WORKABLE PEACE ATHENS - MELOS ROLE PLAY
I. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
II. ATHENS AND MELOS
Ancient Greece was not the unified country it is today, but rather a collection of tribal groups and city-states of various sizes. The city-states operated like today’s nation-states, each with its own military and government. They traded and formed alliances with each other. These alliances were often formed along “kinship” lines—meaning that each spoke a slightly different dialect of Greek, had different traditions, and traced its heritage back to a common ancestor from a specific part of the Greek peninsula. Despite ethnic differences and political rivalries, the city-states still had a common sense of themselves as one Greek people sharing a common heritage of religion and poetry. The Greeks were aware of some of the other peoples of the world: they banded together to fight off the invading armies of Persia; they sent ships to help the Egyptians revolt from Persian control; they received diplomats from the King of the Libyans; and they fought against the Macedonians and Phoenicians. Yet, for the most part they considered the rest of the world simply foreign (barbaros). |
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After the Persian war, in 478 BCE, a voluntary league was created for the common defense of the Greek city-states. At first Sparta led the league, but it decided to turn its attention to matters closer to home and so it left the League and passed leadership on to the Athenians. The Athenian-dominated Delian League required its members to contribute ships, men and money. It built up a navy to liberate some of the captured Greek city-states still under Persian control and ensure that Persia could never invade again. |
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Over time, most of the city-states in the League preferred
to pay additional yearly tribute instead of providing troops and ships.
This worked to Athens’ advantage, allowing the Athenians to build
up a huge navy financed by the tribute from the League’s members.
Athens then used this navy to ensure that no city-state could revolt and
leave the League. The Athenians used naval blockades and sieges to cut
off supplies to any city that revolted, forcing it to surrender. After
putting down a revolt, it was common practice to slaughter every man and
take the women and children as slaves—thus making an example of the
revolting city and discouraging other defections. In this way Athens began
to create an empire for itself, slowly growing to incorporate more and
more islands and city-states along the coast.
It is unclear whether or not the city-states resented being part of the Delian League. We do know that Athens required the members to pay a yearly tribute and would not let them leave the League. Athens often intervened politically to set up democratic governments. Such measures by Athens met with hostility from the ruling elites and aristocratic families in city-states that it conquered, while it often won over the lower classes who gained more power. Establishing democratic governments, then, was one way Athens reinforced the loyalty of city-states and lessened the chance of revolts. |
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| A hundred years before Athens and the rapidly growing Delian
League came to power among the islands and coastal cities, Sparta had created
an alliance of its own among the city-states of the Peloponnesian peninsula.
The Spartans did not require their allies to pay tribute, but instead saw
to it that they were governed by oligarchies that responded to Sparta’s
interests. Eventually, Sparta viewed Athenian growth as a threat to its
own power and it organized its allies and went to war.
This war became known as the Peloponnesian War. It was fought in two phases, starting in 431 BCE. The first phase of the war lasted ten years, pausing with the Peace of Nicias in 421 BCE. This peace lasted 7 years until 414 BCE when the war started again, ending only with the defeat of Athens in 404 BCE. |
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II. ATHENS AND MELOS Melos was originally a Dorian settlement—meaning that its people felt a common kinship with Sparta, also of Dorian heritage. Melos was one of the few Aegean islands that had managed to remain outside of the Delian League and retain its independence from Athenian influence. This meant that Melos still retained its 700 year tradition of oligarchy (rule by a few elite families). Despite their common kinship with Sparta, the Melians (people of Melos) claimed neutrality during the first phase of the Peloponnesian War, refusing to help either Sparta or Athens. In 426 BCE, in the middle of the war with Sparta, the Athenian general Nicias had tried to invade the island of Melos, but the Melians successfully fought off the invaders. After the failed Athenian invasion of Melos and just before the first phase of the Peloponnesian War ended, Athens captured a sailor who claimed that he was bringing a contribution from Melos to help the Spartan war fund.
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| III. THE CURRENT SITUATION In 416 BCE, after 5 years of peace with Sparta, Athens again decided
to force the island of Melos to join the Delian League. It is now the
summer of that year, and the Athenians have blockaded the island of Melos
with 30 of their own ships, plus six from their ally Chios and two from
another ally, Lesbos. In addition they have landed armored troops on the
beaches of Melos. The Athenians are providing 1,200 hoplites (armored
soldiers), 300 archers, and 20 mounted archers. Their allies from the
Delian League provide an additional 1,500 hoplites. This time Athens is
determined to make Melos part of the Delian League.
Before they lay siege to Melos, the Athenian generals who are leading
the expedition have the authority to negotiate. If Melos is willing to
peacefully join the Delian League, then there will be no need to waste
lives in battle. So the Athenians have sent delegates to the Melians,
to attempt to negotiate a treaty in which Melos could agree to join the
League and assume the full responsibilities of membership. The standard
requirement of membership in the Delian League is payment of a yearly
tribute as well as supplying men and ships for battle. It is also common
for Athens to institute democratic rule in the League’s member city-states. |
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| IV. THE ROLES |
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| MELOS Ruler of Melos: This young ruler has recently been elected to power by the Council of Elders—a small group of wealthy landowners who govern the city and surrounding island. The ruler is determined not to go down in history as the regent who allowed a foreign invader to overturn 700 years of stable oligarchy. General of Melos: The general commanded the Navy of Athens for 30 years. He understands the ins and outs of war and knows that it was possible to defeat the Athenians when they are also distracted by war with Sparta. But now it is peacetime between Athens and Sparta, and Athens has been able to amass a more formidable force than it had for the previous invasion. |
ATHENS Athenian Admiral: A wealthy Athenian merchant has been elected Admiral by the Athenian Assembly and assigned to organize the expedition force necessary to bring Melos into the league. This Admiral is determined that Melos will not make a fool of Athens, as it did last time when Nicias invaded. Athenian General: A respected aristocrat, the old general is experienced in the whims of warfare. The General will have to organize and run the siege of Melos if it refuses to join the league peacefully. |
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| <back to top> V. ISSUES TO BE DECIDED
VI. STEPS IN THE ROLE PLAY You will play one of the four roles listed above. You will each receive
a set of Confidential Instructions for your role in the negotiations.
These sheets will explain who you are and what you would like to achieve
in the negotiations. Please note that each set of “confidentials”
includes information from your character’s perspective. Other characters
will not necessarily share your perspective and they will have different
information. Share whatever information you feel is appropriate and that
your character would be willing to share. But, DO NOT show other players
your confidentials. |
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2. EXPLORE NEEDS AND CONCERNS |
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VII. MAP OF ANCIENT GREECE
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