Battle of Melos

Overview

The siege of Melos occurred in 416 BC, during the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta, when the Athenians attacked Melos, an island in the Aegean Sea roughly 110 kilometres east of mainland Greece. Though the Melians had ancestral ties to Sparta, they were neutral in the war. Athens invaded Melos in the summer of 416 BC and demanded that the Melians surrender and pay tribute to Athens or face annihilation. The Melians refused, so the Athenians laid siege to their city. Melos surrendered in the winter, and the Athenians executed the men of Melos and enslaved the women and children.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The siege of Melos in 416 BC was an episode in the Peloponnesian War in which Athens moved against a neutral Aegean island with ancestral ties to Sparta, roughly 110 kilometres east of the Greek mainland. Athens demanded that the Melians submit and pay tribute or face annihilation. When the Melians refused, Athens laid siege to their city. Following the city's surrender in winter, the Athenians executed its men and enslaved its women and children. The episode illustrates Athens' readiness during the war to apply overwhelming coercive force against neutral parties, subordinating prior neutrality and ancestral Spartan connections to the demands of Athenian imperial tribute.