This chapter tells the most famous story in the book. It is, interestingly, the only chapter in a book of several hundred pages that takes the form of a dialogue. It is political drama at its best.
The year is 416 BC. Athens is in a struggle for its very existence against Sparta. An Athenian military force arrives at Melos.
One of the odd features of the dialogue is the bluntness of the Athenians' talk. When they arrive on Melos, the Athenian generals tell the Melians that Melos must submit to Athenian power or the Athenians will kill all the Melians. The Athenians say, "This is a good deal for us, and it is a good deal for you."
The Melians ask, "How can it be as good for us to be slaves, as for you to be masters?"
The Athenians reply, "Because you won't be killed, and we won't have to kill you."
I am translating loosely but in a way meant to capture the essence of the exchange (see below).
The Athenians are telling the Melians to face the facts, determine what their interests are, and act accordingly.
Resistance to bringing back this chapter
IR scholars will not want anyone to bring back this narrative. First, it is ancient. Second, it is not quantitative. Third, it does not introduce an advanced data set. Fourth, it is not statistical. Fifth, it is a story, and fairy tales are stories. Sixth, it is not scientific, and IR is Super Scientific. Seventh, it is ancient.
The point I would stress to Gen Z students today--and it is Gen Z's education at stake--is that similar arguments were made by the IR scholars who removed Thucydides from the discipline over the last generation. This was supposedly a step forward for the study of world politics. Understanding this argument about past texts is itself important to the future.
Opportunity to bring back this chapter
However, I am using a scientific argument to bring back this work. The scientific theory I am using to explain the Peloponnesian War turns out, unexpectedly, to also suggest why the Athenians were so impatient and frank. According to my argument, at a different point in time and in different circumstances--but in the same war against Sparta--the Athenians would not have been so blunt and impatient.
My argument might very well be wrong. However, it is a theoretically-grounded argument of the type that characterizes good science. The blunt Athenian talk is something I believe can be explained.
A publication like this could create an opening for a much-needed discussion. There are many challenges to the discipline, after all. IR scholars are forever concerned about the "rigor" of their work. Another question, of course, is its "relevance."
IR scholars interested in the possible continued relevance of this "ancient" history may be empowered by a piece like this one.
The issue of translating from Greek to English
This issue of translation will be an explicit theme of the piece. Anyone unfamiliar with the complexities of translating from the Greek won't realize how easily one can run off the rails trying to understand a complex historical narrative like this one.
The argument concerning translation might give the article staying power if the conjectured explanatory theory is wrong.
Example of a translation: FIRST MINUTE OF VIDEO
The first minute of the attached video captures the final exchange of the dialogue. The Melians famously decline to accommodate the Athenians. They state that, while they recognize the vast odds against them, they will take their chances. "We are sorry," the Melians say.
The two Athenian generals in this historical episode were Cleomedes and Tisias. One says, "We are sorry, too." The other has the final line of the exchange:
"You seem unique in supposing the future more certain than what is before your eyes--simply because you would like to believe it so."
Regarding the underlined text: * "The future" refers to the Melians' hopes that the strong don't always defeat the weak in war, the Gods may favor them, the Spartans may save them, and so on. All discussed with Cleomedes and Tisias. * Meanwhile, the Athenians have landed almost 3,000 heavy infantry on Melos. These are the facts "before [their] eyes."
Final line of the dialogue
I would translate the final line in 2023 American English as:
"You must be the only people in the world who consider the future more certain..."
Something like that. The speaker's inflection would need to convey both the seriousness of the statement and its intended irony.
If one were dramatizing this discussion, one of the points to be stressed is that the Athenian generals, upon hearing the Melian decision, could only have been outraged.
Final line of the chapter: LAST 15 SECONDS OF VIDEO
After the failed negotiation, Athenian forces lay siege to Melos. Eventually, the Melians are forced to surrender.
The end of the attached video (after the 1 minute mark) is the last sentence of the chapter. Here we are back to the narrative: this is the voice of Thucydides, wrapping up the story of the Athenian expedition to Melos during the Peloponnesian War in 416 BC.
