CC200 Classical World: The Melian DialogueProf. Michael ArnushThe Melian Dialogue, one of the most powerful presentations of a fundamentalhuman conflict in the ancient world, will be the context for a classroom debate onMonday, March 7. All of you will participate in our rhetorical examination, based uponthe arguments made by the Athenians and Melians on the following topic:“Does might make right?”Here is how the debate will unfold on Monday in class, starting precisely at1.25pm:1. William and Will (w_cabell, w_sabin) make the first affirmative argument (taking theAthenian position), defining the main terms and outlining their case (3 minutes)2. Kristi and Mallika (k_sadows, m_dattat) make the first negative argument (taking theMelian position), contesting any badly defined terms and outline the negative case (3minutes)3. Alex and Kate (a_eaton, k_butler) complete the Athenian case, especially withevidence (3 minutes)4. Adam and Eden (a_cupple, e_roesse) complete the Melian case, especially withevidence (3 minutes)We then take a three-minute break. Then, the following pairs begin their rebuttals, againwith each pair taking three minutes:1. Kim and Bella (k_mabb, i_gaspic) make the first rebuttal of the Melian case, showingthe weaknesses in the most important arguments of the Melians2. Drew and Max (a_isleib, m_winer) make the first rebuttal of the Athenian case,showing the weaknesses in the most important arguments of the Athenians3. Charlie and Jessamyn (c_phelps, j_hertel) make the second rebuttal of the Meliancase, showing the weaknesses in the most important arguments of the Melians andrelying especially on the evidence4. Mike and Elise (m_wheele, e_bedard) make the second rebuttal of the Atheniancase, showing the weaknesses in the most important arguments of the Atheniansand relying especially on the evidenceWe then shift immediately to cross-questioning:1. Molly and Jon (m_appel, j_clarke) then ask any questions of any of the Melians, butmust allow time for answers and not turn the cross-questioning into a speech (3minutes)2. Rennie and Nick (r_ament, n_borek) then ask any questions of any of the Athenians,but must allow time for answers and not turn the cross-questioning into a speech (3minutes)We then give the judges an opportunity to deliberate – in public. The judges are in threetriads, and each triad will receive three minutes:1. Chrissy, Chris, Kat (c_bach, c_bendan, k_byun)2. Hannah, Jess, Blair (h_chappl, j_cichy, b_costel)3. Megan, Liz, Diane (m_mcderm, e_rusnak, d_terry)If we have stayed on schedule, then we have just under 15 minutes left to discuss theresults. What are your responsibilities for this mock debate?11. Read the Melian Dialogue (below) as told by the Greek historian Thucydides.2. Contact and meet with your partner(s) before class on Monday. Decide what you willsay and how you will fashion your argument, rebuttal, or cross-questioning (or, ifyou’re a judge, what you think are the essential points that can persuade you oneway or the other).3. Compose a sort of “script” for your participation in this debate. You only have threeminutes, which will evaporate if you’re not well-prepared and stick to your goals.4. Note: all of you must participate orally in the classroom debate. Failure to do so will result in a grade of “F” for this exercise.Your greatest challenge will be to remain flexible in the classroom, to think on your feetand be prepared to change your tactics in order to achieve your longer-range goal. Likea courtroom, the framework of a mock debate can shift rapidly as you each contribute toour collective thinking. Bring something to write on and plan to sit with your partner assoon as you arrive, so you can share quick notes as you listen to the arguments thatprecede yours. Because we want to maximize our time to discuss at the end, please tryto come to class before 1.25 so that we can begin precisely on time. Good luck, andhave fun!Thucydides: The Melian Dialogue: 5.84-116 (416 BCE)The leaders of Melos faced a terrible choice: have their countrymen die as freemen or live as slaves. The powerful Athenian generals and their fleet of thirty-eight shipscarrying heavy infantry and archers waited at the shores of Melos ready for action asthe Melians deliberated.It was 416 BCE, the sixteenth year of the Peloponnesian War but for the last sixyears the two great feuding empires headed by Athens and Sparta (Lacedaemon) hadavoided open hostile action against each other. Ten years into the War they had signeda treaty of peace and friendship; however, this treaty did not dissipate the distrust thatexisted between them. Each feared the others’ hegemonic designs on the Peloponneseand sought to increase its power to thwart the others’ ambitions. Without openlyattacking the other, each used persuasion, coercion, and subversion to strengthen itselfand weaken its rival. This struggle for hegemony by Athens and Sparta was felt mostacutely by small, hitherto “independent” states who were now being forced to take sidesin the bi-polar Greek world of fifth century BCE. One such state was Melos.Despite being one of the few island colonies of Sparta, Melos had remainedneutral in the struggle between Sparta and Athens. Its neutrality, however, wasunacceptable to the Athenians, who, accompanied by overwhelming military and navalpower, arrived in Melos to pressure it into submission. After strategically positioning theirpowerful fleets, the Athenian generals sent envoys to Melos to negotiate the island’ssurrender.The commissioners of Melos agreed to meet the envoys in private. They wereafraid the Athenians, known for their rhetorical skills, might sway the people if allowed apublic forum. The envoys came with an offer that, if the Melians submitted and becamea part of the Athenian empire, their people and their possessions would not be harmed.The Melians argued that by the law of nations they had the right to remain neutral, andno nation had the right to attack without provocation. Having been a free state for sevenhundred years they were not ready to give up that freedom. Thucydides captures theexchange between the Melians and the Athenians in 5.84-116.25.84[1] The next summer Alcibiades sailed with twenty ships to Argos and seized thesuspected persons still left of the Lacedaemonian