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The Athenians voted to execute all the men of Mytilene and enslave the women and children. Then they changed their minds. A second ship was sent racing after the first to reverse the order. The debate that prompted the reversal was not about mercy. Diodotus argued that the massacre would make future revolts more desperate, not less. It was an argument from interest, not principle. Athens saved Mytilene for the wrong reasons. It was still the right outcome.