Il diritto alla neutralità nelle relazioni interstatali del mondo greco (431-362 a.C.) Problemi generali e contesto coloniale

This research aims at investigating the matter of neutrality from the years of Peloponnesian war to the battle of Mantinea; the ancient sources (mainly Thucydides and Xenophon) seem to give such a remarkable importance to the subject that we may assume it is a very topical issue for that period in the diplomatic relations among different cities. This debate significantly develops both in the context of relevant colonial settlements (Corcyra and Melos) and in smaller colonies like Rhegium and Camarina: in the different situations studied in this work, the colonial origins of the cities are often appealed as valid argument in order to claim or to deny the state of neutrality. This clearly shows that the relation between the colony and its mother country is an important aspect of the neutrality debate.