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court of law for their refusal to accept what could be claimed, in the context of contemporary
diplomatic thinking, to be a legitimate and reasonable offer neutrality.
If we examine the collective evidence of the original proposal and subsequent speeches, there are
several important conclusions that can be drawn about the Spartan, Theban, Athenian, and Plataean
attitudes toward neutrality. The Spartans were willing to attack Plataea in deference to Thebes (3.
68.4) but were also very much concerned about religious scruples. Since the Spartans had once sworn
not to invade Plataea unjustly (2. 71.2-4), it was important to Archidamus to shift responsibility for the
attack in 429 onto the Plataeans. His offer of neutrality served this purpose admirably because it
allowed the Spartans to maintain the appearance of acting justly (2. 74.3). Moreover, Plataea's refusal
to accept could be (and was) later given as the legal justification for condemning the Plataeans (3.
68.1). Neutrality had thus served a useful propaganda purpose, although observers like Thucydides
recognized that in truth it revealed the cynical and self-serving attitude of the Spartans.
For the Thebans, Plataea's rejection of neutrality' provided the key argument in favor of the
imposition of a harsh punishment (3. 64.3). However, neutrality was not the real issue. Plataea's
stubborn independence hindered Thebes' ambition to dominate Boeotia; worse still, as an ally of
Athens, Plataea was a serious strategic threat to Thebes. What the Thebans wanted was the
elimination of Plataea. Everyone knew this; and the Plataeans' rejection of neutrality was in no small
part influenced by their fear that the Thebans would not honor neutrality but continue to work for the
city's destruction (2. 72.2). In other words, Plataean neutrality was almost certainly not what the
Thebans were seeking (or probably even willing to accept), but as it turned out, Plataea's rejection of
the policy helped the Thebans achieve their real goal.
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Athens' opposition to Plataean neutrality was adamant. Aside from the fact that the Athenians held the
civilian population more or less hostage (2. 6.4, 72.2), the Athenians seemed determined to convince
the Plataeans that rescue was possible if Plataea trusted its alliance with Athens (2.73). This was, of
course, utterly false; and it creates the suspicion that the Athenians considered neutrality dangerous
to their interests not only, I think, because it meant the loss of an existing ally, but also because of
the precedent it might set for other allies.
Belligerent pressure aside, the Plataeans themselves may have truly wanted to be neutral. Once
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their original appeal to the oaths of 479 was countered by Archidamus' offer to accept their neutrality,
it was clear that if the offer were rejected, hostilities would be inevitable. The fact that the Plataeans
consulted Athens (2.73) in spite of their expressed mistrust of Thebes suggests that they retained
some confidence in Sparta's promises, considered the offer serious, and even hoped to convince the
Athenians to accept the Spartans' assurances. The Athenians promised aid and sent none. At their trial
in 427, the Plataeans did not argue that neutrality was an unreasonable offer but that their fear of
Thebes and obligations to Athens made the offer impossible to accept (3.55). Under the
circumstances, there was little else they could have said. In 429, their attitude toward the option of
neutrality was mistrustful, because they knew that it depended on the acceptance and self-restraint of
all parties involved. So, they decided not to accept the offer but to run the risk of siege rather than
expose themselves to the double jeopardy of defying and thereby alienating the Athenians without in
any way diminishing the Thebans' hatred and thirst for revenge. But as the outcome proved, neutrality
was a double-edged sword, for in refusing it, the Plataeans gave their enemies a perfect legal pretext
for annihilating them.
V. The Failure of Corcyraean Neutrality (427)
At the outset of his celebrated description of the Corcyraean revolution, Thucydides mentions that
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