“The whole city is an education for Greece.”Tucidide · Istoria războiului peloponesiac · -400 · II, 41
An entire community becomes a school through the living example of its collective actions and values.
Thucydides puts these words into Pericles' speech to praise Athens as a model of democracy, culture, and power. It's not a formal school; rather, the way Athenians live – free, creative, courageous – teaches other Greeks what civic excellence means. The city itself is a living example.
Why it matters For communities or organizations, the phrase reminds that collective values and actions educate more than speeches.