Abstract
The Melian Dialogue is too eccentric to be explained solely in terms of its immediate context. It will here be maintained that it represents primarily a stage in Thucydides' struggle to reconcile his admiration for the Athenian empire with his feeling that empire was somehow immoral. This essay is thus necessarily concerned with his general views on empire; for which the last speech assigned to Perikles is important evidence.I. THE DIALOGUE AND ITS CONTEXTThe Dialogue falls into two parts which overlap. The first, dealing with the reasons why Athens found it necessary to suppress the independence of Melos, ends roughly at v, 105, 2: it is this part that seems so remote from real life and raises the main problems. The second, roughly from v, 102, dealing with the prospect that Melos might be saved by Spartan help or by mere luck, is comparatively plain sailing: the possibility of Spartan intervention is a real topic, in no sense out of place at such a conference.
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