The Thucydides History Of The Peloponnesian War

The Sicilian Expedition was the Athenian attempt to conquer Sicily during the Peloponnesian War between the dates of 415-413. Since the war was not going so well, the Athenians decided that they would try a dramatic and aggressive move. The Spartans got food and supplies from Sicily, so the Athenians thought that if they could capture Sicily, they could make the Spartans stop fighting by cutting off their supplies. But this ended not in the favor of the Athenians. The Spartans defeated the Athenians, and all most all of the Athenian men were killed. Ultimately, this left the Sicilian Expedition was mistake on the Athenian side. In book 6 section 1 of Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War, he talks about how the Athenians were “ignorant” of Sicily. Thus, this is one of the reasons why, the expedition was a mistake. Thucydides says, “They were for the most part ignorant of the size of the island and od the numbers of its inhabitants” (Thucydides, 409). Not to mention, “They did not realize that they were taking on a war of almost the same magnitude as their war against the Peloponnesians” (Thucydides, 409). The Athenians being ignorant of Sicily is one of the reasons that this expedition was a mistake. Not knowing all the information …show more content…
Having troops that are tired and hungry is not going to help them win. But another part that is important for one to understand, is that Nicias thought the expedition was a mistake. Alcibiades, was all for it, so when it came time for motivation speeches to the troops, that was something he was good at. But when it was Nicias, he would have trouble motivating the troops because he didn’t agree with eh plan anyways. So that can play a big part on the men of the army. Not having motivation when there is a lack of food and being tired, doesn’t make it easy for the men to fight, making them just want to give