As Vladimir Putin’s war grinds on, how does one make the case for peace? Around ad 100, the ancient Greek orator Dio Chrysostom (‘golden-mouthed’), persuaded the citizens of Nicomedia in the Graeco-Roman province of Bithynia (N. Turkey) to make peace with their bitter local rival Nicaea.
His central theme was praise of harmony. While discord splits marriages and households, and war brings death and destruction alike to young and old, harmony lies at the heart of ‘friendship, reconciliation and kinship’. It enables us, he said, to trade freely with Nicaea, with whom we exchange embassies, and enjoy marriage and ties of personal friendship. Unified, we double our strength and increase our standing and joint interests in the region, showing that we have the welfare of all Bithynia at heart. If we wish for supremacy, it is better to be supreme in thoughtfulness, fairness and moderation than in violence, which stirs up only hatred.
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