It had transformed itself during and after the Persian Wars and became a major trading and maritime power. There is no human affair which stands so constantly and so generally in close connection with chance as War.” So spoke Carlvon Clausewitz in the 19th century. As soon as the Persians left, the Greeks immediately began to quarrel with each other. The origins of the Peloponnesian War lay in Greece's victory over the Persian Empire. According to Thucydides' writings, the early years of the war were a stalemate because the Athenians followed Pericles's cautious strategy.[18]. The underlying cause of the war was the rapid rise of the Athenians. It had emerged as a great Empire in a quick period, and this upset the traditional balance of power. Indeed, this is at the core of Diodorus’ account of the causes of the Peloponnesian War (12.38–41), the main source for which, Diodorus tells us, was the fourth-century historian Ephorus of Cyme (FGH 70 F 196). [4] It had developed into the greatest maritime power in the Greek world and could dominate the trade routes in the eastern Mediterranean. The Peloponnesian War was fought between the democratic and mercantile city state of Athens and the oligarchical and closed city state of Sparta. Peloponnesian War: name of the conflict between Athens and Sparta that broke out in 431 and continued, with an interruption, until 404. Fear of the growing power of Athens. Go HD. Peloponnesian War: Battle of Pylos. The main reasons proposed are: Historian Donald Kagan has been studying the causes of the Peloponnesian War for decades. This conflict involved Athens and Corinth, with the latter receiving some support from Sparta. By treaty, members of one side could not switch and join the other, although neutral powers could take sides. Gradually, the Athenians began to turn the Delian League into an Empire. Causes of the war. [1] This notion of Greekness was not enough to overcome deep divisions within the Greek world. They had real difficulties understanding each other, and this lead to mutual suspicions. The Peloponnesian War was a conflict in ancient Greece that redefined the structure of power in the Greek-speaking world. For many decades Sparta had been the greatest military power in Greece. [17], The Athenians were extremely confident, and they knew that as long as they had their navy and their ‘Long Walls’ that they could not be defeated even if they could not beat Sparta and her allies on the battlefield. What did Achilles do in the Trojan War and how important was he in Greek culture? In the first book of his history, participant-observer and historian Thucydides recorded the causes of the Peloponnesian War: While Thucydides seemed quite certain that he had settled the question of the cause of the Peloponnesian War for all time, historians continue to debate the origins of the war. Thucydides on the Cause of the Peloponnesian War, Political Aspects of the Classical Age of Greece, Timeline of Battles and Treaties in Peloponnesian War, 30 Maps of Ancient Greece Show How a Country Became an Empire, The Thirty Tyrants After the Peloponnesian War, How Athenian Democracy Developed in 7 Stages, Biography of Alcibiades, Ancient Greek Soldier-Politician, M.A., Linguistics, University of Minnesota. [19] The destruction of the Athenian fleet at Aegospotami ended the war, and Athens surrendered the following year. "[10] Thucydides believed that the Peloponnesian War was inevitable because when a rising power confronted another power, they would inevitably wage war against each other to further or protect their interests. [14] Sparta was a highly militarized society, and the need for a strong and well-disciplined army was the main concern of the state. Relevance. The Athenians, at this time, were also in dispute with the small city-state of Megara. Athens decided to lay siege to the colony. Sparta was almost the opposite of Athens in every way. Based on historical evidence, experts have divided this war into 3 different phases. This war ended with a peace treaty and a ‘Thirty Years Peace.’ This treaty, in theory, guaranteed Athens and Sparta their respective spheres of influence. The citizens (only free males) could directly vote on the affairs of the city. Corinth and other members of the Peloponnesian League were unhappy about Sparta’s lack of leadership. The war ended the Golden Age of Athenian Culture and arguably weakened the Greek world forever. Athens was forced to tear down its Long Walls and was fortunate not to be utterly destroyed. Thucydides, however, wrote the most important contemporary chronicle of the war. What was the Spartan Training called the Agoge? Athens, the strongest city-state in Greece before the war started, was reduced to a state of near-complete subjection. When Megara turned to Sparta for help in its boundary dispute with Corinth, Sparta, which was allied with both city-states, declined to come to their aid. It is still widely held that in international relations, the growth of a nation-state or empire will inevitably lead to rivalry and war with an established power.[12]. Second, under the leadership of Pericles, Athens grew from a city-state to a naval empire. The Athenian empire started with the Delian League, which had been formed to allow Athens to take the lead in the war against Persia, and wound up providing Athens with access to what was supposed to be a communal treasury. Sparta was unhappy at no longer having all the military glory. Earlier, Sparta had been the military leader of the Greek world. Trireme - A trireme was a ship propelled by three tiers of oarsmen. This proved to be a disaster, which led to the loss of an Athenian army and navy. Thucydides explains the next contributing factors for the cause of the Peloponnesian War was the dispute over the Corcyraeans. There was a conflict among city-states between competing political ideologies. Many excellent historians have discussed the causes of the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BCE), and many more will do so in the future. 123 quotes from History of the Peloponnesian War: ‘Self-control is the chief element in self-respect, and self-respect is the chief element in courage.’ Sparta had a set of loose alliances by means of individual treaties that extended to the Peloponnese, excepting Argos and Achaea. How did the Peloponnesian War Start? [16] This was not acceptable to Sparta, and they believed that if Megara came within the orbit of the Athenians, they would use the port to weaken their position in Greece. Importance of the Peloponnesian War . Because of their different political systems and cultures, they were often ideologically opposed. They unilaterally banned the ships of that Megara from its port and its allies. The Peloponnesian War reshaped the Ancient Greek world. This war, which has been divided into three phases by historians spelled doom left, right and center. The defeat of Athens in the Peloponnesian War caused the downfall of Greece, and the end of the Classical Age. Sparta realized that they needed a navy to defeat the ships that were supplied to the Athenians, so Persia helps Sparta. Kagan says that this open quarrel in 465 BCE was the first between Sparta and Athens. Athens's growing ambitions led to tensions with its neighbors and eventually led to war. The primary combatants in the Peloponnesian War were the city-states of Athens and Sparta and had allies that supported them during the war. Athens built long walls all the way from the city to its seaport Piraeus. Sparta soon became very suspicious of Athens's growing power. 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