History of the Peloponnesian War · Chapter
IX explained
The Mitylenians revolt against Athens, seeking alliance with Sparta.
What happens
The Mitylenians revolt against Athens, seeking alliance with Sparta. They argue that Athenian imperialism has turned former allies into subjects, and that only mutual fear can secure a true alliance. The Spartans accept their plea and prepare to invade Attica, but their allies are slow to assemble. Athens responds by manning a hundred ships to display strength, and the Spartan invasion falters. Meanwhile, Athens sends a fleet to Lesbos to suppress the revolt, but the Mitylenians, forewarned, prepare for war and send envoys to Sparta for support.
Themes in this chapter
Alliance and Betrayal
The Mitylenians justify their revolt by arguing that Athenian leadership has turned from liberation to subjugation, making true alliance impossible. They seek Spartan support, emphasizing that only mutual fear can sustain a trustworthy alliance.
Power and Empire
Athens' imperial expansion is central: the Mitylenians describe how Athens enslaved most allies while maintaining a pretense of equality with them, and how fear of eventual subjugation drove them to revolt.
Leadership and Strategy
Both sides display strategic calculations: the Mitylenians argue that supporting their revolt will weaken Athens by depriving it of revenue and allies; Athens responds by rapidly mobilizing a large fleet to deter Spartan intervention.
Characters to notice
- Archidamus
King of Lacedaemon, leads the Peloponnesian invasion of Attica in the summer of the revolt.
- Cleippides
Athenian commander sent with forty ships to surprise Mitylene during a festival.
Key passages
“the only sure basis of an alliance is for each party to be equally afraid of the other; he who would like to encroach is then deterred by the reflection that he will not have odds in his favour.”
A stable alliance requires both sides to fear each other equally, so that neither dares to attack because they cannot be sure of winning.
The Mitylenian envoy articulates a realist view of alliances based on mutual deterrence rather than trust.
“Disease and expenditure have wasted the Athenians: their ships are either cruising round your coasts, or engaged in blockading us; and it is not probable that they will have any to spare, if you invade them a second time this summer by sea and land;”
The Athenians are weakened by plague and financial strain, and their fleet is already occupied; if you attack again this summer, they will have no ships left to resist.
The Mitylenians urge Sparta to strike while Athens is vulnerable, highlighting the strategic opportunity created by Athenian losses.