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Shall we kill the Mytilenaeans? — Imperialism and the lure of genocide
For the past couple of years I’ve been fascinated with the relationship between philosophy and politics, and particularly by the complex intercourse between one of the greatest philosophers of all time, Socrates, and one of the greatest scoundrels of all time, his student and friend, Alcibiades. I’m just about to complete a book on the topic, to be published by Basic next year. As is often the case when you write a book, the early drafts turn out to be significantly longer than what the publisher likes, so you are bound to cut some stuff out. You know, like editing down a movie by (hopefully) selecting the best and most coherent scenes. This essay is one such cut that is not going to make it into the final edition, but which I nevertheless think is a great story that ought to be told and reflected upon.
The scene takes place during the early part of the Peloponnesian War between Sparta and Athens, which ended up involving the whole of Hellas, i.e., all the major Greek cities. Pericles, the charismatic leader of Athens, and adoptive father to Alcibiades, has just died of the plague and the more hawkish party has taken control of Athens, especially in the person of Cleon, son of Cleaenetus. One episode that sees him as a protagonist, and that provides us with an illuminating insight into the nature of politics, occurred in response to the defection of Mytilenè, on the island of Lesbos. The Mytilenaeans had been allied, not subjects, of Athens, but had decided to switch side and aid the Peloponnesian League. The Athenians were incensed, and looking for revenge.
The Mytilenaean revolt began during the third year of the war, in 428 BCE, when the inhabitants of the city forcibly made it the capital of the island of Lesbos (which is still the case today). Athens did not initially react, because it was suffering from the plague, and because Lesbos was a naval power in its own right, thus likely to oppose significant resistance. Eventually, however, the Athenians had to face the reality that Lesbos was too important to lose, so they sent forty ships to settle the affair. The first engagement ended in a stalemate and the Mytilenaeans sent a peace mission to negotiate in Athens. But they were apparently not too optimistic about its prospects, because they also simultaneously sent a request…
