Phase 3 of Peloponnesian War 412BC - 404BC

Review of Phase 2 Who was the Athenian leader that became a traitor to the Athenians? Where were the Athenians hoping to capture in 412BC? What happened to the Athenian fleet off the coast of Sicily?

Phase 3 During the last 8 years the Athenian Empire was crumbling –they were losing allies –Their navy was basically destroyed. The Spartans were becoming the power house in Greece once again. –They rebuilt their navy with gold supplied from the Persians. In 406BC the Athenians had their last victory off the Arginusae Islands, Because of this the trade routes to the Black sea opened up.

The Cost of Victory The battle was very costly to the navy. (Lost many ships and sailors.) Athenians were upset with cost and thus executed the 6 generals who were involved with the battle. Sparta offered Athens an armistice. –An armistice is a deal to end a war. Both sides stop fighting. (Armistice Day - the anniversary of the official end of World War I, November 11, 1918) Athens refused. Why?

The Fight Continues In 405 BC the last Athenian ships were destroyed in the Battle of Aegospotami. The Spartans then Attacked and blocked off Piraeus. (What could this mean?)

The Icing on the Cake Then in 404 BC the Spartans starved the Athenians into unconditional surrender. Sparta now controls Athens. –What do you think this would mean for Athens? The Spartan allies wanted to totally destroy Athens and sell the citizens into slavery. They broke down the democracy and set up an oligarchy of 30 men who controlled everything.

Reign of Terror It became a group of 30 tyrants. This became a Reign of Terror. (What does it sound like conditions were like?) –There was violence, mistreatment and bloodshed toward the Athenians. –You could not speak out against the system or you would be murdered (knife in the neck)

The Persians, being tight with the Spartans, got the territories back that were taken by Athens. What about the Delian League? –All city-states were now under Spartan control. Athens was out of control because of the discontent. The Athenian economy was completely destroyed. Greece was weak. Outsiders saw this.

After the Peloponnesian War Greeks in Asia Minor were now back under Persian control. There was continual fighting among the city-states. Southern Greece was in disunity. In the north (Macedonia) Philip II was king. –He became king in 359 BC at age 23. He was an able ruler. Could control the people. Was a soldier Great Athlete

Philip of Macedonia

Philip had the best trained military of the time. He took all the unruly tribes in the area and put them under his control. He forced them to build roads and fortresses. He promoted soldiers who performed well. Made it worthwhile fighting for him. He knew Athens was weak, no longer a threat. He took over the small weak city-states. He kept moving south to capture everything. Athens and Thebes joined to fight Philip but he had no trouble defeating. He took Attica and then moved to the Peloponnesus and took it over.

Hellenic League Philip set up a congress in Corinth where all the city-states were represented. The Hellenic League was formed to expand the Greek Empire under one ruler. Once again Greece was united. In 336 BC Philip was assassinated by one of his own men. His son Alexander (the Great) took over.