How The Great Peloponnesian War Changed Greek Civilization

The Peloponnesian war involved Greece’s two most prominent city-states, Athens and Sparta, between 431-404 BC. Both Athens and Sparta held numerous alliances, causing essentially the entire ancient Greek world to be engulfed in war. There were many events that sparked the feud between the Athenians and the Peloponnesian league and made war inevitable. The Peloponnesian war was perhaps one of the most momentous wars of its time and was primarily caused by both Sparta and Athens interfering in events between their respective allies. A notable occasion was Athens intervening in a dispute between Spartans ally, Corinth, and her colony Corcyra over the city of Epidaurus. The revolt of Potidaea against Athens and the Peloponnesian Leagues

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

The Peloponnesian War was an exceptionally predominant war that had consequential outcomes for both Athens and the opposing side of the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta. The Peloponnesian War was an ancient Greek war that began in 431 to 404 BC. Thucydides was an Athenian historian who wrote the account of “History of the Peloponnesian War”, which became the most immeasurably valuable primary source. The events of the Peloponnesian War, the outcomes, the consequences of the Spartan victory and of the Athenian defeat in conjunction with the historiographical debates about the war, reflect the ramifications of the conflict.

The Peloponnesian war began in 431BC and lasted until 404BC, it was fought by Athens and the Peloponnesian League was led by Sparta. Thucydides is clear about the cause of the war, he states the growth of Athenian power scared Sparta having them begin the war. Athens did not have a choice and yes with better hindsight this war could've been avoided. The Athenians had no choice but to fight back, Pericles favored the war and was really the only voice of Athens. Athens was in ruins and the people of Athens had to build their city from the ground up. Sparta was worse off; they had lost a majority of their men during the war to Athens. The main cause of the Peloponnesian war was the fear Sparta had towards Athens growth in power, that is the

There have been many reasons and debates on what was the true cause of the Peloponnesian War. Thucydides describes the main reason for war somewhat accurately “The real cause... The growth of the power of Athens, and the alarm which this inspired in Lacedaemon, made war inevitable.” (Thucydides I.1.23). But, it was not Sparta that was “alarmed” but Corinth. The status quo of Greece was interrupted by Athens’ rise to power. As a result, Sparta was pressured by many minor Greek city states to restore the status quo. However, Sparta was still reluctant to go to war but, Corinth provided a catalyst to take all of that pressure and convince Sparta to declare war on Athens. Ultimately, it was Corinth that started the Peloponnesian War.

What a society considers fighting, and dying, for says a lot about that society. Homer’s The Iliad, and Thucydides’ The History of the Peloponnesian War are both centered on some of the largest wars that their authors knew about. In the case of The Iliad, this war started when Paris offended the honor of the Spartan king, Menelaus, by taking Helen, the king’s wife. This is just an example of the culture of the times because, right from the start, the Greeks of Homer fight for their honor. Thucydides lived during the Peloponnesian War, hundreds of years after Homer. During those hundreds of years, war itself had fundamentally changed. In The History of the Peloponnesian War, honor was still important, but the war’s main purpose was much more tangible. The main cause of the Peloponnesian War was Athens’ desire for more land, more tribute states, and, most importantly, more power. Both of the works deal largely with why the people in them think the wars are worth fighting. In the case of The Iliad, the battles, both for the states and the people fighting, are fought for honor, while in The History of the Peloponnesian War, Athens fights for the power of her empire.

The 27-year Peloponnesian War, between Sparta and Athens demonstrated the difficulties of fighting battles at home and abroad. It is by far the most significant protracted war in Greek history where two powerful states had to modify their strategies as the war evolved over time. Both states suffered significant damage but Sparta’s ability to change their strategic approach and with the financial backing from Persia won the battle.

The Peloponnesian War actuated a series of political and social changes that substantially altered the hegemonic balance in Greece that would have far reaching consequences for Western Civilization. Moreover, the Peloponnesian War represented not only the nadir of Greek morality, but, the apogee of the Spartan mirage of invincibility and domination. For the Spartans, winning the Peloponnesian War was a catastrophe that culminated in the atrophy of the Spartan system as well as the perpetual irrelevancy of the Spartan polis in the Greek world. According, to Ober “the real, original Sparta broke with a sharp snap because it could not bend.”

