Table of Contents
History of Peloponnesian War
The History of the Peloponnesian War is a historical account of the Peloponnesian War (431404 BC), which was fought between the Peloponnesian League (led by Sparta) and the Delian League (led by Athens). It was written by Thucydides, an Athenian historian who also served as an Athenian general during the war.
What is the history of the Peloponnesian War and why is it important?
The two most powerful city-states in ancient Greece, Athens and Sparta, went to war with each other from 431 to 405 B.C. The Peloponnesian War marked a significant power shift in ancient Greece, favoring Sparta, and also ushered in a period of regional decline that signaled the end of what is considered the Golden Age …
Why is Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War important?
With his History of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides chronicled what was perhaps the most momentous event of the ancient Greek world. He explored the major personalities on each side of the conflict and examined the political origins of the clash between Sparta and an ascendant Athens.
What 5 reasons prompted the Peloponnesian War?
The main reasons proposed are:
- Sparta was jealous of other powers and desired more power for itself.
- Sparta was unhappy at no longer having all the military glory.
- Athen bullied its allies and neutral cities.
- There was a conflict among city-states between competing political ideologies.
What is the historical context of the Peloponnesian War?
The Peloponnesian War was a war fought in ancient Greece between Athens and Spartathe two most powerful city-states in ancient Greece at the time (431 to 405 B.C.E.). This war shifted power from Athens to Sparta, making Sparta the most powerful city-state in the region.
Who won the Persian war?
Though the outcome of battles seemed to tip in Persia’s favor (such as the famed battle at Thermopylae where a limited number of Spartans managed to wage an impressive stand against the Persians), the Greeks won the war. There are two factors that helped the Greeks defeat the Persian Empire.
Why did the Spartans fall?
This decay occurred because Sparta’s population declined, change in values, and stubborn preservation of conservatism. Sparta ultimately surrendered its position as ancient Greece’s preeminent military power.
Why did Athens lose the Peloponnesian War?
In 430 BC, an outbreak of a plague hit Athens. The plague ravaged the densely packed city, and in the long run, was a significant cause of its final defeat. The plague wiped out over 30,000 citizens, sailors and soldiers, including Pericles and his sons.
Who started the Peloponnesian War?
The reasons for this war are sometimes traced back as far as the democratic reforms of Cleisthenes, which Sparta always opposed. However, the more immediate reason for the war was Athenian control of the Delian League, the vast naval alliance that allowed it to dominate the Mediterranean Sea.
Why does Thucydides end so abruptly?
Thucydides’ narrative breaks off in the middle of the year 411 BC, and this abrupt end has traditionally been explained as due to his death while writing the book, although other explanations have been put forward.
Why did the Spartans won the Peloponnesian War?
Sparta and her allies won the Peloponnesian Wars due to the strength of the Spartan military, poor Athenian choices made in battle, and the physical state of Athens by the end of the war. Athens and Sparta were both Greek city-states that played major roles from the beginning of time.
Did the Spartans won the Peloponnesian War?
Athens was forced to surrender, and Sparta won the Peloponnesian War in 404 BC. Spartans terms were lenient. First, the democracy was replaced by on oligarchy of thirty Athenians, friendly to Sparta.
What did Sparta gain from the Peloponnesian War?
Sparta. As a result of the Peloponnesian War, Sparta, which had primarily been a continental culture, became a naval power. At its peak, Sparta overpowered many key Greek states, including the elite Athenian navy.
Why did the Persian war start?
The Persian Wars began in 499 BCE, when Greeks in the Persian-controlled territory rose in the Ionian Revolt. Athens, and other Greek cities, sent aid, but were quickly forced to back down after defeat in 494 BCE. Subsequently, the Persians suffered many defeats at the hands of the Greeks, led by the Athenians.
How many Peloponnesian Wars were there?
The Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies came in two stages: from c. 460 to 446 and from 431 to 404 BCE. With battles at home and abroad, the long and complex conflict was damaging to both sides.
How did the Persian and Peloponnesian wars affect Greece?
