The Conflict Between Athens And Sparta And The Peloponnesian War

1027 Words3 Pages

The Peloponnesian War marked the ending of the Golden Age for Greece. After years of prosperity in art and literature, it abruptly came to an end when Athens and Sparta decided to wage war on one another. At the time, Athens and Sparta were the two most powerful city-states in Greece and they both believed that they could not be stopped by anyone or anything-- except for one another. Sparta and Athens pitted the Peloponnesian League and the Delian League against one another, the two leagues representing the listed cities respectively. The Peloponnesian War itself was a series of conflicts between Athens and Sparta which used old strategies and led to the destruction of an empire. The Peloponnesian League was started by Sparta in the 6th century B.C.E. Sparta was slowly becoming the most …show more content…

Unlike Athens, they knew they were strong and not overbearingly confident. Athens believed that financial stability would lead the to victory. By the end of the war, Athens was broke. All of their allies distrusted them too.
Another reason Sparta won was because of the Persians. Sparta had an extremely strong land force and a small navy. Persia sent naval ships to the Spartans and hoped to help destroy the Athenian empire (Hunt p. 80). Without the help of Persia, the war may have turned out a little differently. Both Sparta and Athens were forces to be reckoned with. It all boils down to two powerful city-states fighting to be the leader of Greece. They both had their own ideas and clashed because of it. Although Athens believed they were the leading force, they were proven wrong. Sparta became the most powerful polis in all of Greece. After the war, Athens was completely destroyed. They had no money from years of fighting and most of their land was destroyed by the spartans. They had nothing left while Sparta had it all. Without Athens strong ambition in itself and their overbearing confidence, Sparta would have never

Show More
Related

  • Investigating Athens' Treatment of Her Allies

    4008 Words  | 9 Pages

    In the later cases of Corinth and Megara, it was Athens unwillingness to agree on independence that triggered the Peloponnesian War. In effect, I believe that Athens had helped to end a war, onto to start another whilst in pursuit of her personal desire for imperialism.

    Read More

  • Dbq Compare And Contrast Sparta And Athens

    585 Words  | 2 Pages

    Imagine two countries, so different from each other, that conflicts were inevitable. Athens and Sparta were not countries, however, they were city-states of Greece with many contrasting values. Athens was the city of the arts, reading, and writing. Meanwhile, military was the only thing the on the Spartans’ minds. Athens and Sparta differ in many ways due to their governments, economies, and cultures.

    Read More

  • Peloponnesian War Analysis

    1879 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Spartans did not heed Archidamus’ warning that “unless we can either beat them at sea, or deprive them of the revenues which feed their navy, we shall meet with little but disaster.”8 From the beginning, Sparta should have developed an alternative course of action, a branch plan in modern American military terms, to execute if the invasion of Attica did not quickly end the war. There was little time for Sparta to build or develop a naval force to match Athenian naval power, but an alternative plan to erode away the Athenian empire, similar to the one employed by Brasidas in 424 BC, was possible much earlier in the war and could have eroded Athenian financial support from their empire. For as Thucydides tells us, “the strength of Athens being derived from the money brought in by their [allies] payments.”9 Conditions were present for Sparta to reduce the Athenian empire as many Greeks wanted or feared losing their independence from the Athenian empire.10 While not excusing Sparta’s initial failure as described above, it is understandable, based on the conservative Spartan culture, why they did not develop an alternative course of action for defeating

    Read More

  • The Mystery of Thermopylae

    1289 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many attributes have made the Spartans stand out from other Greek civilizations; their military, their society, and the battles they waged. Spartans were a militaristic state in Greece, their motto was “Ether with it, or on it” (meaning ether you won the battle or died trying). Sparta was also rivals to Athens at the time and would often compete in sports or fight in skirmishes much like two rival high schools. Out of everything that Sparta was the one thing most people think of when they hear the word Sparta is the battle of Thermopylae. No other Spartan conflict has been exploited as much as the battle of Thermopylae. Contrary to what you may or may not believe the Spartans were not the o...

    Read More

  • The Great Peloponnesian War

    1279 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Peloponnesian War could easily be considered one of the most life changing and significant wars that occurred in classical Greece. It was fought between two empires which originally stood together against a common enemy, the Persians. However, once this common enemy was defeated, Sparta and Athens began to become great rivals vying for control of Greece. This resulted in the First and Second Peloponnesian Wars, which saw the rise and fall of the Athenian Empire. Sparta eventually rose to be the victor with the assistance of their former enemy Persia, but the era city-states would not live on for very much longer. The Peloponnesian Wars should be studied, because it details the rise and fall of one of the greatest city-states in Greek history.

    Read More

  • Sparta and Athens - Explain and Contrast

    495 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Persian war brought massive change to the people of both Sparta and Athens. The Persians were great conquerors who crushed rebel cities with ease. King Darius sent a large force to punish Athens with its interference. The Persian army landed at Marathon where Athenian forces attacked. Though they were outnumbered 2 to 1 they emerged victorious. Athens had convinced Sparta and other city-states to join them in their battles.

    Read More

  • The Peloponnesian War

    2333 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Causes and Effects of the Peloponnesian War

    1350 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Peloponnesian War was between the Greek cities of Athens and Sparta due to the growing tensions that continued to grow between the two cities that eventually came to a breaking point. The Peloponnesian War, which can be divided into three phases known as: The Archidamian War, The Sicilian Expedition and The Decelean War, is one of the greatest event in Greek history and an analysis of the causes and effects of this war will give us a better understanding for how the cities of Athens and Sparta came to war and the impact it left behind.

