Melian dialogue

Siege of Melos

Melos (indigo), the Delian League (orange), the Peloponnesian League (green)

Date	416 BC
Location	Melos
Result	Athenian Victory

Belligerents

Athens

Melos

The Siege of Melos occurred in 416 BC during the Peloponnesian War, a war fought between Athens and Sparta. Melos is an island in the Aegean Sea roughly 110 km east of mainland Greece. At the time it was populated by Dorians. Though the Melians were of the same ethnic group as the Spartans, they chose to remain neutral in the war. Athens invaded Melos in 416 BC and demanded that the Melians surrender and pay tribute to Athens, or face annihilation. The proud Melians refused, and after a siege the Athenians captured their city, slaughtered the men, and enslaved the women and children.

This siege is best remembered for the Melian Dialogue, which is a dramatization of the negotiations between the Athenians and the Melians before the former launched the siege. It is taught as a classic case study in political realism to illustrate that selfish and pragmatic concerns ultimately motivate a country at war.

The Peloponnesian War lasted from 431 to 404 BC. On one side was the Peloponnesian League, an alliance of Greek cities led by Sparta. On the other side was the Delian League, a similar alliance led by Athens. The people of Melos were Dorians, the same ethnic group as the Spartans, but were independent of any of the mainland empires. In 427 BC the Melians donated at least twenty Aeginetan minae (roughly 12½ kg of silver) to the Spartan war effort. Otherwise, the island remained neutral in the war. In 426 BC, Athens sent an army of 2,000 men led by Nicias to raid the Melian countryside, but the Melians refused to do battle and Nicias withdrew because he lacked the resources for a siege.

In 425 or 424 BC, Athens formally demanded of Melos a tribute of fifteen talents of silver (roughly 390 kg). This sum could have paid the wages of a trireme crew for 15 months, or bought 540 metric tons of wheat, enough to feed 2,160 men for a year. Only the islands of Paros and Thasos were assessed for more at 30 and 60 talents respectively. This is evidence that Melos was a prosperous island. Melos had never paid tribute to Athens before, and they refused pay now.

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Wikipedia