The Peloponnesian Wars Athens vs. Sparta

After the Persian Wars, the Greeks wanted to make sure they were ready if the Persians ever returned. The Greek city-states formed the Delian League. 

The purpose of the Delian League was to put money into a shared treasury, to have on hand in case of war. It took money to make weapons and ships and to train men. The Greeks wanted to be ready to fund a war instantly.

Athens guarded the treasury, but was possibly not the best selection to do so. Corinth, another city-state, probably would have been a better choice for many reasons. First, Corinth was famous for being good with money. They had a bank with a well established currency. Most importantly, they were not constantly at war with Sparta, as Athens was.

At first, Sparta was fine with Athens guarding the treasury At first, Sparta was fine with Athens guarding the treasury. Athens only kept 1/60th of the money pouring in from the various city-states to pay for guards. They reported promptly to all the city-states on what money had been paid and by whom.

But in a short amount of time, the treasury grew so large that the 1/60th payment that Athens was taking was a VERY large amount of money. Athens grew rich guarding the treasury of the Delian league. 

During this time, the young Athenian leader Pericles was in control of Athens. He encouraged his people to build a wall to defend the city of Athens from attack should one come. At the same time, he traveled to Sparta, and convinced the Spartans to grant a peace of 30 years, to give everyone in the Greek world a chance to recover from the Persian Wars. That success made him famous in the ancient Greek world.

It became a time of great prosperity for the people of Athens, and other city-states of Greece. Many of the city-states were loaded with wealth. Being at peace helped the city-states become even more prosperous and successful. Art, poetry, philosophy, and building flourished. They built wonderful buildings on the Acropolis, the rocky hill overlooking Athens. Everyone seemed very happy.

Shortly after the success of the Delian League, Sparta accused the Athens of attempting to over power the rest of the city-states. The Spartans decided to stop the Athenians success and help all of the cities of Greece become free and independent. The Spartans formed and alliance with Corinth and many other city-states.

Soon after, fighting erupted between the city-states Soon after, fighting erupted between the city-states. The Spartan army invaded Attica, which is the area around Athens. The Athenians knew that the Spartan army is too strong for them and locked themselves inside the city instead of fighting. They hope that the Spartans will just give up and go away.

After a few years of fighting, Greece was struck by a plague After a few years of fighting, Greece was struck by a plague. A plague is any devastation, typically disease or famine, that causes a high number of deaths. It is unknown what started the plague, but Athens was hit incredibly hard because its citizens had remained within the walls of the city. During this time, many people from outside of Athens had resettled into Athens to avoid Spartan attacks.

The city of Athens became disorganized because it could not hold that many additional people. There was not enough food and not proper waste or refuse management. One of those who died was the young leader Pericles. 

Unfortunately Pericles was blamed by many as the one who forced Athens to remain penned up like cattle inside the city walls. People resented Pericles for this.

Things got a lot worse after that Things got a lot worse after that. Athens suffered from poor leadership, a lack of food, and continued illness. The Spartans had the town surrounded. The Athenians could not get to their crops to grow and could not trade or bring in other materials. By 420 BC the Spartans had been sitting outside of Athens for 10 years. The Athenians decide to call an end to the war by announcing that the Spartans could keep all of the territory they gained and leave Athens alone.

The Spartans had accepted the offer, but many Athenians were dissatisfied with this outcome. The Athenians planned to attack to the South of Athens the island of Sicily. Sicily had supported the Spartans with food and supplies; without them they would be helpless. .

By 415 BC the war between Athens and Sparta broke out again By 415 BC the war between Athens and Sparta broke out again. The Athenians attempted to destroy and conquer Sicily, but their plan was foiled. Once again they came close to conquer by the Spartans. Sicily

Finally, in 404 BC, Athens surrendered Finally, in 404 BC, Athens surrendered.  Despite the bitterness and past tensions, the Spartans were generous. They did not level the town as Corinth and Thebes wanted them to do. Instead, they made Athens a satellite state under a Spartan oligarchy. A satellite state is a territory that was once independent being influenced politically, culturally, and economically by another territory. It was the end of democracy in Athens.

Ten years later, Sparta gave Athens her independence Ten years later, Sparta gave Athens her independence. Since the defeat, Athens had regained much of its old strength. But never again was ancient Athens the golden city it once was. Still, great thinkers and great teachers continued to live in Athens.

In time, Athens might have rebuilt to her former glory, but was unable to do so because a new great king would be born. From the country of Macedonia, Alexander would soon control the area. The world would call this leader Alexander the Great.