Thucydides in the US
I suspect Thucydides’ works are a subject in the curricula of military US academies.
In fact, the tone of the conversation held some weeks ago on occasion of the meeting in Washington between the Ukrainian president Zelenskyj, and Donald Trump and his vice JD Vance, curiously resounds the one occurred some 2,500 year ago between ambassadors from Athens and Melian representatives – a conversation reported by the Greek historian Thucydides in his masterpiece chronicles, the History of the Peloponnesian War.
Perhaps some strategy advisor had mentioned it to Mr. Trump (or was it some mite professor of classics?). Anyway, the attitude adopted by the Americans in addressing Zelenskyj, are stunningly similar to the Athenians’ towards to Melians. (And Trump’s curious claims on Greenland maybe fit even better).
Here the story in short. You will tell.
Athens v Melos
The Melians were the inhabitants of Melos, an island in the middle of the Aegean Sea, some 70 miles south of the continental coast, and halfway to Crete. Nowadays Melos is renowned mainly thanks to its Venus, a marvelous huge marble statue, dug out in the 19th century and now displayed at the Louvre, in Paris. A great example of Hellenistic art, the Venus is said to be created sometime in the 2nd century BCE when the island was under the Romans’ control.
Our story, however, takes place many years before, as said – at the turn of the 5th century BCE. In those days Melos was an independent colony of Spartian origin, who was trying to maintain neutrality in the clash opposing the two local superpowers: Sparta and Athens.
In the summer 416 BCE the Athenians invaded Melos. Initially, however, they refrained from raging throughout the island, and asked instead to meet for negotiations with the clearly inferior Melians. ‘Negotiations’ is a way of saying, indeed, since their offer to Melians was for them ei
ther to surrender peacefully, or to surrender forcefully. According to Thucydides (HPW, V, 89) the conversation took the following opening turn:
“For ourselves, we shall not trouble you with specious pretences—either of how we have a right to our empire because we overthrew the Mede, or are now attacking you because of wrong that you have done us—and make a long speech which would not be believed; and in return we hope that you, instead of trying to influence us by saying that you did not join the Spartans, although their colonists, or that you have done us no wrong, will aim at what is feasible, […] because we are aware, as you should be, that justice is to be taken into account among parties equal in power; otherwise, the stronger do what they have the power to do, while the weaker can only submit”
And when the Melians objected “So, you do not accept the fact that we may be your friends, and not your enemies, by simply maintaining our neutrality”, the Athenians rebuked “No, for we would be more harmed by your friendship than by your hostility; for to our people, your friendship would be proof of our weakness; your hatred, on the other hand, would be proof of our power.” (HPW, V, 94-95).
The morale of this story is…
The morale of this story is how it ended. In the end, the poor Melians refused to surrender; the Athenians set a siege and within few months the Melians capitulated – and had all the men in fighting age executed, and the rest of the population deported. Few years later, Athens lost the war against Sparta, and Athen’s hegemony over the Greek world definitely eclipsed.
