history of the peloponnesian war sparknotes

In times of great crisis and war there is no “neutral” side. That is, the Melians are foolish – or overly idealistic – in their neutrality and isolation. In between the lines there is that debate of internationalism and isolationism from Book I and which of these two camps are “realist.” Thucydides indicates throughout the book that internationalism is the only form of political realism while identifying isolationism as idealism. Realism is, in the reading, represented by the Athenians. Thucydides had earlier treated the same topic in the Debate of War between Corcyra and Corinth back in Book I, but it is the Melian Dialogue that is most famous because of what happens to Melos after the fact. The Melian Dialogue is almost universally read because of its treatment of realism. I will briefly parse out each of these themes that are contained in the few short pages of this incredibly rich dialogue.

We can add a seventh from Machiavelli reading Thucydides concerning how to deal with a conquered people. We can identify, at minimum, six major themes that come out of this short dialogue: 1) realism (the contest between internationalism and isolationism which was already in play in Book I) 2) questions concerning the law of nature 3) geopolitics 4) the question of whether an empire can be just 5) rationality and irrationality (especially as these concepts relate to the law of nature), and 6) whether heroism and bravery is any sort of guarantee in battle and war. Most people know the Melian Dialogue at the end of Book V as Thucydides famous treatment of the issue of political and international realism in the realm of politics. One of the most famous dialogues is the Melian Dialogue which we are now going to cover. Its content, especially when read philosophically rather than as scientific history as Leopold van Ranke believed, is thought-provoking and deep. His great gift to the Western canon: History of the Peloponnesian War is one of the great classics of Western literature, history, and philosophy. Thucydides is sometimes considered to be the most dense and thoughtful writer and thinker of Antiquity, yes, even more-so than the likes of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.

History of the peloponnesian war sparknotes