The Peloponnesian War pitted the Athenians against the Spartans. The Peloponnesians’ were an alliance of city-states controlled by Sparta. These two powerful city-states became locked in a struggle for dominance of the eastern Mediterranean area. The roots of the conflict and in particular this expedition is highly complex. As Thucydides says in his history of the war, the underlying cause was Spartan fear of Athens' expansive power. But, the triggering event was Athens' aggressive behavior towards Corinth, an ally of Sparta.

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.

A preliminary dispute between Corcyra and her colony of Epidamnos escalated to have Corinth siding with Epidamnos’ and Athens on side of Corcyra. To add to this, a revolt of Potidaea, a colony of Corinth but a part of the Athenian Empire, went to Sparta for military help as they received no further aid from Athens, to which Sparta replied if Athens attacked Potidaea then they would in turn invade Attica . Another Athenian ally had since then been excluded from the Athenian marketplace and no ship were allowed to dock at any Athenian based harbour (Rickard, 2011). Due to a military stalemate consisting of the fact that Sparta was not at their best when fighting on the seas and Athens could not fully articulate strategy on land, Pericles, the acting general, convinced Athenian troops to retreat behind the city’s long walls, figuring that Sparta would eventually tire of receiving no forceful opposition (Martin, 2000). Martin supports all of these statements, further stating that disagreements arose in the 430’s over how each of the city-states treat their allies, inevitably leading to a peace treaty collapse, alongside hoe the petty actions of lesser powers pushed the larger nations, namely Sparta and Athens, to initiate violence. Both authors mentioned beforehand provide a modern perspective on these conflicts and hence are not as emotionally or physically involved, providing a lesser biased view. Now, we

Sparta is small but strong, it is hard to just cant kill them all at once. Athens should of caused rebellions to open the path. They should of struck fast and tactically with Athens having weaker men but higher numbers in the beginning. Aim for what they fear and in the distress start thinning there numbers. It would be even ideal if you get a commander or two. The less highly experienced troops on the field the better, but constantly waiting and doing little attacks wont help anyone, attacks need to have everlasting effects on both supplies and moral. This is why Athens got killed off in the Great Peloponnesian

The defeat of Athens in the Peloponnesian war has caused the once powerful and fearful empire to collapse, as they’ve lost their soldiers, authority and prosperity as the destruction that was caused by Sparta was too great. Due to this, Sparta gained dominance as they took down an empire as respected and feared as Athens. As Athens started to attain power and started to surpass Sparta, they became jealous of the sudden success and wanted to take it for themselves. Sparta has always seen Athens as a threat which enabled them to build a relationship. After they finally conquered over Athens, they made sure that there was wealth for them to rebuild.Peloponnesian War - Ancient History - HISTORY.com, 2016). The Athenians was then infected by a plague, which weakened them and then Sparta took everything they have built and worked for."War began when the Athenians and the Peloponnesians broke the Thirty Years Truce which had been made after the capture of Euboea. (Thucydides 1.23).Thucydides, a historian who has experienced the war, due to his position as a general. He wrote a book about the Peloponnesian war, that till this day is still relevant. This is because most of his accounts that are based on his experiences, which is considered to be factual due to its consistency. This account should be used as it describes the details of the Peloponnesian war, its occurrence, how it began and ended. In the book,

As the city grew, they became increasingly plagued by war with their barbarian neighbors. In an effort to save their city, the Epidamnians sent ambassadors to Corcyra, their mother country, and asked for help, but the Corcyraeans refused. This would have no doubt upset and angered the people of Epidamnus. A mother country should do what it can to protect its colony. For the Corcyrans to reject the Epidamnians cry for help This started a chain of events that eventually escalated enough to start the Peloponnesian war. It is possible that without this initial step, the war might not have followed the same path it did. This was by

The Peloponnesian war was only the climax led by a series of events starring the rivalry between Sparta and Athens. Their story began many years before when Athens asked help from Persia in fear of an attack from Sparta. The Athenian ambassadors knew the conditions