The Spartans and the Athenians both used clever strategies to try to win the war; the Spartans tried to defeat the Athenians by using a psychological strategy and an economic strategy while the Athenians used political and economic strategies. Sparta’s first strategy was to try and get Athens to fight them on land. Because the Spartans could battle on land very well, they tried to force the Athenians to attack them on land; they tried to do this by using a psychological strategy. The Spartans landed in Athens and burnt all of the fields, crops, and houses that were outside of the Long Walls. They hoped that this would be enough to cause Athens to fight, but it was not. While this strategy was unable to get a reaction out of Athens, it did cause …show more content…
First, all of the Athenians were put inside of the Long Walls. Next the strategos Pericles told the people to not fight the Spartans. This strategy was not a very good strategy. First, the Athenians knew that their houses and farms outside of the walls be burned by the Spartans, but they could not defend their belongings because Pericles wouldn’t allow it. This made the people very angry with Pericles, and he was eventually removed from power. Secondly, the fact that all of Athen’s citizens were forced into the walls made Athens very cramped. The high population density helped the Plague of Athens spread quicker; in fact, killed one-third of Athens population including many important soldiers and leaders, like Pericles. The Athenian’s second and third strategy both tried to psychologically attack the Spartans. The Athenians second strategy was to attack Spartan coasts. The Athenians hoped that Sparta’s allies would lose faith in Sparta’s ability to protect them due to these constant attacks. While this was a great plan, it did not work, for Sparta’s allies never gave up on Sparta. The Athenians third and most successful strategy was to go to Pylos, fortify it, and use it as a base, for Pylos was close to Sparta. The Spartans tried to get rid of it and started the Battles of Pylos. They sent troops out to try and destroy the fort and put ships around an island called
As I am a recent participant in the Assembly, some of you may not be familiar with my person. I am Simon, a cobbler from the Deme District of Athens in the Kydathenaeum. It was through my profession that I met Socrates, of whom I am a follower. He was my inspiration to attend the Assembly and to become an active participator in its discussions. Through Socrates and my visits to the Assembly, I gained my belief that those citizens who participate in the Assembly and serve as jurors in the law courts should not receive compensation because they are taking part in their civic duty as Athenians.
In 480 and the years prior the Athenians and Spartans, banned together to defeat the Persian Army. The Spartans stand at Thermopylae, allowed the Athenians time to prepare, and ultimately allowed the victory. With both of these great city-states located so close together in Hellas, there differences would ultimately lead to dissension. Throughout the course of this paper, I hope to explain the reasoning behind the dissension between Sparta and Athens, made war between these former allies inevitable.
After the war Athens was left in complete turmoil due to the destruction of their crops, the loss of men, the obliteration of their city walls, and other effects. Athenian agriculture was affected because during the war Sparta burned Athenian crops, causing food shortages. Athens’ economy also suffered because of the loss of men. After the war very few men returned, and those who did not r...
In history, the events that lead to the Battle of Thermopylae was that Darius began building a whole new army that he wanted to return with against the Persians. The Persian invasions just ended with the Athens at the Battle of Marathon. The Spartans were not the only ones going into battle. Many alliances were formed in order to defeat the Persians including the Thespians, Thebans, soldiers from Mycenae and other Greek states. The battle lasted over three days and for the first two days the Greeks were able to fight off the Persians. “Their longer thrusting spears and their heavy shields and body armor gave them a distinct advantage over the Persians, who were equipped with shorter javelin-type spears, wicker shields, and armor made only of woven linen”(2). The Spartans had great war tactic and
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.
On the other hand, there are others, such as Platias and Koliopoulos that say Pericles’s strategy could have worked. Both state that "the Athenians lost the war only when they dramatically reversed the Periclean grand strategy that explicitly disdained further conquests". The Athens could have Although his countrymen engaged in several aggressive actions soon after his death, the Athenians remained true to the larger Periclean strategy of seeking to preserve, not expand, the empire, and did not depart from it until the Sicilian Expedition. 33%
When examining the causes for the Peloponnesian War, which was between 431-404 B.C., there are a number of causes that factored into the cause of this war. However, one of the most important causes to this war was largely due to the fact that the Spartans feared the growing power and success of Athens. The Spartans were “particularly alarmed at the growing power of Athens” (Cartwright, “Peloponnesian War”). During the Persian war in 479 BC, Athens grew fiercely strong with power with help of its many allies and continued with their no mercy attacks on Persian territories. When the Persians left Greece, Athens further enraged Sparta when they built large and tall walls around its empire in the event of an attack, which was mostly thought to be from Sparta if it happened.
