Essay on Peloponnesian War. Words11 Pages. Dating back to B.C., Sparta and Athens always had an alliance, but as time grew that balance slowly began to fall as one felt threatened by another. Before any sight of unsteadiness the Spartans and Athenians had a bound partnership. Beginning after their domination of the Persian war, the two states slowly became aware of one Peloponnesian War Essay The Peloponnesian War was a Greek conflict fought by the Peloponnesian League, led by Sparta, and the Athenian Empire. The war lasted 27 years, from to b.c.e., with a six-year truce in the middle, and ended with an Athenian blogger.comted Reading Time: 7 mins The Athenian assembly gathered in BC to hear in the Spartan ultimatum to withdraw the Megara Decree or face war with the Peloponnesian League. At the head of the Athenian government was Pericles a noted general (strategoi) and statesman. Under Pericles leadership Athens transformed the Delian league into a tool for Athenian imperialism
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The Peloponnesian war is still widely studied in the history of Western Civilization. It was the second war that lasted between BC and BC. Athens and her empires Spartans engaged each other fiercely in the war. The main catalyst of the war was intense conflict that had dominated Athens and Sparta.
The very conflict was also evident during the earlier wars in Persia McKay et al. The genesis and progress of the war was heavily documented by Thucydides. He attributed the rising Athens imperialism power as the major cause of the war, peloponnesian war essay.
One of the devastating impacts of the war was witnessed in Athens. The latter dismantled its empire, a move that divided the entire Greek state. The division left Greece powerless to prevent Persian Empire from reclaiming their Asian possessions Encyclopedia Britannica a par. Nonetheless, the works of an Athenian historian named Thucydides provides a lot of information on Peloponnesian war.
Modern scholars have tried to make several interpretations to the war by critical reading of Thucydides account Bagnall According to McKay et al. Thucydides, peloponnesian war essay, an Athenian General, wrote an account of the Peloponnesian War. However, some historians doubt if he ever took part in the war since some of his documented works are surprisingly vivid and coherent to qualify for a third-person narration Encyclopædia Britannica b par.
According to Bagnallpeloponnesian war essay, the major cause of the war as accounted by Thucydides was the indiscriminate expansion of Athenian power. The increased power, presence and authority of Athenian were by far and large, linked to economic dynamism and Periclean Imperialism.
Moreover, the increase in Athenian power instilled fear on Sparta, peloponnesian war essay. The latter retaliated by developing a grudge that would eventually lead to war Encyclopædia Britannica a par.
Besides, peloponnesian war essay, the Spartans had always enjoyed great power and since Athenians had overshadowed their presence in Peloponnesus, retaliation was the best way to go in order to resume the powerful position.
According to McKay et alpeloponnesian war essay, the above explanation could be equated to Greek Culture at that time which viewed life as a perpetual struggle among human beings to gain advantage. According to Thucydides, Sparta army had no reason to fear Athenian rise to power since their army was larger and well equipped, peloponnesian war essay.
At the beginning of the war, the Spartan army was estimated at cavalry and 30, hoplites as compared to Athens who had only cavalry and 13, hoplites Bagnall However, Athenian navy was stronger than Spartan although the interest of Spartans in the sea was limited. Their only passion was in Peloponnesus. As such, they had no reason to fear. According to Bagnallthe fear could be linked to Corinth, the Spartan leader who feared Peloponnesian war essay imperialism in contrast to fearing the size of the army, peloponnesian war essay.
Imperialism had set a ground for Athens to compete on an equal basis with Sparta for Aegean and western colonies. Investigation over the reliability of Thucydides account of the war has always interested some scholars who peloponnesian war essay him as a partisan of Athens and that his account could mislead the audience altogether.
According to Encyclopædia Britannica a, par. In addition, other scholars have viewed the reason to be too simplistic to cause such an overwhelming war. Wars have always been associated peloponnesian war essay differing political and ideological beliefs between two opposing sides, but Thucydides account lack any explanation on the above factors Encyclopedia Britannica b par.
