The conflict between Athens and the island of Melos during The Peloponnesian War has played an important role in international relations and the theories of political realism and idealism. The Athenians who believed the theory of realism, rejected the Melians wish to remain neutral. The Athenians considered morality to be secondary to maintaining and acquiring power. They assumed that by letting Melos remain neutral that other powers would see them as weak. Although the Melians wished to stay neutral they were not pacifist. They went to war with Athens but both sides fought for two very different reasons. The Melians military was much weaker, but they believed Athens was acting immoral and that the gods would give them power to defeat the
