How Did The Peloponnesian War Affect The Spartans

In the early fifth century BC, Greece consisted of many city-states allied in various factions or leagues. The alliances between these cities are difficult to understand. The alliances created a patchwork where

'The Athenians and their Allies' was an organisation led by the Athenians in the 5th century, but is now referred to as the 'Delian League' or the 'Confederacy of Athens.'

Athens and Sparta were both dominant powers in ancient Greece. However, a legendary rivalry existed between the two. When Athens ended its alliance with Corcyra in 433 B.C. and began to surround Potidaea, it threatened Corinth’s position. Sparta feared that Athens was becoming too powerful and tried to avert war. The Spartans believed that peace was possible if the Athenians would revoke measures against Sparta's ally, Megara. The Athenian leader, Pericles, refused to concur with this because Sparta and Athens had earlier agreed that conflicts would be solved by negotiation. If the Athenians would yield to Sparta's request, they would in fact be accepting Sparta’s orders. This was unacceptable, and as a result, war broke out. Athens and its Delian League were attacked by Sparta and its Peloponnesian League. Diodorus mentions that the Spartans did not just declare war, but sought additional support from Persia.

The Peloponnesian war lasted from 431 to 404 B.C. and was profoundly influenced by two Athenian men, Pericles and Alcibiades. Though Pericles and Alcibiades were related by blood they were quite different. Pericles was a diplomat, he approached matters with a level head and tried to find a solution that did not end in bloodshed. Alcibiades was less stable, he either fought, manipulated, or ran when confronted with a problem. Both men spoke eloquently enough to move almost the entire city of Athens, using their words to bend people to their will.  What was different between them was what their will was, one cared about the city and its wellbeing, the other cared about his own wellbeing.

Throughout the Ancient Greek world, there have been many wars and standoffs. However, there has been only one which changed the course of Greek history forever; the Peloponnesian War. Caused by the growing tension between Athens and Sparta, it came and left, leaving only destruction in its wake. The defeat of Athens in the Peloponnesian War caused the downfall of Greece, and the end of the Classical Age.

The Peloponnesian War between the city-states of Athens and Sparta (and their respective allies) lasted from 431-404 BC. Conflicts between the two cites dated back further, however, with

Athens and Sparta were the main rival poleis in Ancient Greece around 4th century BC. Besides the fact that they were both called polis, the two cities had very little in common. Athens controlled the whole Attic region and could

During the following years, the Athenians decided to take the offensive by attacking the city of Syracuse. They campaigned all throughout western Greece and even the Peloponnese. By 425 B.C., it wasn’t looking good for Sparta and they wanted to bring about peace. They soon, however, gained victory of Chalcidice and Athens were encouraged to revolt, but in a battle at Amphipolis in 422 B.C., two major leaders of Sparta and Athens were killed and Athenians were persuaded to accept Sparta’s peace

In 431 B.C., even before the Peloponnesian War, Athens’ strength compared to other Greek polises was evident. Athens had islands, a powerful, a well-trained navy, and one, if not the best, general at the time: Pericles. Pericles says in his speech that, “war is inevitable,” but in fact the war was preventable (72). Even with all of the military strengths and assets that Athenians had afforded to them, they chose to be merciful to the Peloponnesians who were in no shape to go to war. They did not have the experience, money, manpower, or means to participate in a lengthy war and Pericles makes the citizens aware of this (70). Pericles is both modest and humble for choosing to point out these facts which in turn helps the Athenians see the potential

existing wars between each other” (Hdt. VII.145.1) in order to fight against Persia. However, only one Peloponnesian state (Sparta) offered help throughout the wars.

The Traditional Period of Greece, 500 - 338 BCE, cleared a path to a wide range of changes in Athenian history. The Athenian government transformed from an oppression to a vote based system, and after the Persian war in 499 BCE, Athens' begun to turned into a military superpower, also. Because of Themistocles supporting to construct a more grounded naval force, their military influence developed, making Athens' economy rise turning into the wealthiest city-states. The Peloponnesian War drew out the significance of lawmakers and pioneers, since now the administration is controlled by the general population. This war brought two of the most noticeable and powerful people to lead Athens through the war and molded Athens' future. The two pioneers are cousins, Pericles and Alcibiades. They have various similitudes, similar to their genealogy and instruction, while additionally using their interesting identities in their authority abilities.

One of the main components that defined the ancient world is war. During the era of expansion and conquest, wars were waged across lands near and far. By means of defense, revolts arose at this time of numerous battles as well as the formation of alliances. As a whole, war is a struggle for power. For instance, two great ancient civilizations, Greece and Persia, fought in a series of conflicts known as the Greco-Persian Wars. Herodotus, the historian who first wrote about the Persian Wars, once said, “Great things are won by great dangers.” All war is dangerous, yet the advancements made afterward help form civilizations and promote future prosperity. The Greco-Persian Wars were significant for world history because they paved the way for

The Peloponnesian war (431–404 BC) was an ancient Greek war fought by Athens against the Peloponnesian led by Sparta. Thucydides famously claims that the war started “because the Spartans were afraid of further growth of Athenian power, seeing as they did have the greater part of Hellas was under the control of Athens”. The two main protagonists from opposing sides Lysander and Alcibiades had the most influential impact on the end of the war.

of events which I am going to look at to see if there was a single

The Peloponnesian War was the turning point in Athenian hegemony in Ancient Greece. It was fought in 431 B.C. between the Delian League, led by Athens, and the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta. According to Thucydides, Athens’ imposing hegemonic status and its overwhelming quest for more power made the Peloponnesian War and Athens’s eventual fall from power inevitable. Despite the Athenians having a far more superior navy and being considerably wealthier, they were defeated and made subjects of Sparta. In this paper, I will discuss Thucydides’ and Socrates’ reasons for why