelligent planning and processing operations while interfacing with more traditional subsystem controllers. The basic principals and applicability of DES are described within the context of formation flying and example distributed spacecraft C2 operations are defined

South East Catchment Water Management Board groundwater monitoring status report 2002

The South Australian Government, through the Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation (DWLCB) is responsible for the management of the State's groundwater resources. As a part of its role, the DWLCB monitors and maintains an extensive statewide groundwater monitoring network. Ground water monitoring has been undertaken in parts of the South East of South Australia for more than 30 years. The two main parameters used to measure the condition of the groundwater resources are water levels and salinity. Over time, a history of the condition of the aquifers has been established from this baseline information, enabling longer term and short-term changes to be identified and correlated with either natural (e.g. climatic) or man-induced changes (e.g. irrigation, development). This report is compiled for the South East Catchment Water Management Board (SECWMB) and displays a snapshot of data collected for the South East region up until June 2002.repor

Pliny and the Ideology of Empire: the Correspondence with Trajan

Pliny’s Epistles can be investigated as a source for Trajan’s ideology: the author writes them with literarymotivations, but for political reasons as well, and stresses the benevolent character of the imperial administration

Analysis of the Configuration of Strategically Significant Organizational Functions Within Particular Categories of Grand Corporate Strategy That Are Predictive of Company Performance

This study was designed for the purpose of testing the difference in strategic mixes of functions for a particular grand corporate strategy when firms are categorized by performance. The data consists of managerial perceptions of three separate variable sets collected by survey instrument (grand cor- . porate strategy, relative strategic significance of organizational functions, industry) and performance data obtained from the Standard and Poor's Compustat data file. The objective of this study is to examine the nature of influence different grand corporate strategies have on the interrelationships between the relative strategic importance of different functional tasks and the performance of the organization. The data were analyzed using multiple moderated regression analysis and Pearson correlation analysis. The results of this study revealed 1) that grand corporate strategy and industry were significant moderators of the relationship between strategic significance of organizational functions and performance in a sample of 93 large industrial firms in the United States and 2) the results of this study limit us in making generalizations that conclude that certain functional mixes are most appropriate for a particular grand corporate strategy due to small sample cell sizes. Within particular strategy/ industry cells the interrelationships discussed can lead us to conclude that certain functional mixes are appropriate within a particular strategy industry environment.Business Administratio