Essay on An Analysis of Thucydides Views on the Melian...

An Analysis of Thucydides Views on the Melian Dialogue The Melian Dialogue is a debate between Melian and Athenian representatives concerning the sovereignty of Melos. The debate did not really occur-the arguments given by each side were of Thucydides own creation. Thus it is reasonable to assume that we can tease out Thucydides own beliefs. In this paper, I will first extract Thucydides views from the Melian Dialogue and then analyze whether or not these views are well founded. Thucydides believed that the Athenians had the stronger argument. Proof of this lies in the way Thucydides picked the arguments for each side. For the moment, we will disregard the actual content of the arguments, and look at argumentation forms and†¦show more content†¦They say for example, ...By a law of nature...if you were as strong as we are, you would do as we do. Athens arguments are of a higher form than the Melians, because they can be proved or disproved. Thucydides wrote the Dialogue in this way, and thus we can infer that his own beliefs were that Athenians were aware of such higher argumentation forms, and the Melians were not. Thucydides believed that Athenian arguments could be tested. The Athenians always had the last word; had this been an actual debate the Athenians would have won by showmanship and persuasion alone. The Melians managed to question their rivals, but once the Athenians responded, there was no Melian rebuttal. To the question of how other neutral Greek city-states might have reacted to Athenian aggression, Athens responded that any neutral sites that might have become hostile did not concern them. They argued that neutral city-states either posed little threat, or were already under pressure to join the alliance. To this the Melians had nothing to say. They instead moved on to say that they would be thought of as base and cowardly should they have submitted. Athens answered that there is only disgrace in submission to an equal power, not a greater one like Athens. No Melian concern was left unanswered by the Athenians, yet the Melians were often at a loss for words. The only explanation for this phenomenonShow MoreRelatedThucydide vs Plat o on The Good Life Essay1927 Words   |  8 Pagesï » ¿ Thucydides Versus Plato: Differing Views of the Good Life What is the true nature of the Good Life? Is it living life with concern for only oneself despite the possible consequences of ones action on others? Or might it involve self-sacrifice in effort to do what one feels is right or just? Is it descriptive, or perhaps prescriptive? Two prominent Greeks, Thucydides and Plato, began providing answers to these questions over 25 centuries ago as they analyzed and wrote critically aboutRead MoreThucydides And Thucydides Writing1054 Words   |  5 PagesHerodotus and Thucydides didn t agree often on how history should be recorded, taught, and observed. 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