Page:History of Greece Vol VII.djvu/127

109 SIEGE OF MELOS, [OJj Melos, one of the Cyclades, and the only one, except Thera, which was not already included in their empire. Melos and Thera were both ancient colonies of Lacedaemon, with whom they had strong sympathies of lineage. They had never joined the confederacy of Delos, nor been in any way connected with Athens : but at the same time, neither had they ever taken part in the recent war against her, nor given her any ground of complaint, 1 until she landed and attacked them in the sixth year of tho recent war. She now renewed her attempt, sending against the island a considerable force under Kleomedes and Tisias : thirty Athenian triremes, with six Chian and two Lesbian, twelve hun dred Athenian hoplites, and fifteen hundred hoplites from th< allies, with three hundred bowmen and twenty horse-bowmen These officers, after disembarking their forces, and taking posi tion, sent envoys into the city summoning the government b surrender, and to become a subject-ally of Athens. It was a practice, frequent, if not universal, in Greece, even ir governments not professedly democratical to discuss proposi- tions for peace or war before the assembly of the people. But on the present occasion the Melian leaders departed from this practice, and admitted the envoys only to a private conversation with their executive council. Of this conversation ThucydidSs professes to give a detailed and elaborate account, at surprising length, considering his general brevity. He sets down thirteen distinct observations, with as many replies, interchanged between the Athenian envoys and the Melians ; no one of them separately long, and some very short ; but the dialogue carried on is dra- matic, and very impressive. There is, indeed, every reason for concluding that what we here read in Thucydides is in far larger proportion his own and in smaller proportion authentic report, than any of the other speeches which he professes to set down. For this was not a public harangue, in respect to which he might have had the opportunity of consulting the recollection of many different persons : it was a private conversation, wherein three or four Athenians, and perhaps ten or a dozen Melians, may have taken part. Now as all the Melian population were slain imme- Thucvd. iii. 91.