If I Was A Melian Citizen Essay

The Melian councillors made a horrible mistake by not accepting the terms of the Athenians in 416, and because of their irrational decision, their entire population got decimated. The Melians people were delusional in their assumptions that everything would work out in their favour, and they expected that outside forces would come to assist them, and would help make sure their battle ended in a favourable outcome. If I was a Melian citizen at the time of this decision, I would strongly oppose the councillors’ choice, because most of their arguments were based on a dependence of outside forces, and not based upon what they could do for themselves. You can see their level of misconception through their arguments that other Greek states would be alarmed and revolt, through their insistence that the gods would come to their aid, and through their assumption that the Spartans would come save them. All of these …show more content…
If I was a citizen at that time, I would absolutely reject the councillors’ decision, because a majority of the arguments presented, relied upon the presence and action of outside beings, instead of the Melian citizens utilizing their own merits and strengths. This is clearly evident in the arguments they make to the Athenians about alarming neutral Greek states, through their insistence of the gods supporting them, and through their adamance that the Spartans would rescue them. Although the Melians briefly made an assertion that they had a chance to win on their own against the Athenians, it was unwarranted, because they were not capable to do that on their own, and like many of their previous claims, this one was also based upon luck. The Melians made their greatest mistake in 416 by not taking the deal with the Athenians, and because they could not stand on their own, their entire civilization was either murdered or