Peloponnesian War

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…

During the Peloponnesian war, Athens and their rival, Sparta, competed against one another in an effort to establish their dominance of Greece, forming alliances and colonies with imperialistic motives. Large alliances that were formed before the Peloponnesian war were an important factor in what escalated it. Sparta formed the Peloponnesian League while Athens created what is now referred to as the Athenian Empire. The Spartans won the long Peloponnesian war against Athens in 405, after the…

The Peloponnesian War was a long battle between the two greatest city-states of Greece, Athens and Sparta. The war took nearly thirty years until its final end; it was from 431-404 B.C. In the beginning of the war Athens controlled one of the strongest empires, at the end of the war Athens could barely maintain itself. Why? Thucydides, an Athenian general at the time left us with an excessive amount of knowledge on this war, as he wrote a textbook on the war called “History of the Peloponnesian…

Throughout history, people have been debating over who was more to blame for the Peloponnesian War and the thirty-year conflict between Athens and Sparta’s allies. Most people will argue that the Spartans will be more to blame because they are the ones who initially started the war. But, from the evidence I gathered from the book “The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures” by Lynn Hunt it claims that the Athens are more at fault for these problems. A reason that points the finger to…

The Peloponnesian War started when Sparta the leader of the Peloponnesian league and the largest land power in the region started to become concerned with the rise of Athens powers. Athens was a power in their own right; they were the largest sea power and was the leader of the Delian league. Neither Sparta nor Athens could afford to accept supremacy from the other country. Power can be a dangerous thing, those who have it don’t like letting it go, and those who don’t have it will do anything…

The Peloponnesian War was a long war fought by the two Greek City-states Athens and Sparta. The Athenian empire was on the rise and had control of the sea with the most powerful navy of the time, whereas the Spartans controlled the Greece mainland with the one of the most powerful armies of its time as well. The resulting conflict between the two led to a 30 year period filled with battles, treachery, and large amounts of unexpected consequences. At the conclusion of the long war, Athens was no…

Peloponnesian War In life their will always be fights. In fights their will always be two sides or more, and within those two sides there will be disputing and arguing before they decide to try and destroy each other. In many wars it has been noticed that we could have been able to stop it before it happened. Typically, one side is more to blame than the other by wanting too much power or not settling down. In the Peloponnesian War I believe Athens is more to blame for starting the war than…

Thucydides described the 21-year long history of the Peloponnesian War (431-411BC), between the alliances of Sparta and Athens, the two powerful city states of ancient Greece (war formally ended in 404 BC). This war was the result of the Athenian rise to power because ‘the rise of new power always creates uncertainty and anxieties.' Athens and her alliance dramatically increased their power after the thirty years’ peace treaty. Both alliances “refused to give up their position under the…

Athenian War Strategy: Peloponnesian War Thucydides described the 21 years long history of the Peloponnesian War (431-411BC), between an alliance of Spartans and Athenian, the powerful city state of ancient Greece (war formally ended in 404 BC). This war was the result Athenian rising power because ‘the rise of new power always create uncertainty and anxieties' . Athenian and her alliance dramatically increased their power after thirty years’ peace treaty. Both alliances "refused to give up…

In his seminal work, The History of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides chronicles the nearly thirty-year long conflict between the Ancient Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta. He famously argues that what made war between the two states “inevitable” was “the growth of the power of Athens, and the alarm which this inspired in Sparta” (Thucydides 1.34). In making this conjecture, Thucydides laid down the foundation for the international relations theory of realism, a theory that emphasizes the…