Megarian decree
Encyclopedia
The Megarian Decree was a set of economic sanctions
levied upon Megara
circa 432 BC
by the Athenian Empire shortly before the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War
. The ostensible reason for the Decree was the Megarians' supposed trespass on land sacred to Demeter
and the killing of the Athenian herald who was sent to their city to reproach them. In all likelihood, it was an act of revenge by the Athenians for the treacherous behaviour of the Megarians some years earlier. It was also a deliberate provocation towards Sparta on behalf of Pericles
, who was the sponsor of the decree. The decree banned Megarians from harbours and marketplaces throughout the large Athenian Empire
, allegedly strangling the Megarian economy. The sanctions would have also affected Megara's allies and may have been seen as a move by Athens to weaken her rivals and extend her influence. The ban strained the fragile peace between Athens and Sparta, which was allied with the strategically located Megara.
, puts very little emphasis upon the decree in his analysis of the cause of the war, treating it as a pretext on the part of the Spartans. According to Thucydides the true cause of the war was Sparta's fear of Athens' growing empire
. He does not describe the decree in detail as he does the conflicts over Potidaea
and Corcyra.
The main evidence we have for the significance of the decree is Aristophanes, an ancient playwright and satirist of the time. His play The Acharnians
(II.530-7) mentions how the decree left the Megarians ‘slowly starving’ and caused them to appeal to the Spartans for aid. Another of Aristophanes
' plays, Peace
, also mentions how war was being brewed in Megara by the god of war.
Oblique references to the decree in Thucydides seems to suggest its importance: the Spartans state that "war could be avoided if Athens would revoke the Megarian decree". However, Thucydides also reports that the Spartans had sought a declaration of war from the Peloponnesian League
during the rebellion of Samos in 440, well before the Megarian Decree was passed.
s’ (foreigners or outsiders) who would be unaffected by a ban on citizens of Megara.
De Ste. Croix also highlights the uncertainty regarding the context in which the decree was passed. At the beginning of the Second Peloponnesian War the Athenians invaded the Megarid twice yearly with large forces to ravage their land, while also maintaining a sea blockade. After 6 years of this there were little or no remaining crops - this may account for the "starvation" suggested in Acharnians. De Ste. Croix also points out that the decree would have only been effective in a context prior to the war for one year, because the Megarids would have had no right of entry to markets in any war situation.
Economic sanctions
Economic sanctions are domestic penalties applied by one country on another for a variety of reasons. Economic sanctions include, but are not limited to, tariffs, trade barriers, import duties, and import or export quotas...
levied upon Megara
Megara
Megara is an ancient city in Attica, Greece. It lies in the northern section of the Isthmus of Corinth opposite the island of Salamis, which belonged to Megara in archaic times, before being taken by Athens. Megara was one of the four districts of Attica, embodied in the four mythic sons of King...
circa 432 BC
432 BC
Year 432 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Tribunate of Mamercus, Albinus and Medullinus...
by the Athenian Empire shortly before the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War
Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War, 431 to 404 BC, was an ancient Greek war fought by Athens and its empire against the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta. Historians have traditionally divided the war into three phases...
. The ostensible reason for the Decree was the Megarians' supposed trespass on land sacred to Demeter
Demeter
In Greek mythology, Demeter is the goddess of the harvest, who presided over grains, the fertility of the earth, and the seasons . Her common surnames are Sito as the giver of food or corn/grain and Thesmophoros as a mark of the civilized existence of agricultural society...
and the killing of the Athenian herald who was sent to their city to reproach them. In all likelihood, it was an act of revenge by the Athenians for the treacherous behaviour of the Megarians some years earlier. It was also a deliberate provocation towards Sparta on behalf of Pericles
Pericles
Pericles was a prominent and influential statesman, orator, and general of Athens during the city's Golden Age—specifically, the time between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars...
