The mytilenian debate summary. childhealthpolicy.vumc.org 2022-10-26
The mytilenian debate summary Rating:
The Mytilenian Debate was a significant event in the early history of the Greek city-state of Athens. It took place in the year 427 BCE, during a time of great political and social upheaval in Athens. The debate centered on the question of whether or not to punish the island of Mytilene, which had rebelled against Athenian rule. The debate was marked by intense disagreement among the Athenian citizens, with some arguing for leniency and others advocating for harsh punishment.
The Mytilenian Debate was sparked by a rebellion on the island of Mytilene, which was a colony of Athens. The rebels had seized control of the island and had declared their independence from Athens. In response, the Athenian assembly, which was made up of all male citizens, voted to send a military expedition to Mytilene to quell the rebellion.
However, once the expedition arrived on the island, it became clear that the rebels had strong support from the local population. This led to a prolonged and costly conflict, which strained the resources of the Athenian state. As a result, the Athenian assembly began to debate what to do about the rebellion.
On one side of the debate were those who argued that the rebels should be punished severely, as a deterrent to other cities that might consider rebelling against Athenian rule. These advocates argued that leniency would only encourage more rebellion, and that the harsh punishment of Mytilene was necessary to maintain the stability and security of the Athenian empire.
On the other side of the debate were those who argued that the rebels should be shown mercy, on the grounds that they had been driven to rebellion by the heavy-handed rule of the Athenians. These advocates argued that punishment would only serve to escalate the conflict, and that it would be more effective to try to reconcile with the rebels and bring them back into the fold of the Athenian empire.
Ultimately, the debate was resolved in favor of the advocates of harsh punishment. The assembly voted to send a second expedition to Mytilene, with orders to kill all the adult males on the island and to sell the women and children into slavery. This decision sparked outrage among those who had argued for leniency, and it caused a deep rift in the Athenian political system.
The Mytilenian Debate was significant because it marked a shift in the way that the Athenians approached the question of how to deal with rebellious subjects. Prior to this debate, the Athenians had tended to show mercy to those who rebelled, in the hope of reconciling with them and bringing them back into the fold of the empire. However, the decision to punish Mytilene severely set a new precedent, and it established the principle that rebellion would not be tolerated and would be punished severely.
In conclusion, the Mytilenian Debate was a significant event in the early history of Athens, as it marked a shift in the way that the Athenians approached the question of how to deal with rebellious subjects. It was also a major turning point in the history of the Athenian empire, as it established the principle that rebellion would not be tolerated and would be punished severely.
The debate about Mytilene: a short footnote on Brexit : gwallter
In the other case, what city, think you, would not prepare better than is now done, and hold out to the last against its besiegers, if it is all one whether it surrender late or soon? Athenian hubris gives birth to increasingly determined efforts at resistance and reaches its crescendo less than a decade later in Sicily, where Athens was decisively defeated by local forces. Our academic experts are ready and waiting to assist with any writing project you may have. But rather than rising, rhetorically and morally, to this challenge, Hillary Clinton has instead done a Diodotus. Socrates And Crito Argumentative Analysis 1382 Words 6 Pages Socrates believes that justice benefits the just, but also benefits the city other people too. Basing his argument too on what philosophers call are desperate to rebel, extreme punishments will not act as a deterrent. Remember the adage that generals always fight the last war? The collapse of Greek values in the face of conflict demonstrated the conflict between law and primal nature that Thucydides implicitly established. The Mytilenian Debate also spelled Mytilenean Debate , according to Thucydides, occurred in Athens during the time of the Peloponnesian War in 427 B.
Analysis Of The Mytilenian Debate English Literature Essay
The debate between Cleon and Diodotus unfolds not just in the shadow of war but also in the shadow of Pericles. The emotions generated because of some of the emotionally loaded words are show through the table below. Fear Uneasiness Apprehension Compassion is due to those who can reciprocate the feeling, not to those who will never pity us in return. Thucydides books on the Peloponnesian War are fascinating and not at all irrelevant to our problems today. Anger Shame Disgust Vengefulness I therefore, now as before, persist against you reversing your first decision, or giving way to three failings most fatal to empire — pity, sentiment and indulgence. He is faced with a seemingly simple choice, escape Athens or remain in prison and be sentenced to death.