The Peloponnesian War is the conflict between the pelopoponesians 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 Peloponessian War. He servd 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 conflicted. 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. In his account, he discuses the precursors to the war, including the 30 years truce and revolutions, such as the stasis in Corcyra. When looking at wars, the primary focus is normally the fighting itself, such as what we see for World War II. However, it is important to look at the anatomy of war, meaning what effect the war has on the people who are experiencing it first hand, and the consquences that the conflict has on the rest of the world. Therefore in this essay I shall discuss, drawing directly from Thucydides, The History of the Peloponnesian War, how the civilians reacted to the war, their involvement and socio economic factors. Furthermore, the first section of my essay shall focus on the direct effect of war on the people, regarding the plague, and violence and hopelessness that was experienced. Then I shall go on to discuss more general effects of the war and how it affected the Greek world, discussing the social and economic losses that occurred such as the cost of the war in attica, the coup d’etat that occurred in gove...
In ancient Greece during the 7th and 8th centuries, different armies and cities were fighting for control of land and power. During this time period, it was very gruesome and many people died because different states wanted to expand their control over new territories so they could gain more power. With all the different armies and militaries fighting for control, there was one that stood out as the elite of all militaries, Sparta. Quickly Sparta became known throughout Greece as the most highly disciplined and coordinated militaries in the world.
Loyalty meant everything to them, and if they hadn’t fought back, they would have likely been killed, and their wives and children would have been enslaved, a fate worse than death for many of the Athenians. Moreover, they swore that they would protect Athens, one of the greatest cities of Greece, from intruders so that it could continue to prosper. They believed not only that loyalty meant everything to them, but also pride. They believed that pride was superior to cowardice and would fight no matter what the odds are. If they backed down now, they would forever be known as cowards, citizens who swore to protect their country, but failed and put life over
Sparta...was it really worth all the attention we give it here in America. We write movies about its strong military and tough culture and glorify its way of life ignoring the actual atrocity that was the Spartan society. Sparta was a Greek city-state located on the Peloponnesus peninsula The city-state’s society was based on its brutal educational system. This system was known as the agoge system and it was basically a military training that the young Spartan boys were forced to go through from the young age of seven to the age of twenty-one. (thirteen years of training). Sparta’s agoge system had many weaknesses but it also had many strengths. Which one outweighed the other? To me the answer is obvious. The weaknesses of the Spartan society outweighed the strengths because the Spartans destroyed families, they abused their youth and they murdered their own people.
"When in Rome, live as the Romans do; when elsewhere, live as they live elsewhere." Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a Roman or Greek? Well, Ancient Greece and Rome have influenced American society throughout the Roman Republic, Greek architecture, and Greek Olympics. There are many interesting facts you should know about Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome! Did you know that the first Olympic Games were held in 776 B.C. at the Greek city of Olympia? Or that the Colosseum received millions of visitors every year, and is the most famous tourist attraction of Rome? You can learn many things about how American society has been influenced by the Ancient Romans and Greeks.
Athens thought they were going to win the war from the start. Though, they were almost beaten when a group of Spartans came to Athens and started burning down part of their city. Athens thought they were safe as long as they had a good supply of food, which they did. The city was safe as long as ships could sail into port with food from other Athenian colonies and other foreign states. This made them cocky and a bit egotistical.
The ancient Greece was divided among several hundreds of city-states called “Poleis”. Within this poleis, Athens and Sparta were the most powerful, significant, largest and significant states.
Because of the tranquil times, the civilization’s society had more time to focus on writing, math, astronomy, and artistic fields, as well as trade and metallurgy. Out of all the city-states of Greece, two excelled over all the rest, Sparta and Athens. Even though they were the most advanced and strong civilizations, they were bitter enemies. While Athens focused mainly on the people’s democracy and citizen rights, Sparta were ferocious and enslaved its original inhabitants, making them unable to leave and kept under a close eye to prevent insurgence (History of Greece:The Golden Age of Greece). Additionally, Sparta had strict and trained soldiers that underwent intense physical exercising and instruction.