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Ripeness is the moment when parties to a conflict become willing to accept a settlement. It necessarily has a large subjective or psychological component. Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War may be viewed as a case study in ripeness, or its lack. Thucydides claims the conflict was foreordained to be a “great” war, meaning it could not be resolved before its cataclysmic end. His account of its origins reveals why this was so, and his presentation of select moments during the war constitute explorations of the obstacles to resolution. What Thucydides adds to the current literature on ripeness is a distinctive account of the psychology behind it.

Plato's proposal for the equality of the sexes remains one of the most controversial aspects of his argument in the Republic. I explore this argument with special emphasis on locating it within larger themes of the work, themes whose relevance to the argument on gender equality have often been ignored. On this basis, I find that Plato's defense of gender equality is serious, but that the foundation and the consequences of that argument have not usually been well understood. Plato's argument for gender equality rests on a distinctive view of human nature, and his elaboration of the consequences of pursuing gender equality reveal that a price would have to be paid for it that few are willing to accept. His argument should be considered by contemporary advocates of gender equality.