Mytilenian Debate, Who persuaded better Cleon or Diodotus
Ancient Greek history is a topic loved by many of my students. Over the past years, they love the mythical imagery that it evokes. We discuss the stories of Athens and Sparta and most students are engaged in the stories of Persian and Peloponnesian Wars. However, using a specific story in Greek history that showed how one Athenian was able to persuade his fellow citizens to spare his traitorous allies vs. massacre them, will be harder. Mitylene was a Greek city-state that was allied with Athens. Many Mitylenians would favor supporting other Greek city-states, who were enemies of Athens because of how the Athenians would treat them. To punish the traitorous acts of the Mitylenians, Athens decided to kill all the male Mitylenians and enslave the women and children. After deliberation, the Athenian citizens voted this punishment upon their former allies. However after some citizens reconsidered, the group met again to debate the issue again. Two talented orators spoke for each side, Cleon for keeping the current punishment, and Diodotus to repeal. Both used various methods of Aristotle's Rhetoric to try to convince the audience of citizens to vote their way. In the end, Diodotus had convinced enough to change their vote, to over turn the previous result and spare the Mitylenians their lives.
An analysis of the Mitylenian Debate can give incite into the art of rhetoric and how it can be used for political decisions. It can also be used to show how those that are angry can be convinced to have pity on a group that has wronged them. Diodotus was able to use the art of persuasion to get Athenians to not kill the Mitylenians. If students can harness this power of persuasion, to get another student or group of students to not act in vengeance, but look to what is better for their group in the long run, then violence might be avoided.
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