The Melians lived in Melos‚ an island in the Aegean Sea. Compared to the Athenians‚ they were minuscule. When prompted to surrender and pay a tribute of fifteen talents of silver‚ which is roughly 390 kg‚ from the Athenians‚ they declined. The Melians made the assumption that if the Athenians attacked‚ the Spartans would aid them. This assumption was based on two factors. The Melians were of the same ethnic background as the Spartans. Also previously before‚ the Melians supported the Spartan
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Athens arrives at Melians shores and orders them to surrender to Athens although Melians wanted to remain neutral and join neither the Spartans nor the Athenians. But the Athenian army simply dismisses the Melians request to remain independent and neutral and instead forcefully drives them out of their territory. This egotistical act of Athenians towards Melians obliterates Pericles claims of liberality. And even further the main argument that Athenians use in conquering Melians is in irony with Pericles
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This dialogue is most likely not what the Athenians and Melians spoke to each other. Instead‚ Thucydides placed a theme within the dialogue like many Greek writers before him. The Athenians attempted to persuade the Melians to become tributary allies of the Athenian confederacy‚ but Melos preferred to not be slaves to the Athenian empire. The Athenians cited Melos’ alliance with Sparta as
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commenced. Recently we have dispatched envoys to the island of Melos with the supposed intentions of negotiations. These citizens of Athenian convictions have reported to us the intentions of the Melians. I quote the segment of their speech that detailed their reasoning of the negotiations with the Melians concerning power “of the gods we believe‚ and of men we know‚ that by a necessary law of their nature they rule wherever they can. And it is not as if we
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protect their city and gain honor. This identity of Greek honor can be perceived as arrogance in many situations as well. The Greek have so much honor and pride in their culture that every other society is inferior to them. This is displayed in “The Melian Conference” document that we read for class. This is shown when the Athenians say the following to the
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Lysistrata And Other Plays.Penguin Classics‚ 2002. Print. * Thucydides‚ and Rex Warner. History of the Peloponnesian War. London‚ England:Penguin Group‚ 1972. Print. * Schironi‚ Francesca. “Thucydides’ Social Theory (Athenian Plague & Corcyra); The Melian Dialogue.” Classical Civilization 101 Lecture. Ann Arbor‚ Michigan. November 8‚ 2011 * Schironi‚ Francesca. “Philosophy‚ Scientific Enquiry and the Greek Artistic Canon” Classical Civilization 101 Lecture. Ann Arbor‚ Michigan. November 29‚ 2011
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The Ideal and the Realty of Classical Athens Discovering the Western Past Introduction: Athens during the fifth century B.C. is often identified as one of the main sources of Western values and standards. Later Europeans and Americans regarded the Athenians as the originators of democracy‚ drama‚ representational or realistic art‚ history‚ philosophy‚ and science. At different times over the past 2‚500 years they have attempted to imitate this "Golden Age" of classical Athens in everything from
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in their attempted “negotiations” with the Melians‚ the Athenians essentially admitted they could not accept neutrality because they were afraid of looking weak in the eyes of their subjects. In a sense‚ the Athenians admitted their shortcomings right to their enemies’ faces. A stable empire with a truly strong military would not possess such a fear‚ at least not to the extent that its policies would revolve around that fear. Furthermore‚ the Melians pointed out that the Athenians’ rationale and
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fall under the aegis of morality rather than not. He states in his view that it is possible to fight a morally justified war and it is possible to fight it morally well. He uncovers the truth behind his view in a threefold argument which includes the melian dialogue‚ an analogy between strategy and morality‚ and a comparison on historical relativism. By uncovering his threefold argument‚ Walzer makes it very clear the morality is still involved in war and with this I agree. In Just War Theory‚ two
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The Golden Age Like a flower in bloom‚ fifth century Attica is said to be the prime time of ancient civilizations. Much praise is given to the period‚ and it is coined to be the Golden Age of ancient western history. It is claimed that the Athenians of this time period were very successful in many areas‚ being “originators of democracy…art‚ history‚ philosophy‚ and science.” (Discovering 54) Comparatively I support the claim for Attica’s golden status because it was the most successful city state
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