After the Persian wars where Athens and Sparta defeated the Persian empire in 479 BC the golden age of Greece was born an age of great military, political and philosophical advancement. The Peloponnesian Wars were caused by Sparta’s fear of the spread of democracy, coupled with Athenian expansion goals, these great ambitions led to the loss of the Peloponnesian war and brought about the collapse of the Athenian empire. The approach that will be used to examine this is by examining the government and military strengths and weaknesses of both Greek states and their allies as well as some judgment errors made by the Athenian leaders in order to expand their empire which backfired. In order to do determine why the Peloponnesian Wars broke out
…show more content…
By taking on Sparta they could ensure that their values could be defended against the possibility of being enslaved by the Spartans. Furthermore, Thucydides appears to romanticize Athenian ideologies connoting a sense of superiority when compared to that of the Spartans. This emphasizes the importance of going to war and fighting for their values. Therefore, it stands to reason that Athens’ desire to fight for freedom coupled with the series of events linked to the alliance system such as, the battle of Sybota and the Megarian Decree show that Athens were the main aggressor in starting the Peloponnesian …show more content…
The Peloponnesian Wars were actually three separate wars; the first period of the war is referred to as the Archidamian between 431 and 421 BC. The Spartan leader Archidamus’ wanted to lure the Athenians into a land battle this contrasted to Pericles, who wanted to avoid this at all costs and wanted to rely on their navy. Sparta was on the back foot in this stage of the war and were out of their depth fighting battle predominantly at sea. Sparta eventually won some battles and some of Athens’ allies in the North began to revolt led to a peace treaty being signed in 421 BC known as the Peace of Nicias. According to Greek historian from the time period, Plutarch the Peace of Nicias was weighted heavily in the Athenians favor due to the fact that it returned conquered lands and prisoners of war to Athens. In 415 BC Athens violated this peace treaty and began to raid Peloponnesian states by sea. Athens sent an armada to Syracuse in Sicily in order to expand their empire. The expedition showed some promise at first, however one of the Athenian leaders Alcibiades, was accused of mutilating Hermae before his departure. Consequently he was summoned to Athens to face trial. Instead of returning to Athens, he defected to Sparta. The inside information he was able to provide gave them a significant advantage. This resulted in Athens sending reinforcements however, Sparta was able to fight them off as well. This battle
By taking on Sparta they could ensure that their values could be defended against the possibility of being enslaved by the Spartans. Furthermore, Thucydides appears to romanticize Athenian ideologies connoting a sense of superiority when compared to that of the Spartans. This emphasizes the importance of going to war and fighting for their values. Therefore, it stands to reason that Athens’ desire to fight for freedom coupled with the series of events linked to the alliance system such as, the battle of Sybota and the Megarian Decree show that Athens were the main aggressor in starting the Peloponnesian …show more content…
The Peloponnesian Wars were actually three separate wars; the first period of the war is referred to as the Archidamian between 431 and 421 BC. The Spartan leader Archidamus’ wanted to lure the Athenians into a land battle this contrasted to Pericles, who wanted to avoid this at all costs and wanted to rely on their navy. Sparta was on the back foot in this stage of the war and were out of their depth fighting battle predominantly at sea. Sparta eventually won some battles and some of Athens’ allies in the North began to revolt led to a peace treaty being signed in 421 BC known as the Peace of Nicias. According to Greek historian from the time period, Plutarch the Peace of Nicias was weighted heavily in the Athenians favor due to the fact that it returned conquered lands and prisoners of war to Athens. In 415 BC Athens violated this peace treaty and began to raid Peloponnesian states by sea. Athens sent an armada to Syracuse in Sicily in order to expand their empire. The expedition showed some promise at first, however one of the Athenian leaders Alcibiades, was accused of mutilating Hermae before his departure. Consequently he was summoned to Athens to face trial. Instead of returning to Athens, he defected to Sparta. The inside information he was able to provide gave them a significant advantage. This resulted in Athens sending reinforcements however, Sparta was able to fight them off as well. This battle