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There was a time when probably all the AEgean islands were Phoenician possessions, or at any rate acknowledged Phoenician influence, and Siphnus gave its gold, its silver, and its lead, Cythera its shell-fish, Paros its marble, Melos its sulphur and its alum, Nisyrus its millstones, and the islands generally their honey, to increase the wealth and advance the commercial interests of their Phoenician masters.
Set apart by them to complete their works, he produces that wondrous thing called the masterpiece, which surpasses in perfection all that they have contrived in what is called Nature; and the Gods stand by and marvel, and perceive how far away more beautiful is the Venus of Melos than was their own Eve. And now from their midst the Dilettante stalks abroad. The Amateur is loosed.
Athens had now offended beyond forgiveness, giving colour to the accusations of her worst enemies, and heaping up vengeance for the days to come. The Peloponnesian War may be conveniently divided into four chief periods. The first of these periods lasted for ten years, down to the peace of Nicias. The second extends from the peace of Nicias to the massacre of Melos.
Seriphos—wretched islet—sent only one ship, but thanks to the Greek mania for “equality” Phlegon’s vote had equal weight with that of Themistocles. “Salamis is not defensible,” announced the Seriphian, shortly. “Retreat.” “And you, Charmides of Melos?” “Retreat.” “And you, Phoibodas of Trœzene?” “Retreat, by all the gods.” “And you, Hippocrates of Ægina?” “Stay and fight.
And will you still deny me equal voice and vote with this noble trierarch from Siphinos with his one, or with his comrade from Melos with his twain?” Themistocles’s voice rang like a trumpet. Adeimantus winced. Eurybiades broke in with soothing tones. “No one intends to deny your right to vote, Themistocles. The excellent Corinthian did but jest.”
The noble Aphrodites of the fourth century have fixed the type of female beauty in school after school of artists down to our own time. This ideal is perhaps for us best incorporated in the Aphrodite of Melos in the Louvre, a work of the Hellenistic age, combining with the great fourth-century tradition a perfection of detail and an informing life which belong to a later time.
But Nikias, reserving himself to play the general at the expense of the village of Minoa, the island of Kythera, and the miserable inhabitants of Melos, when it came to fighting the Lacedæmonians eagerly stripped off his general's cloak, and entrusted to an inexperienced and reckless man like Kleon, the conduct of an enterprise involving the safety of a large Athenian fleet and army, showing himself no less neglectful of his own honour than he was of the interests of his country.
On platters of silver and gold one might have seen tunny fishes from Chalcedon, murcenas from the Straits of Gades, peacocks from Samos, grouse from Phrygia, cranes from Melos. Slaves were kept busy bringing boar's head and sow's udder and roasted fowls, and fish pasties, and boiled teals. Other slaves kept the goblets full of old wine. Soon the banquet had become a revel of song and laughter.
But for our purpose, at any rate, nothing remains of the copious mass of legend but the fact that one Diagoras of Melos in 415 was outlawed in Athens on the ground of his attack on the Mysteries. Such an attack may have been the outcome of atheism; there was no lack of impiety in Athens at the end of the fifth century.
We today, even though standing upon the very spot in Melos where the Venus was unearthed, would still refer to her as the Venus de Melos. Friedlaender, in bracketing Cumis, has not taken this sufficiently into consideration. His logic is almost unanswerable, and the consensus of opinion is in favor of the latter town.
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