The Peloponnesian War: Athens vs Sparta

                                                                                   

 

            The Peloponnesian War was an important war fought between Athens and Sparta from 431-404 BCE. Historians continue to debate the cause of this great war. Thucydides wrote a highly regarded account of the war in his book titled The History of the Peloponnesian War in which he describes the causes of the war as follows: Sparta wanted more power and military glory, Athens was unfair to its neighboring cities and allies, and city-states had competing political ideologies. Thucydides understood the importance of the war and expressed that understanding when he said, “ My belief was based on the fact that the two sides were at the very height of their power and preparedness, and I saw, too, that the rest of the Hellenic world was committed to one side or the other; even those who were not immediately engaged were deliberating on the courses which they were to take later. This was the greatest disturbance in the history of the Hellenes, affecting also a large part of the non-Hellenic world, and indeed, I might almost say, the whole of mankind,” (p.35). The two cities had a history of quarreling ten years before the Peloponnesian War. There were two phases in the Peloponnesian War with a brief period of peace in between.  

One important aspect of the war was the Peloponnesian League, a loose alliance of Greek city-states controlled by Sparta. Sparta used the Peloponnesian League as additional protection for its borders. These Greek city-states were in southern Greece and were not held together by a single-binding agreement. However, these city-states were required to swear allegiance and promise to provide military support when needed, with the only exception being religious duties. The Peloponnesian League had an important role in Sparta’s victories in the war.

The Archidamian War, named after the Spartan king, was the first phase. This took place after Corinth, a member of the Peloponnesian League. At the time, Sparta was not ready for war and did not respond immediately. When Athens continued to attack Sparta, Thebes, a Spartan ally attacked an Athenian ally, Platea. Then it was open war. Athens had a stronger navy, while Sparta had a stronger army. Sparta invaded Attica, an Athenian region. Pericles, Athenian leader, knowing that Athens could not defeat Sparta on the land chose to withdraw. Athens hid behind their walls and used their fleet to disturb their enemy’s coastline and supply lanes.

Months after the Arcidamian War, a plague killed much of the army and many civilians in Athens. Refugees and Athenians panicked, abandoning social order and religious rituals. There was an appalling death toll of 75,000-100,000 people, including Pericles. This loss was tragic for Athens’ army and made it impossible for Athens to build an army to defeat Sparta. It took Athens until 415 B.C., eleven years, to launch a counterattack against the Spartans or anyone in the Peloponnesian League.

Both Athens and Sparta were tired of fighting a fruitless war, so they signed a treaty, the Peace of Nicias. The Peace of Nicias was intended to last fifty years, but the struggles that continued during “peacetime” caused the opposing powers to continue the war six years earlier than expected. Athens gained control of Sicily allowing them to manage trade in the Mediterranean. Sicily was part of the Peloponnesian League, causing Sparta to go back to war against Athens. At this time Sparta had a much stronger navy with the help of the Persians. Athens retreated from Sicily after losing a large portion of their fleet, two years later. Through political chaos, the Athenians rebuilt their navy and fought Sparta again ten years later. Sparta defeated Athens again in the battle of Aegospotami in 405 B.C.

The destruction of the Athenian fleet caused the war to end and gave Sparta control of the sea and the Hellenic world. Sparta tore down Athens’ famous Long Walls and demanded the Athenians praise them. Athenians were no longer allowed to build more than 12 ships for their navy. Athens’s fall from power was the ending of an age of intellectual and cultural influence, ending the Golden Age of Greece.

Despite their victory, Sparta had many other conflicts with other powers. Less than a century after winning the battle of Aegospotami Sparta lost a war against Thebes, a previous ally. Sparta only had a brief victory before falling to defeat once again. Ultimately, no one won the Peloponnesian War.

The ending of the Peloponnesian War had a lasting impact on Greece. The ending of the war signaled the ending of an area, the Golden Age of Greece, and Athen’s fall from power meant this their government no longer served as a model for democracy. Styles of warfare became various, and alliances, naval warfare, blockages, and sieges increased. The Peloponnesian War resulted in Sparta being the most prominent power in Greece.

 

                                                               

 

Sources

Anonymous, Editors. “Peloponnesian War.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 22 June 2023, www.britannica.com/event/Peloponnesian-War.

Gill, N.S. “What Was the Peloponnesian War?” TheCollector, 5 Jan. 2023, www.thecollector.com/what-was-the-peloponnesian-war/.

Gill, N.S. “Why Was the Peloponnesian War Fought?” ThoughtCo, 6 Sept. 2019, www.thoughtco.com/the-peloponnesian-war-causes-120200.

Thucydides, Unknown. History of the Peloponnesian War. Heinemann, 1998.