Peloponnesian War: Greek against Greek 431-404 BC

Why did this war start? The Peloponnesian War began due to Athens trying to take over Greece and expand its empire. Sparta, having a history of bad blood with Athens, fought back against Athenian imperialism and the Delian League.

Thucydides One important thing to note about the Peloponnesian War is that the entire history of it was written by one man-Thucydides. He is considered by some to be the father of history because of his writings of the Greek Wars due to his accurate portrayal of Greek history. Herodotus, however, was a Greek historian known to glorify Greek life through his writings…almost to the point of exaggeration.

Sparta attacks Athens In order to keep down Athens, the Spartans began attacking, with the help of Corinth. At first, the Athenians could not be stopped. They had a lot of money and ships, so they easily escaped any attack by Sparta.

Pericles’s Funeral Speech- 431 BC “First citizen of Athens” Written down by Thucydides; delivered to the Athenians after the first year of the war Annual public funeral for the dead in times of war Different from most- this speech was designed to lift the spirits of Athens while they were in war; glorifies all that Athens has achieved “Age of Pericles” 461-429 BC, led the first two years of war

Lycurgus- Farther of Sparta Written about by Plutarch Instilled the strong, militant culture of Sparta Lawgiver who founded most of the institutions in Sparta

The plague However, the summer after the war began, a plague entered Athens, forcing farmers to move inside the city walls. Many people died due to the plague, even Pericles, the Athenian leader and general.*Note Funeral Speech

After the plague… Following the plague, the Spartans began winning battles. The leader of the Athenian army, Alcibiades, decided to attack Sparta in hopes to catch them off guard. It didn’t work and Alcibiades joined the Spartans.

Many Athenians died from starvation when Sparta blocked their port. Starving out Athens Eventually, Sparta figures out a way to completely defeat the Athenians. They blocked the port where the Athenian food was shipped into and managed to starve the people of Athens. Many Athenians died from starvation when Sparta blocked their port.

Here are the city walls of Athens. End of the War Eventually the Athenians surrendered unconditionally. The Spartans forced them to tear down their city walls and break up the Delian League. This loss by Athens had a huge effect on Greece. After the war, the Greek city-states were changed forever. Here are the city walls of Athens.

Aftermath of the War and the Decline of Greece Athenian domination was over forever Democratic governments suffered Although the war ended-fighting in Greece did not. Sparta would soon suffer defeat from Thebes A leader in Macedonia would soon conquer the quarrelling city-states…

Looking Back… Could the Peloponnesian War have been helped? Was Athenian democracy pure democracy? Did this play a role in the outcome of Greece? Did Athens and/or Sparta have their citizens’ best interest at heart? Why or why not?