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ThucydidesThe Melian Dialogue
Nonfiction | Essay / Speech | Adult | BCEA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Index of Terms
Colony
A colony is in its broadest definition an organized settlement typically distant from its origin. Colonies can be as small as a military outpost or trading hub, or they can comprise whole territories larger and more populous than the imperial center. The relationship between a colony and its mother city or country is similarly variable. For the Greeks, colonial ventures were organized by the mother city, or metropolis, sometimes with the cooperation of another city, and at times were a result of political exile. The Greeks were prolific colonizers and spread along the shoreline of the Aegean, Mediterranean, and Black Seas. Melos was one such colonial enterprise undertaken by the Dorians (the same ethnic group the Spartans hailed from). The Melian colony began in the first wave of Greek colonization, and as such it was entirely independent by the time of the Peloponnesian War.
Divination
Divination is a method of predicting the future by consulting the supernatural. The practice was widespread in the Greek world, practiced by individuals or at organized religious sites, i.e., oracles. The methods of divination ran the gamut from augury (observing omens, e.g., bird flight patterns), throwing lots or dice, hydromancy (reading the waters), pyromancy (reading the flames), necromancy (consulting the dead, similar to a séance), drawing writings at random (similar to fortune cookies), inspecting pebbles, or examining animal entrails (of an offering sacrificed to the god consulted). When the Melians claim that their victory is still possible, despite the overwhelming odds, the Athenian delegation dismisses such small hope as akin to “divination, oracles, and other such sources of disastrous optimism” (Section 103).
Expediency
This term describes action that is practical or convenient despite possibly being unethical or immoral. It is very often associated with political calculus, as in “The Melian Dialogue” (“since you have put justice to one side and made expediency the basis of discussion” (Section 90); “since you have diverted us from talk of justice and want us to follow your doctrine of expediency” (Section 98)). Expediency is viewed as the core principle of classical political realism: Since no power exists to compel just or moral action in international relations, what is expedient and advantageous will always override moral considerations.
Oracle
Oracles were religious sites dedicated to one or more deities where individuals, organizations, or states would consult a seer in an attempt to divine the outcome of important events. Typically, a delegation to an oracle brought a monetary or sacrificial gift that supported the operation of the site, although the most visited and famous oracles often became quite wealthy and served as banks and treasuries. Oracular sites could be found throughout the Greek world, though the best known by far was the oracle at Delphi, dedicated to the god of prophecy, Apollo. In Ancient Greek literature, oracles often give cryptic prophecies that can be properly understood only in retrospect, after events have concluded. In this way, oracular prophecy serves to reveal the misperceptions and follies of the heroes who try to interpret it according to their own interests. When the Athenians dismiss the Melians’ “disastrous optimism” as akin to trusting in oracles, they imply that the Melians are making a similar mistake: estimating their chances based not on reality but on wishful thinking.
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By Thucydides
