Events of 427 BCE and the growing brutalization that occurred during the war
427 BCE marked the year that the siege of Plataea ended after there was a combined force between Spartan and Theban force. The Spartan and Theban forces then imposed very ruthless penalties on the people that had opposed them. “They brought them again one by one and asked each of them the same question, that is to say, whether they had done Spartans and allies any service in the war; and upon their saying that they had not, took them out and slew them without exception”. The women of the people who had been slain by the Spartans and Theban forces were taken as slaves. That sparked a lot of willingness by Athenians to go into a much brutal war and even abandon the mercy that they had practiced over the years that they showed to enemies who were surrendering.
The Corcyreans butchered their citizens whom they viewed as their enemies. The real reasons for their slaying were however due to private hatred and people who were owed debts and could not repay them. Democracy was put aside, and these people were slain without any mercy by their fellow citizens. There were several insurgencies conceded in the same year and resulting to the well coming of the Spartans and Athenians. They were meant to help calm the revolutions that were turning the cities into battlegrounds.
The revolt of Mytilene and punishment that the Athenian Assembly first ordered against Mytilene
Mytilene was an ally of the Athenians. Mytilene underwent an ‘oligarchic-led revolution’ which later resulted to Mytilene defecting to Sparta. That meant that they were no longer allies of the Athenians and now supported Athens direct enemy Sparta. Sparta and Athens had many differences that resulted to them fighting against each other in the war. The battle for supremacy in the regions was ongoing between the two, and this meant that the now Mytilene which was under the leadership of the oligarch was an enemy of the Athenians.
The first order that the Athenians gave to Mytilene was an invasion that was led by Paches. That was meant to overturn the oligarchy and making Mytilene an ally of Athens once again. The invasion that was led by Paches against the oligarchy was successful and led to the sparked debate on the next order that Mytilene was going to receive from the Athenian assembly. The second order was brought about by Kleon. It would be deliberated the killing of all men in Mytilene and then enslaving all the females and children would ensure that they were punished accordingly. As a result, the defection they had made would not occur once more.
Why Kleon argued for a harsh punishment as the best way to preserve the Athenian Empire
The punishment that Kleon was debating for was the killing of all men from Mytilene and enslaved their women and children. According to him, this was the best method to preserve the Athenian empire as it will inflict fear in the enemy and also for the future of the Athenian empire. He also argued that their subjects will not follow the democracy or the laws that have been set and, therefore, the best action would be the imposing of such judgment on Mytilene.
Explanations Kleon bequeathed
The main reason was that their democracy was incapable of ruling others. It will be a waste for Athenians to try to impose the democracy that they have been enjoying in their country on Mytilene. That would not work, and Mytilene will live to oppose the Athenians in the future. In the second reason, he argued that Mytilene will not remain defenseless for a long time and with due time they were going to have an army. This army will be used against Athens, which will not be a good gesture and will make the Athenians in making the decision to let the Mytilene go free. The third reason that was given by Kleon was that the crime that they did deserve such kind of punishment.
Why does Diodotus advocate for a more lenient treatment of the Mytilineans as the best way to preserve the Athenian Empire
Diodotus believes such kind of violence will not achieve what Athens has been advocating for. The Athenians had respectable associations with others. Even those that did them wrong as well as killing them at will. Therefore, that made the the reverse of what the Athenians want which will turn out to have negative consequences on the Athenian empire. It will not be preserved and the only way to preserve it is using the same methods that it had been advocating. It would be used to show the other nations the importance of democracy. The same action could stir violence from its allies in protest and in fear of what had been done to Mytilineans could be also done unto them. That meant that the move would have backfired, and led to the formation of more enemies who would bring negative results to the Athenians.
Motives assumed by Diodotus
The first reason was that this was not Athenians believed in and, therefore, would not be in the best interest of Athenians if all the males in Mytilene were killed and their women and children taken as slaves. Greece advocated laws and killing was not one of them. The second was that killing was going o satisfy the current need and, therefore, they needed to think of the future. Mytilene could be of use in the in development of Athens and, consequently, killing them should not be an option. The third purpose was that the killing of the Mytileneans proved that Athens was developing weak policies. As a result, they needed to stick to its strong policies and ensure that its honor was uplifted. Killing would display that Athens had run out of options and could lead Athens to be underestimated and therefore exposing it a lot to the enemy and be unable to defend itself.
Result of the debate
The opinion of Diodotus won. The troops that had been sent to kill the Mytileneans were stopped before they could act on the orders that they had been given. That, however, prevailed after a long debate that saw the two opinions get even. That as a result, proved to be a ferocious debate between the two opinions. Mytilene was divided into equal parts, and all were assigned to different people. Some of the Athenians were given the lands in Mytilene to live. The wall that was surrounding Mytilene was brought down so that the people could be exposed to attacks by the Athenians if they ever revolted against Athens. The people that were responsible for the revolt were however killed, but the rest were left alive.
With whom do you agree? Why?
I agree with Diodotus. That was because I believe that dispensing death penalties does not solve anything, but instead raises more violence. In this case, the allies of the Athenians could have revolted against their new policy as they would have been afraid that this could also happen to them. They would have also lost their trust in Athenians and which would mean that they will not support them in the ongoing war, and Athens could lose easily to its enemies. The motion of Kleon lacked basis, and he was acting out of anger.
How does this debate relate to the growing brutalization of the conflict?
The debate was going to help in showing the Athenians how they could deal with the allies that revolted against them in the war. The debate was also going to discuss whether Athenians had to be brutal to pass their message, or they could have used another way to ensure that their message was received by their enemies politely. That was through their democracy and other plans that Athens has set aside. The debate was going to prove the method that Athens would use to resolve conflicts.
