The Melians stayed neutral throughout the Peloponnesian War. However, the Athenians want to take over the city in order to make their empire bigger. The Melians insist on that fact that Athens does not need to take over by saying, “…we will try to save ourselves. Meanwhile, we invite you to allow us to be friends to you”. They are trying the best that they can to save themselves from total domination. Despite their efforts, Athens does not listen. They are no longer interested in the people they are affecting, and only want to win the war as soon as possible. When Athens saw that the Melians were not going to back down, “the generals at once betook themselves to hostilities, and drew a line of circumvallation around the Melians”. They took to means of threat and coercion rather than using peaceful diplomacy. At this point, the Athenians lost all sense of democracy and instead shifted to total
The Melians stayed neutral throughout the Peloponnesian War. However, the Athenians want to take over the city in order to make their empire bigger. The Melians insist on that fact that Athens does not need to take over by saying, “…we will try to save ourselves. Meanwhile, we invite you to allow us to be friends to you”. They are trying the best that they can to save themselves from total domination. Despite their efforts, Athens does not listen. They are no longer interested in the people they are affecting, and only want to win the war as soon as possible. When Athens saw that the Melians were not going to back down, “the generals at once betook themselves to hostilities, and drew a line of circumvallation around the Melians”. They took to means of threat and coercion rather than using peaceful diplomacy. At this point, the Athenians lost all sense of democracy and instead shifted to total