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ThucydidesThe Melian Dialogue
Nonfiction | Essay / Speech | Adult | BCEA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Literary Devices
Allusion
An allusion is a reference to information, events, or topics that exist outside the scope of the text at hand. Allusion can be either indirect (not mentioned explicitly, e.g., “big brother” from Orwell’s 1984, for controlling authority figures), or direct (specifically naming the reference, e.g., referring to a beautiful location as an “Eden”). It is always employed under the presumption of a shared body of knowledge, whether cultural, historical, religious, or literary. In “The Melian Dialogue,” the Athenians use allusion as a rhetorical technique early in their debate: “[w]e shall not bulk out our argument with lofty language, claiming that our defeat of the Persians gives us the right to rule” (Section 89). The Melians, as all Greeks, know the pivotal role Athens played in the defense of Greece against the Persians. Despite the words of the Athenians, their tone is ironic—they are indeed arguing that they deserve the deference of the Melians.
Assertion
An assertion is a common rhetorical device in persuasive speech, a claim which the speaker declares to be true. It forms the premise of that which follows, i.e., because the assertion is true, therefore the following conclusion must also be true. Assertion, and its common corollary, concession, are used repeatedly in the “The Melian Dialogue” due to the nature of the debate. Assertions can employ other figures of speech, such as when the Melians pose a rhetorical question, “[a]t present there are several neutrals: do you want to make enemies of them all? When they see what you are doing here they will expect an attack on themselves before long” (Section 98). The most consequential assertion in the dialogue belongs to the Athenians and is restated throughout: “in terms of practicality the dominant exact what they can and the weak concede what they must” (Section 89).
Concession
A concession is the acknowledgement that a preceding assertion by another speaker may be true. Whether or not the conceding party agrees to the point, it is yielded that the argument may continue with respect to the assertion. The assertions cited in the previous entry find their following corresponding concessions: to the Melians, the Athenians state “[w]e do not see much danger from those mainland states whose freedom will make them very reluctant to initiate defensive measures” (Section 99); to the Athenians, the Melians respond “there is advantage, (and we must speak of advantage, since you have put justice to one side and made expediency the basis of discussion)” (Section 90).
Dialectic
Often referred to as the dialectical method, dialectic is a discussion format in which opposing parties explain and defend their perspectives with a goal of establishing the truth through reasoned argument. Dialectic is meant to exclude emotional appeals and follows a point/counter-point structure. The dialogues of Socrates are perhaps the most famous examples of a type of dialectic, where a series of questions is posed and answered in order to reveal contradictions. Thucydides, an Athenian like Socrates, would have been familiar with the method, and the dialogue can be viewed as a means of establishing the truth or falsehood of the Athenians’ assertions.
Dramatization
Dramatization is a method of storytelling where the actors play out dialogue (or give monologues) in real time, as opposed to having a narrator recount events. “The Melian Dialogue” is the only part of the History of the Peloponnesian War that uses this format, though Thucydides does also reproduce speeches by public figures, for example Pericles’s funeral oration (Book 2, Sections 35-46). Athens, in addition to being the home of philosophers like Socrates and Plato who employed dialectic, was also the birthplace of drama, and as such, it is fruitful to examine “The Melian Dialogue” in the context of dramatic tradition.
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