Social Sciences and Humanities Open (Jan 2023)
Delphi, war and the question of arbitration (500–400 BCE)
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to explore the Delphic oracle and arbitrations; Delphi’s impact on peace and conflict during the First and Second Peloponnesian Wars (460–445 BCE, and 432–404 BCE) in the Hellenistic world. And accordingly, this study shows how Delphi benefited from a state of constant warfare in slave trading, and how patterns in its behavior suggest that the Delphic oracle was governed by a slave producing system.In the field of International Relations, the oracle at Delphi is remembered as an early instance of institutionalized arbitration in inter-state affairs during a period in which the external relations of the Greek city-states are regarded as the manifestation of anarchy and diplomacy. However, neither realist nor constructivist accounts are able to explain the changing role of the Delphic oracle and the historical characteristics of change in arbitrations and diplomacy. The present article uses historical sociological analysis to throw new light on the actual role of the oracle and diplomacy in the ancient Greek world.Using primary sources, including the writings of Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Aristotle, and Plutarch, the present study questions whether Delphi acted as an arbitrator or whether arbitrations occurred in ending the war. The study is not aimed at including an exhaustive record of the Peloponnesian Wars.This paper helps fill the gap in the discussion of the transformation of Delphi’s connection with slavery and its universal impact on security issues.