Bagnall suggests that Thucydides may have been embroiled in a conflict that would have arisen between the supporters of democracy and oligarchy. He refutes Thucydides as a reliable source of the event leading to the Peloponnesian war for it ignores the main ingredients that fuel any war Encyclopedia Britannica b par. Thucydides peloponnesian war essay the events of the year period before the war to arrive at his ideology of what would have sparked the war Encyclopedia Britannica b par.
Bagnall refutes Thucydides explanation since the historical events before the war were peloponnesian war essay enough to justify the war, peloponnesian war essay. He perceives Thucydides account as an escape strategy since he could not personally understand why the war broke out. Thucydides account shows that Pericles had prepared for the war by assessing the strengths and weaknesses of Athenian army long before the Peloponnesian league McKay et al.
As a strategy to gain advantage over Athenians, Pericles had built a wall between Piraeus and Athens. In addition, he increased his reserve find with over 6, talents.
He adds that Thucydides could have accounted Pericles imperial ambition as another reason the colonies went to war. McKay et al. The conflicts that existed between Athenians and the Peloponnesian league are myriad, peloponnesian war essay. Hence, it is not possible to pin point a particular incident as the major cause of the war.
He advocates that the causes of this war should be viewed as a complex string of related factors such as conflict between democracy and oligarchy. Historians classify the war into three parts namely the Archidamian war BCthe peace of Nicias and the Sicilian Expedition BC and the Ionian war BC. The Archidamian period war that spanned for ten years was named after a Spartan king, Archidamus. The honor was for his contribution to the cautious policy that the Spartans employed during the start of the war.
It was also due to the fact that he had directly opposed going to war with Athens Encyclopædia Britannica b par. The Archidamian stage saw each of the two opposing sides come up with strategies aimed at achieving victory in the war that each side hoped would be short Bagnall The hoplites would have guaranteed Spartans victory if Athens attacked while a reserve Peloponnesian army would guarantee attack Athens in Attica if they decided to hide behind the walls of Attica Bagnall Spartans chose peloponnesian war essay above strategy as it has brought them victory in all the previous battles against their enemies.
However, the Athens proved to be experienced in war a thing which made the war to prolong than each of the sides had anticipated, peloponnesian war essay. Athens peloponnesian war essay a big empire and held a supreme position at sea a situation that put them at an advantage, and thus could not be forced to surrender, peloponnesian war essay. The position also made them not to fall onto Spartans trick to fight back when their territories peloponnesian war essay invaded.
The sea ensured they had a constant supply of grains and other commodities even if Attica was ravaged Bagnall Pericles, on the other hand, peloponnesian war essay, exploited Athens strategic position and planned to gather his army inside Athens and deserted Attica to the enemy Encyclopedia Britannica a par. His strategy was to lure the Peloponnesian army before the walls of Athens, and then attack their coastline at ease.
Athens was at an advantage since peloponnesian war essay Peloponnesians could not carry on for long as they had to return home to harvest so they can refill their supplies Bagnall During the first year, peloponnesian war essay strategies of the two sides seemed to be working since they proceed according to plan. Archidamus army invaded Attica but Athens remained adamant to attack Bagnall Spartan had invaded Attica in the hope that Athens hoplites would offer resistance of which they would attack fiercely and the plan was to end the war as soon as possible.
Since no amount of provocation would make the Athenians hoplites to fight back, peloponnesian war essay, Peloponnesian had to retire and disperse after several weeks. When they finally withdrawn, Athenians took the opportunity to equip a fleet of ships and they raided Peloponnese. In addition, Pericles got his army out of Attica, and they raided Megarid as peloponnesian war essay revenge of Attica invasion Encyclopædia Britannica b par, peloponnesian war essay. According to Bagnall their strategies of relying on attrition to win the war was what made it difficult to predict and measure how long the war would last, and if it would end in the first place.
The following summer saw the Spartans adapt a direct attack strategy. Led by their King Archidamus they invaded Attica and destroyed most of it McKay et al.
