Peloponnesian War

The Peloponnesian War was a massive conflict in the ancient Greek world. It lasted from 431 to 404 BC. The war was fought for hegemony, which means leadership or dominance, over Ancient Greece. Two major alliances faced each other in this struggle. The Delian League was led by the city-state of Athens. The Peloponnesian League was led by the city-state of Sparta.

This war fundamentally changed the structure of Greek society and politics. It marked the end of the golden age of Greece.

The conflict grew from the rising power of the Athenian Empire. After the Greco-Persian Wars, Athens led the Delian League. This league began as a group of city-states to ensure safety. Athens used tribute, which is money paid by subject states, to fund its navy. This money also paid for massive public works in Athens. This growth caused resentment among other Greek states. Sparta and its allies grew alarmed by Athenian expansion.

Tensions increased when Athens rebuilt its defensive walls. The Spartans felt aggrieved by this move. Earlier friction occurred in 465 BC during a helot revolt. Athens sent 4,000 hoplites to help Sparta, but the Spartans dismissed them. This event caused the Athenians to reject their alliance with Sparta.

Historians divide the war into four distinct stages. The first phase was the Archidamian War, named after King Archidamus II. It began in 431 BC when Sparta invaded Attica.

Athens and Sparta fought many battles during this time. Athens won at Sphacteria in 425 BC, but lost at Delium in 424 BC. Exhausted by fighting, the sides signed the Peace of Nicias in 421 BC. The second phase was the Argive War from 419 to 416 BC. This was a proxy war involving the city of Argos. Sparta defeated the Argive alliance at the battle of Mantinea in 418 BC.

The third phase was the Sicilian Expedition between 415 and 413 BC. Athens attempted to conquer the city of Syracuse. Syracuse was an ally of Sparta. This expedition was a disaster for Athens. They lost most of their powerful navy in the attempt.

The final phase was the Decelean War, also called the Ionian War. This phase began after the failure in Sicily. In 413 BC, the Persian Empire intervened to support Sparta. This intervention provided the resources Sparta needed to challenge Athenian naval superiority.

Sparta used Persian financing to build a large fleet. This fleet was led by the commander Lysander. In 405 BC, Sparta won a decisive victory at Aegospotamos. This battle broke the power of the Delian League. Athens fell the following year in 404 BC.

The Delian League was dissolved. Democracy in Athens was replaced by oligarchies. One such group was the Thirty Tyrants. Although Sparta became the leader, its dominance was short-lived. Athens regained its independence during the Corinthian War a decade later.

We know about this war through several important historical sources. Thucydides is the primary source for most of the conflict. He was an Athenian who fought in the early war. He was exiled in 423 BC and wrote his history while living in the Peloponnese.

He is considered a reliable and neutral historian. However, his work ends abruptly in 411 BC. The younger historian Xenophon wrote the Hellenica to finish the story. Xenophon's account is generally seen as favorable to Sparta. Plutarch also wrote biographies of major leaders like Pericles and Lysander.

These biographies focus on the character and morality of the commanders.

The war had massive consequences for the entire Greek world. It changed the nature of warfare itself. Previously, Greek warfare was often limited and formalized. The Peloponnesian War became a total war. This meant it involved the destruction of entire cities and vast amounts of countryside. The economic costs were devastating. Poverty became widespread across the Peloponnese. Athens lost its pre-war prosperity and was reduced to a state of subjection. The conflict between Athenian democracy and Spartan oligarchy made war a common occurrence in Greece for years to come.