Thucydides: On Leadership (Cleon) 7/6/17

Cleon: Brave Warrior, populist, brilliant strategist, hawk, orator.* The seminal study on war, politics and strategy is the book by Thucydides on the Peloponnesian war of 431-404 BCE. In addition to teaching important lessons on the civil military nexus, joint and combined operations and many other valuable concepts Thucydides teaches about leadership using a case history approach highlighting the challenges of numerous individuals throughout his history of the war. Last week we looked at Brasidas who died at the battle of Amphipolis. The opposing general in that battle was Cleon who was also killed. Thucydides, another general (Greek: strategos) who was involved in that battle, was from Athens but seems to admire his enemy Brasidas yet have little regard for his countryman Cleon. This was probably because Cleon was what some today might call a demagogue but it may also relate to his morality. Cleon was a hawk who always advocated harsh policies (for example his push to kill the men and enslave the women and children of Mytilene. We will see this carried to even greater extreme later when we look at how Athens dealt with Melos, a neutral power). In the action that led to Amphipolis, Cleon, as a leader of the Athenian Assembly, had boldly supported and financed a move to take Pylos (right in the heart of Sparta). This action succeeded far beyond expectations when 120 elite Spartan warriors, from important families, were stranded and captured. Sparta immediately sued for peace, on excellent terms, but Cleon, no doubt puffed up with success, swayed the Assembly to push for even greater concessions. Unfortunately for Cleon, since he had convinced the Athenians to continue the war, he was now elected general with the expectation that he would force even greater concessions from the Spartans. Thucydides implies that this was the last great opportunity for Athens to have ended the war on favorable terms. In the end Athens not only lost the war but ended as slaves themselves.** (We will consider the moral dimensions when we look at the Melian dialogue). Army Leadership Doctrine: Cleon reminds us of the tendency to overreach in moments of victory. Colon Powell is said to have had the quote from Thucydides in his office both as JCS Chairman and Sec State, "Of all manifestations of power, restraint impresses men most." As it turns out this is not an exact quote but does contain the same sentiment of Nicias' speech on the wisdom of attacking Sicily, the decision that eventually led to Athens defeat. Military leaders must know when pushing harder will lead to victory but also know when pushing too hard may lead to defeat. See ADRP 6-22, 6-5 to 6-11 for thoughts on how this may apply at the individual leader level. *This reflection is based on my own personal reading of Thucydides, see The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War, Robert B. Strassler ed. or The Peloponnesian War: Oxford World's Classics, Rhodes and Hammon Trans., or The Peloponnesian War by Donald Kagan or The Great Courses, Masters of War: History's Greatest Strategic Thinkers by Andrew R. Wilson, lecture 2 and 3. ** For a religious thought consider Colossians 4:5-6. From a human and spiritual perspective the issue of war itself is important, consider the subject at http://www.benning.army.mil/MSSP/MEPDOW/ including the psychological dimensions. There are many other links on this page worth considering.