In 416 B.C., Athens and Sparta were at war. Caught in the middle of these two powerful belligerents was Melos, a small island in the Aegean Sea which tried desparately to maintain its neutrality. Though many Melians were related to the people of Sparta, Melos was careful not to give Athens a reason to harm them. The Melosian men talked each day among themselves of the weather, of sports and wine, perhaps just the common aches and pains of growing old. The Melosian women shopped in the market and chattered among themselves about romance or family. The children played hopscotch or hide-and-seek. No matter. In this life, in Melos then, as in Ukraine now, the end seemed near.
We know this from the Greek author Thucydides and his book “The Peloponnesian War.” Thucydides, often called the first political scientist, relates that Melos explained to Athens that Melians were not a
“The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must”
Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War 5:89
threat, that they just wanted peace, prosperity and to be left alone. Athens, however, with no thought to what was moral or just, brutally conquered Melos so as not to look weak to Sparta. Envoys from Athens explained it to the Melians this way:
“For ourselves, we shall not trouble you with specious pretences—either of how we have a right to our empire because we overthrew the Mede, or are now attacking you because of wrong that you have done us—and make a long speech which would not be believed;”
Thucydides, “The Peloponnesian War” 5:89 (Perseus Collection, Tufts Un.
The Athenians demanded that Melos surrender to them, forcing them out of neutrality, to support of Athens against their will and finally, Athens, tiring of the cat and mouse game, invaded Melos and conquered and enslaved its population. Nothing less than regime change. With greater ease than Russia is having with Ukraine, today.
Shock and awe
It was in this work by Thucydides that he coined the famous phrase that in this life, “the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.” (“Wars” 5:89.) Russia, arguably one of the most powerful countries in the world, had to make an example of Ukraine “just because” it could and “just so” any other countries like Georgia or Finland that wished to exercise its sovereignty would not join NATO, else they would be conquered next.
Look at the faces of the people in the featured photo. You can see the shock, uprooted from their homes, separated from lovedones that they may never see again. Millions of people on the move because of one man. The Ukrainians never hurt Russia. No threats, no evil intentions. They were like the Melians “back in the day.” True, there is an insurrection in Ukraine, but it is being waged by Russian-aligned separatists. At the moment, the world stands overwhelmingly with Ukraine. Vladimir Putin has made an enormous miscalculation. Repeated references to hypersonic missiles and nuclear weapons can only take you so far, and Putin needs to learn this.
How do we proceed?
Albert Einstein once said “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” I understand this to mean that those responsible for a problem do not have the understanding nor skill set to reverse the problem which they have created. For example, the developers and industrialists who are plundering the environment with abandon, ripping off miles of surface growth and wildlife habitat for the sake of strip mining, burning down thousands of acres of the Amazon forest for farms, or polluting our streams and rivers to cut cleanup costs cannot be depended on to save the environment. They have neither interest nor expertise to do so. Would you let violent felons reform the justice system? Can Cold War thinking make Europe a safer place for our children?
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
Albert Einstein
Vladimir Putin is a creature that acts according to what he understands from observing the natural world. Thomas Hobbes and John Locke did the same, as did Karl Marx. If Putin were a Christian, he would not–I hope–be consigning so many innocent people to a certain death when they did nothing to harm him or his country. He would know that there is a way to rise above brutish instincts and impulses. He would understand mercy, forgiveness and compassion. Tragically, one lesson he apparently did not learn was what happens when an animal is cornered.
Putin grew up during Soviet communism, in what is now called St. Petersburg if I recall correctlly. He lived in a large project with many people and as many if not more rats that scampered around. He once recalled an incident from his youth where he cornered a rat in his apartment:
“It had nowhere to run. Suddenly it lashed around and threw itself at me. I was surprised and frightened. Now the rat was chasing me. Luckily, I was a little faster and I managed to slam the door shut in its nose. There, on that stair landing, I got a quick and lasting lesson in the meaning of the word cornered.”
Or did he? Isn’t this what Putin is doing now to the Ukraine? Isn’t he blocking the exits to the cities and the country, itself? Isn’t he driving the populace into a corner. But then he is surprized at the fury and determination the Ukraine shopkeepers and secretaries marshall to fight back for the sake of their homeland and their very lives. Ukranians would not choose to fight him, to attack him without warning, yet like the incident from his youth described above, Putin has lost control and at least in the borders of the Ukraine, the prey has become the predator.
In this life
Thucydides with a short course in modern European history could no doubt could see many parallels between Melos and Ukraine. He would speak in terms of realpolitiks. He might remind us that this is the way of the world. But twenty six centuries later, have we learned nothing? Will we never be our brother’s or sister’s keeper?