EPISODE 43: The Melian Dialogue (The Peloponnesian War and Morality in History)

History on Fire

Daniele Bolelli

Society & Culture

4.7 • 5.9K Ratings

🗓️ 21 January 2019

⏱️ 132 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

“The strong do what they want, and the weak suffer what they must.” Athenian embassy to Melos via Thucydides “As far as right and wrong are concerned, our people think there is no difference between the two—that those who still preserve their independence do so because they are strong, and that if we fail to attack them it is because we are afraid.” Athenian embassy to Melos via Thucydides “This is no fair fight, with honor on one side and shame on the other. It is rather a question of saving your lives and not resisting those who are far too strong for you.” Athenian embassy to Melos via Thucydides “Don’t quote laws to men who carry swords.” Pompey the Great “The present policy of the Government is but a continuation of the same progressive change by a milder process. The tribes which occupied the countries now constituting the Eastern States were annihilated or have melted away to make room for the whites.” Andrew Jackson "And do you know what 'the world' is to me? Shall I show it to you in my mirror? This world: a monster of energy, without beginning, without end... This world is the will to power--and nothing besides!" Friedrich Nietzsche In the midst of The Peloponnesian War (431-401 BCE), the Athenians paid a visit to the inhabitants of the island of Melos and tried to make them an offer they couldn’t refuse. The dialogue that emerged from their negotiations is a classic in political philosophy, and raises fascinating questions about the nature of morality in history. In this episode, Darryl Cooper (from “The Martyrmade Podcast”) and I tackle them all, and leave no stones unturned. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Whether or not you're into history, if you care about bravery, wisdom, passion, larger-than-life
0:05.6	characters and some of the most emotionally intense moments in human experience, you've
0:10.9	come to the right place.
0:12.4	Danieli Bolle is a university history professor, writer, and martial artist,
0:17.0	and he shall be your guide in a journey to the place where history and epic collide. Oh, Welcome to episode 43 of History on Fire.
1:05.0	If you want, ad-free versions of this episode,
1:08.0	you can join the folks donating $5 a month on Patreon for History on Fire and you get to have
1:14.9	episodes with no ads. If you do not mind the ads we are gonna just jump into
1:21.5	those but before we do that, speaking of patron, I want to thank two sweet folks.
1:27.0	Susan Mossadone and Rob Edinger, who are contributing at the $100 level.
1:32.0	Thank you guys so much. With that said, let's jump into the
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