The necessary evil committed by the human condition during the Peloponnesian war was unnecessary, at the growth of greed and power through the expansion of Athens Empire was heavily affected by the conflict in 431-404 BCE. The war between Sparta and Athens had begun with the escalated greed for control and power over the Greek world. Athens control over the Greek world seized to exist after the embellishment of their power, which the Spartans had done in their great effort to overthrow the great empire and take their power. This led to being one of the greatest events in Greek history, the Peloponnesian War.
How did the Peloponnesian war occur?
The Peloponnesian War was between the powerful city-states of Athens and Sparta that spanned almost …show more content…
"The Athenian fleet grew strong with the money which the allies had themselves contributed…" (Thucydides I.99). The Peloponnesian land force, being superior in numbers, would ultimately defeat the Athenian army in battle. Therefore, the Athenians must not fight the Peloponnesians on land. Athens' strength, he said, lay in her powerful fleet (2.62.2). Pericles' strategy, as described by Thucydides, was highly original and completely logical. He knew that Athens had insufficient manpower to both man a fleet large enough to maintain the empire and fight the Peloponnesians on land. If the Athenians fought the Peloponnesians they would eventually lose too many men to be able to keep up the fleet. Thucydides appreciated the logic and states that in his opinion Pericles strategy would have proved successful had it been followed to the letter (2.65.13). Athens’s strategy did prevail, until they had to surrender for the given reasons. Sparta’s strategies were, in no reasonable doubt, to be the strategy that to Athens …show more content…
Given the nature of the Greeks it may never have been a serious possibility; but if it was to happen during this period, only Athens could have achieved it, although a policy of shared citizenship would have been a more reliable basis for unity than naval power and enforced payments of tribute. The Spartans, with their limited manpower and parochial outlook, never contemplated more than a loose leadership over the other city-states, and in the event, they even proved incapable of controlling fallen Athens, which soon expelled the Spartan-installed oligarchy, the ‘Thirty Tyrants’ (Harris,
How did the Peloponnesian war occur?
The Peloponnesian War was between the powerful city-states of Athens and Sparta that spanned almost …show more content…
"The Athenian fleet grew strong with the money which the allies had themselves contributed…" (Thucydides I.99). The Peloponnesian land force, being superior in numbers, would ultimately defeat the Athenian army in battle. Therefore, the Athenians must not fight the Peloponnesians on land. Athens' strength, he said, lay in her powerful fleet (2.62.2). Pericles' strategy, as described by Thucydides, was highly original and completely logical. He knew that Athens had insufficient manpower to both man a fleet large enough to maintain the empire and fight the Peloponnesians on land. If the Athenians fought the Peloponnesians they would eventually lose too many men to be able to keep up the fleet. Thucydides appreciated the logic and states that in his opinion Pericles strategy would have proved successful had it been followed to the letter (2.65.13). Athens’s strategy did prevail, until they had to surrender for the given reasons. Sparta’s strategies were, in no reasonable doubt, to be the strategy that to Athens …show more content…
Given the nature of the Greeks it may never have been a serious possibility; but if it was to happen during this period, only Athens could have achieved it, although a policy of shared citizenship would have been a more reliable basis for unity than naval power and enforced payments of tribute. The Spartans, with their limited manpower and parochial outlook, never contemplated more than a loose leadership over the other city-states, and in the event, they even proved incapable of controlling fallen Athens, which soon expelled the Spartan-installed oligarchy, the ‘Thirty Tyrants’ (Harris,