    Read More

  • History of the Peloponnesian War

    1472 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, Pericles commends the ergon of Athenian heroes, which has placed them in the realm of logos, while directing the Athenians to follow these ideals of logos. The maintenance and continued success of Athens' political establishment relies on the prevalence of polis, rationality and discourse over family, emotion and reckless action. However, the indiscriminate turns of fate and fortune, often place logos in opposition with the base, primal nature of ergon. Both Thucydides and Sophocles recognize that when logos conflicts with the unexpected ergon, the preservation of rationality and unanimity among the citizens of the polis depend on the leadership of a single honest leader. In the History of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides presents Pericles as a man of logos, whom Athens needs to achieve its full potential as an empire and later to rescue her from disaster. Likewise, Sophocles presents Theseus, in Oedipus Colonus, as the perfect successor of Pericles, who returns Athens to its former glory before the end of the war. In these two examples, we see that the dominance of logos over ergon within a polis lies in the ability and logos of the city’s current leader.

    Read More

  • Peloponnesian War Essay

    2197 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Peloponnesian War is the conflict between the Peloponnesian League, led by Sparta, and the Delian League, led by Athens. Much of our knowledge on the causes and events of the Peloponnesian War, depends on the Athenian Thucydides 460-400 BC, writer of the History of the Peloponnesian War. He served as an Athenian commander in Northern Greece during the early years of the war until the assembly exiled him as he lost an outpost to the enemy. During this exile, he was able to interview witnesses on both sides of the conflict. Unlike Heredotus, he concentrated on contemporary history and presented his account of the war in an annalistic framework that only occasionally diverts from chronological order.

    Read More

  • Peloponnesian War

    2670 Words  | 6 Pages

    ... one another until they were no more. From the Persian War to the Peloponnesian the two states had changed a lot of the years. Starting from their greatest alliance yet first moment of subtle rivalry, the Persian War. Although they were indistinctly competing against one another, without each other they could not have dominated. Then there were the two blows to the peace treaty. The first blow being the Athenian assistance in the battle between Corinth and Corycra. The second blow being the idea to burn Corinth’s town down. Although these were remarkable mistakes the Athenians saw nothing wrong with them. Lastly, was the war. In 431 B.C. the Peloponnesian War broke out between the two allies, after all they had been through, their alliance was over. War was bound to happen, although they lived in tranquility for so long, one or the other was destined to break out.

    Read More

  • The Peloponnesian War and the Decline of Leadership in Athens

    3378 Words  | 7 Pages

    The Peloponnesian War and the Decline of Leadership in Athens Thucydides set out to narrate the events of what he believed would be a great war—one requiring great power amassed on both sides and great states to carry out. Greatness, for Thucydides, was measured most fundamentally in capital and military strength, but his history delves into almost every aspect of the war, including, quite prominently, its leaders. In Athens especially, leadership was vital to the war effort because the city’s leaders were chosen by its people and thus, both shaped Athens and reflected its character during their lifetimes. The leaders themselves, however, are vastly different in their abilities and their effects on the city. Thucydides featured both Pericles and Alcibiades prominently in his history, and each had a distinct place in the evolution of Athenian empire and the war it sparked between Athens and Sparta.

    Read More

  • Why the Greeks Won the Greco-Persian War

    1577 Words  | 4 Pages

    There are times in history that something will happen and it will defy all logic. It was one of those times when a few Greek city/states joined together and defeated the invasion force of the massive Persian Empire. The Greeks were able to win the Greco-Persian War because of their naval victories over the Persians, a few key strategic victories on land, as well as the cause for which they were fighting. The naval victories were the most important contribution to the overall success against the Persians. The Persian fleet was protecting the land forces from being outflanked and after they were defeated the longer had that protection. While the Greeks had very few overall victories in battle they did have some strategic victories. The Battle of Thermopylae is an example of a strategic success for the Greeks. The morale of the Persian army was extremely affected by the stout resistance put up by King Leonidas and his fellow Spartans. The Greeks fought so hard against overwhelming odds because of what they were fighting for. They were fighting for their country and their freedom. They fought so hard because they did not want to let down the man next to them in the formation. Several things contributed to the Greeks success against the Persian invasion that happened during the Second Greco-Persian War.

    Read More

  • Strengths And Weaknesses Of The Peloponnesian War

    1158 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.) was a conflict between the Athenian Empire and the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta that resulted in the end of the Golden Age of Athens. The events of the war were catalogued by the ancient historian Thucydides in The History of the Peloponnesian War. Thucydides’ writings showed the ancient Greek belief that there is a parallel between the city-state and the character of its citizens; in order for the city-state to be successful, its citizens must be virtuous. Thucydides did not believe that the true cause of the Peloponnesian War were the immediate policies of the Athenian Empire against the city-states in the Peloponnesian League but rather the fundamental differences in the character of the two city-states

    Read More

  • Greek Golden Age Essay

    1034 Words  | 3 Pages

    However, being in a weakened state caused the Greek city- states (mainly Athens against Sparta) to fight amongst themselves in order to have more influence over the rest of the city-states. This type of war was termed the Peloponnesian War and continued from 431 B.C. to 404 B.C. in the year. History of Greece:The Golden Age of Greece and Muntone. The Peloponnesian War began around 431 B.C. and persisted for twenty-seven years.

    Read More

More about The Conflict Between Athens And Sparta And The Peloponnesian War

Open Document