Unit 09

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University of Massachusetts, Amherst *

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100

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History

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Feb 20, 2024

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docx

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By 404 BC, the Spartans were the hegemons of Greece. By 371 BC they had lost the position of hegemon to Thebes. By 362 BC, Theban hegemony had faded. In your opinion, why was an enduring hegemony by any one of the dominant poleis so hard to maintain in 4th century (BC) Greece? What factors prevented this from occurring? In the 4th century BC, many city-states in Greece had a power shift for hegemony. Martin has highlighted in his book various reasons that led to the failure to establish enduring hegemony in any polis. These factors include military, political, and diplomatic dynamics that led to instability in the hegemony. This essay will explore these factors that affected an enduring hegemony. An important factor that disrupted an enduring hegemony in the city-states was their competitive nature. After the Peloponnesian War, various major Greek city-states made efforts to extend their hegemony and dominate the whole of Greece. However, the war left the city-states with the power only to rule themselves and no clear contender for an enduring hegemony (“Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times”, Thomas R. Martin, pg. 226). Political instability and shifting of alliances also prevented an enduring hegemony. The system of city- states had created a volatile environment wherein each polis would strive to be the supreme power. Due to this, there was a constant power struggle between the city-states with different alliances being formed (even with ‘enemy’ city-states) when a polis would make an effort to dominate the others. For instance, when Spartans tried to win dominance in Greece, the city-states of Thebes, Athens, Corinth, and Argos put their hostility aside to form an anti-Spartan military coalition. However, after the Peloponnesian War, Thebans seemed likely to dominate the mainland and the former enemies of Sparta and Athens now allied against Thebes (“Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times”, Thomas R. Martin, pg. 224, 226). This constant internal rivalry and power struggle made it difficult for any polis to establish an enduring hegemony. Furthermore, the lack of a unifying force among the city-states and the absence of a polis with long-term dominance in Greece allowed the influence of external forces to hinder the establishment of an enduring hegemony. The Persian king allied with Athens and other Greek city-states against Sparta as he felt the anti-Spartan city-states posed a lesser threat to his territories than the Spartans did. His goal was to create a stalemate in Greece and remove any danger to Persia (“Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times”, Thomas R. Martin, pg. 224). Additionally, the rise to power of the Macedonian kingdom filled the power vacuum created by the fruitless wars of the Greek city-states, with no polis being able to maintain an enduring hegemony (“Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times”, Thomas R. Martin, pg. 239). In conclusion, the absence of unity, political instability, and external manipulation are all factors that led to the inability of a polis to maintain an enduring hegemony in Greece during the 4 th century BC.
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