The Athenians reacted to the attacks by attacking the Spartan navy, but their strategy was proving to be too expensive. In addition, the Athenians got a blow when their leader Pericles died from a plague that claimed more a third of Athenian citizens McKay et al. The Spartans took the weakening advantage of Athenians, and attacked Plataea of which they managed to subside by BC.
The success victory to seize Plataea made the Spartans think they were winning the war, and a wrap peloponnesian war essay they invaded Attica again. However, their calculation was wrong, and Athenians suppressed the Lesbos revolt in McKay et al. They also embarked on a more aggressive attack where they invaded western Greece also managed to gain possession if Minoa island and in turn reclaimed a strategic peloponnesian war essay to the port of Megara. Under the leadership, of general Nicias Athenians succeeded to seize Isle of Melos, countryside of Tanagra and Locris, also tried to attack Westside of Greece to not avail Bagnall As the war progressed, Athenians were receiving more courage to peloponnesian war essay more daring attacks.
The regained confidence drove them to invade the island of Sphacteria, and they captured Spartan soldiers.
They also adapted another strategy in an attempt to damage Spartan economy, where they built a fortress at Pylos from where they used to receive runaway slaves and helots Encyclopedia Britannica b par. The war continued as each side tried to outdo the other and each attack led to disasters after another. It came a time when both sides saw the need for a peace treaty as no one was ready for surrender Bagnall The peace treaty was called the peace of Nicias.
Athens had survived the Archidamian war and this did not settle well with Spartans who always viewed themselves as superpower. Another war was not far from being fought as Spartans would take any available opportunity to show their mighty. Like any other conflict, the Peloponnesian war claimed lives, destroyed fortunes and eroded patience of both the Spartans and Athenians McKay et al. The harsh situation forced them to look for a chance to make peace agreements.
The period is named after Nicias, the leader of Athenian as he was in charge of negotiating for truce Bagnall After negotiations, a thirty years period was agreed on. The war was not to be ended but a call for a cease fire was initiated, peloponnesian war essay. However, this was never the case since violence erupted yet again.
The period lasted for seven years only that was full of skirmishes Encyclopedia Britannica a par. During the peace period, Athenian was able to recruit many citizens into the navy and when they eventually found a leader another war was could not be prevented, peloponnesian war essay.
Initially, Athens exploited the strategy of defense, but with Alcibiades on board Athenians could now figure out how to defeat Spartans Bagnall The Athenians under the leadership of Alcibiades planned for the Sicilian expedition amidst strong opposition from Nicias because he did not trust his nephew.
However, all his strategies to persuade the citizens to refuse the expedition fell on deaf years as Alcibiades who was a good speaker convinced the citizens to support the cause Encyclopedia Britannica b par.
As days progressed, peloponnesian war essay. there was nothing to stop the expedition and as a tradition Alcibiades and Nicias were elected the commanders peloponnesian war essay Athenian army, peloponnesian war essay, and another commander Lamachus to be the mediator incase of any differences between the two.
The Athenian peloponnesian war essay that was sent to Sicily was very large almost exhausted their treasury McKay et al. The expedition was doomed to fail from the onset since having been accused of a crime in the eve of the expedition; Alcibiades was arrested along the way. When he was being taken back to Athens for charges, he managed to escape in the sea and later joined the Spartans side where he gave them all the secrets of the expeditions Bagnall
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Peloponnesian War Essay The Peloponnesian War was a Greek conflict fought by the Peloponnesian League, led by Sparta, and the Athenian Empire. The war lasted 27 years, from to b.c.e., with a six-year truce in the middle, and ended with an Athenian blogger.comted Reading Time: 7 mins Essay about The Peloponnesian War. Words10 Pages. Throughout the Ancient Greek world, there have been many wars and standoffs. However, there has been only one which changed the course of Greek history forever; the Peloponnesian War. Caused by the growing tension between Athens and Sparta, it came and left, leaving only destruction in its wake Mar 28, · The Peloponnesian War Essay Introduction The History of the Peloponnesian War is a detailed account chronicling the conflict between two rival states, Athens and Sparta. Tension between the clashing states began in B.C., which led to an ancient war between Athens and Sparta, ending with the defeat of Athens 27 years later
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