ABSTRACT
To concretise the notion of iconic modelling, I shall explain the well-known Melos massacre described by Thucydides in his The Peloponnessian War.1 I follow upon Hayward Alker’s (1996:23-63) analysis of ‘the dialectical logic of Thucydides’ Melian dialogue’2, and aim at developing Alker’s analysis into a fully-fledged CR explanation. I shall assess different hypotheses about the Melos episode, and show how an iconic model about the relevant causal complex and development of its key elements can be built. Because there is little other readily available evidence, other than Thucydides’ text and its interpretations, the task of gathering and assessing evidence is made relatively simple.3