, who was the sponsor of the decree. The decree banned Megarians from harbours and marketplaces throughout the large Athenian Empire
Delian League
The Delian League, founded in circa 477 BC, was an association of Greek city-states, members numbering between 150 to 173, under the leadership of Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Persian Empire after the Greek victory in the Battle of Plataea at the end of the Greco–Persian Wars...
, allegedly strangling the Megarian economy. The sanctions would have also affected Megara's allies and may have been seen as a move by Athens to weaken her rivals and extend her influence. The ban strained the fragile peace between Athens and Sparta, which was allied with the strategically located Megara.
The Significance of the Decree
The extent to which the decree encouraged the outbreak of the Peloponnesian war is the subject of debate. Our primary source for the war, ThucydidesThucydides
Thucydides was a Greek historian and author from Alimos. His History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 BC...
, puts very little emphasis upon the decree in his analysis of the cause of the war, treating it as a pretext on the part of the Spartans. According to Thucydides the true cause of the war was Sparta's fear of Athens' growing empire
Delian League
The Delian League, founded in circa 477 BC, was an association of Greek city-states, members numbering between 150 to 173, under the leadership of Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Persian Empire after the Greek victory in the Battle of Plataea at the end of the Greco–Persian Wars...
. He does not describe the decree in detail as he does the conflicts over Potidaea
Potidaea
Potidaea was a colony founded by the Corinthians around 600 BC in the narrowest point of the peninsula of Pallene, the westernmost of three peninsulas at the southern end of Chalcidice in northern Greece....
and Corcyra.
The main evidence we have for the significance of the decree is Aristophanes, an ancient playwright and satirist of the time. His play The Acharnians
The Acharnians
The Acharnians is the third play - and the earliest of the eleven surviving plays - by the great Athenian playwright Aristophanes. It was produced in 425 BCE on behalf of the young dramatist by an associate, Callistratus, and it won first place at the Lenaia festival...
(II.530-7) mentions how the decree left the Megarians ‘slowly starving’ and caused them to appeal to the Spartans for aid. Another of Aristophanes
Aristophanes
Aristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete...
' plays, Peace
Peace (play)
Peace is an Athenian Old Comedy written and produced by the Greek playwright Aristophanes. It won second prize at the City Dionysia where it was staged just a few days before the ratification of the Peace of Nicias , which promised to end the ten year old Peloponnesian War...
, also mentions how war was being brewed in Megara by the god of war.
Oblique references to the decree in Thucydides seems to suggest its importance: the Spartans state that "war could be avoided if Athens would revoke the Megarian decree". However, Thucydides also reports that the Spartans had sought a declaration of war from the Peloponnesian League
Peloponnesian League
The Peloponnesian League was an alliance in the Peloponnesus from the 6th to the 4th centuries BC.- Early history:By the end of the 6th century, Sparta had become the most powerful state in the Peloponnese, and was the political and military hegemon over Argos, the next most powerful state...
during the rebellion of Samos in 440, well before the Megarian Decree was passed.
De Ste. Croix's Revisionist Interpretation
The historical revisionist De Ste. Croix argues that a trade sanction would not significantly affect Megara as the decree applied only to Megarian citizens when it is likely that the majority of trade in all cities was completed by ‘MeticMetic
In ancient Greece, the term metic referred to a resident alien, one who did not have citizen rights in his or her Greek city-state of residence....
s’ (foreigners or outsiders) who would be unaffected by a ban on citizens of Megara.
De Ste. Croix also highlights the uncertainty regarding the context in which the decree was passed. At the beginning of the Second Peloponnesian War the Athenians invaded the Megarid twice yearly with large forces to ravage their land, while also maintaining a sea blockade. After 6 years of this there were little or no remaining crops - this may account for the "starvation" suggested in Acharnians. De Ste. Croix also points out that the decree would have only been effective in a context prior to the war for one year, because the Megarids would have had no right of entry to markets in any war situation.