Abstract

The Melian Dialogue is not merely a story from ancient Greece. It describes a permanent problem in human affairs: what should a weaker nation do when confronted by overwhelming power? Submit and survive or resist and risk annihilation. Powerful states demand concessions from weaker ones in the name of security, as if weaker nations need none. Here is the surprising part of the story. The Athenians and Melians debated whether the Melians should submit or face destruction, a debate that was the focus of the story Thucydides wrote in dialogue form. I will rephrase that dialogue to highlight the arguments they presented for and against submitting to a powerful military force.