Melian
Dialogue
The Melian dialogue is a part of history. We know about this event
because it was written by the ancient Greek historian Thucydides,
in the book History of the Peloponnesian War.
How
this relates to political thought
The Melian dialogue is often taught in world politics classes
because it's a classic example of the clash between REALISM and LIBERALISM. In
other words, do you do what is realistic in order
to survive or do you act based on principle, in the name of
freedom?
International relations is a fascinating subject. Think about how
huge countries like the United States acts towards smaller
countries, like Iraq. Think about the foreign policies of various
nations throughout the years. Do you do what's good for the people,
or what's good for the state?
Why it's called a dialogue
It's actually really neat. Thucydides wrote about this event like a play, with dialogue back and forth between the Melians and the Athenians. You can read the passage in English here.
The Setting
It takes place on a tiny Greek island called Melos, in 416 BC. The people who lived on the island were called Melians.
You probably don't really care about some old story some old
dead dude wrote hundreds of years ago, but you'll see how a good
story can place some new ideas in your head.
In one
corner, we have the Melians…
There weren't a lot of them - after all, it was a really small
island.
And in
the other, the Athenian Empire…
This was a whole bunch of city-states grouped together as members
of the Athenian Empire.
The Melians were allies with enemies of the Athenian Empire in the
Peloponnesian War. However, they remained neutral - they didn't
send out any armies, boats or men to help anyone.
Athens: The Big Bullies versus Melos: The Little
Guys
The Athenians told the Melians they had to become part of their
empire. These Athenians wanted to rule, conquer and have power.
Basically they were saying, "Come to our side and be part of our
empire, or else we'll fight and kill you. We're bigger than you.
We're stronger than you."
The Melians persisted. They defended themselves by saying:
1) their neutrality should be respected
2) international law had guaranteed their right to neutrality
3) showing mercy to them would make the Athenians more liked
4) their allies, the Spartans, would come to their aid and defend
them
5) the gods would protect their tiny little island of
Melos.
The Athenians would have NONE of it.
They were big bullies. They spoke harsh, real words to them:
"The
strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they
must."
THE FIGHT
But of course, it was no use. They held them off for a short while, but eventually they were defeated. According to Thucydides, the Athenians executed every man, made every woman and child a slave, and colonized their island.
Why would the Melians make such a stupid decision?
You would THINK that the Melians would have given up and joined their side. After all, it was this tiny little island against a HUGE empire. But they didn't. Why not?
They knew they wouldn't win. It was impossible. The heart of the matter was this question:
Would you rather have your people die as free men, or live like slaves?
How about you? What would you choose?
Image Credits
mrdowling
Mel Taylor
Patrick
Stack
