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The Melian Dialogue
The Peloponnesian War
by Thucydides
DELPHI
DELPHI
The Melian Dialogue
The leaders of Melos faced a terrible choice:
Have their Countrymen die as free men or
live as slaves. The powerful Athenian
generals and their fleet of thirty-eight
ships carrying heavy infantry and archers
waited at the shores of Melos ready for
action as the Melians deliberated.
The Dialogue
The Athenians
The Melians
The One Word Essay
Describe the Melian Dilemma and the Athenian position in one word.
“Return with your Shield or on it”
The words of the mothers of
Spartan soldiers showing their
disdain for cowardice.
Results
The Peloponnesian War robbed Athens of its
Golden Age.
Great thinkers and teachers lived in Athens
during and after the war but the era of
support for new ideas and the spirit of
democracy had passed.
Modern Parallels
"My answer is bring them on." —on Iraqi insurgents
attacking U.S. forces, Washington, D.C., July 3, 2003
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so
are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to
harm our country and our people, and neither do
we." —Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004 (Watch
video)
"If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot
easier, just so long as I'm the dictator." —
Washington, D.C., Dec. 19, 2000
Source: http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/blbushdumbquotes2.htm
Parallels
Bibliography
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http://www.mrdowling.com/images/701peloponnesian.gif
http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~kallet/greece/Map%20Peloponnesian%20War.jpg
www.howarddavidjohnson.com/ legends.htm