Hence, varying degrees of logos, ethos and pathos need to be utilized to persuade a diverse audience. The Athenians decreed that all adult male Mytilenians be put to death and the women and children be enslaved, but on the next day, they reconsidered. Cleon as Farage — very good. Cleon, a prominent member of Athenian society, spoke to defend the previous decision against doubts and to assert that the guilty party got the punishment they deserved. On the island of Lesbos, four city-states attempted to rebel against Athenian authority, and their ultimate defeat eventually lead to the Mytilenian Debate. The emotions of the people rose substantially when their allegiance to the State was doubted.
In the famous passage where he lays out his methodology for reporting the content of speeches, Thucydides states that "my habit has been to make the speakers say what was in my opinion demanded of them by the various occasions, of course adhering as closely as possible to the general sense of what they really said. GREECE - AUGUST 24: The Parthenon, front view, Acropolis of Athens UNESCO World Heritage List, 1987 , Greece. It marks a rare moment when political irrationality can, in the right circumstances, be overtaken by second thoughts, and a disastrous decision reversed by taking a cooler and more considered view. Both Athens and Mytilene belonged to the Delian League, a Greek rehearsal for NATO. It is obvious that he has clearly prepared for this moment. It arrives just in time to save the people from an appalling fate.
Or what he thinks about how admirable it is that a democratic body — the Assembly was made up of all citizens of the city — was capable of changing its mind on a matter of important policy. Cleon knew that he would have to come across as very sound and moral and skillfully used his violent reputation to his advantage if he wanted to sway his audience to his side. Diodotus counters: I do not share the view … that it is a bad thing to have frequent discussions on matters of importance. Cleon spoke extensively in favor of the motion arguing that the Mytilenians deserved this severe punishment as it represented justice while Diodotus opposed it wholeheartedly arguing that it was not in the best interest of Athens. The next day, the Athenians realized the unprecedented brutality of their actions and some became hesitant about the hurried decision to kill and enslave the citizens of Mytilene.
The Mytilenean Dialogue From 428 B.C. Explains Who Really Won the Trump
Another cause of tension between the Persians and Greeks was a movement called the Ionian Revolution. The first way they interacted with the Romans was by the Silk Road and Chinese diplomacy missions. Read more about this topic:. According to Thucydides, after the decision was made a trireme was dispatched to Mytilene to carry out the orders and the Athenians, enraged by premeditated revolt, slaughtered all of the prisoners, who numbered around a thousand. Haste and anger are, to my mind, the two greatest obstacles to wise counsel — haste, that usually goes with folly, anger, that is the mark of primitive and narrow minds. . Some might dismiss this as a glib cliché, but it also reminds us that these debates matter greatly for well-functioning democracies.
His use of pathos was brilliant throughout his speech and a particular part of his speech that was loaded with emotional appeal caught my eyes. Analysis Of The Mytilenian Debate English Literature Essay. In the aftermath of this battle, the Athenian assembly then gathered and voted to put to death all Mytilenian men and enslave all their women and children. . For these readers, it is critical that the text appeals to their reasoning skills and demonstrates the logical nature of the presented argument. Summer, 1962 , pp.
Thucydides devotes many pages to this second debate. Finally, the Spartan Salaethus arrived and raised morale by reassuring the Mytilenians that the Peloponnesians were going to invade Attica and promised to supply them with a fleet in the spring. In order to do this, it is imperative that the concepts of logos, ethos and pathos be identified and taught to students. The city-states worked together in the Persian War to defeat the Persians, however tension began to arise between the city-states after their common enemy was defeated. Crito, a student of Socrates appears outside of his cell and makes one last attempt to persuade Socrates to flee Athens and save his life. Spartan ships, promised in support, fail to show up. They transport the leaders of the revolt to Athens, and Mytilene awaits its fate.
Greek civilisation, 5th century BC. He attempted to plant hatred for the Mytileans in the hearts of Athenians by effectively representing the Mytileans as antagonists who had deliberately chosen to attack Athens, an attack that was clearly unprovoked and unnecessary, since they enjoyed a great level of welfare being an ally. One person in history that would agree with Cleon would have been the Chinese philosopher Han Feizi. However, if they decided to act differently, they would not be rewarding the Mytileans but rather passing judgment on themselves because if they were right in rebelling, then Athens must be doing wrong to continue ruling. The second way they interacted with Rome was by attempting to conquer them twice. An example is where he asks the audience to imagine a scenario and how it would play out for Athens.