The Persian Wars affected the Greek city-states because they came under the leadership of Athens and were to never again invade the Persian Armies. The Peloponnesian wars affected them when it led to the decline of Athenian power and continued rivalry.
What ended the Persian War?
Who destroyed the Persian Empire?
One of history’s first true super powers, the Persian Empire stretched from the borders of India down through Egypt and up to the northern borders of Greece. But Persia’s rule as a dominant empire would finally be brought to an end by a brilliant military and political strategist, Alexander the Great.
What ended the Persian Empire?
The Battle of Issus between Alexander the Great and Darius III in 333 BC, leading to the fall of the Persian Empire.
Do Spartans still exist?
But today there is still a town called Sparta in Greece in the very same spot as the ancient city. So, in a way, Spartans still exist, although these days they tend to be a little less strict and certainly not as good at fighting with spears and shields as the ancients.
Are there any Spartans left?
So yes, the Spartans or else the Lacedeamoneans are still there and they were into isolation for the most part of their history and opened up to the world just the last 50 years.
Did Persia conquer Sparta?
The Persian forces stayed primarily on land, which made Sparta safer than other Greek cities for a period of time, because the Persians would have to take to the sea in order to conquer them.
Who defeated Sparta?
Despite their military prowess, the Spartans’ dominance was short-lived: In 371 B.C., they were defeated by Thebes at the Battle of Leuctra, and their empire went into a long period of decline.
Did Alexander conquer Sparta?
The Battle of Megalopolis was fought in 331 BC between Spartan led forces and Macedonia. Alexander’s regent Antipater led the Macedonians to victory over King Agis III.
…
…
| Battle of Megalopolis | |
|---|---|
| Macedon | Sparta |
| Commanders and leaders | |
| Antipater | Agis III |
| Strength | |
Was Athens or Sparta better?
Sparta is far superior to Athens because their army was fierce and protective, girls received some education and women had more freedom than in other poleis. First, the army of Sparta was the strongest fighting force in Greece.
When was the Persian war?
What is the difference between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars?
How did the Persian and Peloponnesian wars affect Athens? The Persian Wars affected the Greek city-states because they came under the leadership of Athens and were to never again invade the Persian Armies. The Peloponnesian wars affected them when it led to the decline of Athenian power and continued rivalry.
What were the Spartans famous for?
Sparta was one of the most powerful city-states in Ancient Greece. It is famous for its powerful army as well as its battles with the city-state of Athens during the Peloponnesian War. Sparta was located in a valley on the banks of the Eurotas River in the south-eastern portion of Greece.
Did Thucydides get the plague?
The description of the plague immediately follows on from Thucydides’ renowned account of Pericles’ Funeral Oration (it is important that Pericles died of the plague in 429 BC, whereas Thucydides caught it but survived).
What did Thucydides say was the real cause of the Peloponnesian War?
The real cause for war was the growth of Athens’s power and the fear it caused in Sparta.
Who was the rising power in the Peloponnesian War?
Based on a quote by ancient Athenian historian and military general Thucydides in his text History of the Peloponnesian War positing that “it was the rise of Athens and the fear that this instilled in Sparta that made war inevitable”, Allison used the term to describe a tendency towards war when a rising power ( …
What was one of Pericles’s goals?
C. that this period often is called the Age of Pericles. He had three goals: (1) to strengthen Athenian democracy, (2) to hold and strengthen the empire, and (3) to glorify Athens.
How did Athens fall?
That fall began in 431 B.C.E. when the 27 year long Peloponnesian War began. This long and bloody war was between the two most dominant Greek city-states, Athens and Sparta, along with each side’s allies. The war began when conflicts arose after the Greco-Persian Wars.
What is the top of the Parthenon called?
Dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena, the Parthenon sits high atop a compound of temples known as the Acropolis of Athens.
Who built an empire that stretched to India?
Why is Alexander the Great famous? Although king of ancient Macedonia for less than 13 years, Alexander the Great changed the course of history. One of the world’s greatest military generals, he created a vast empire that stretched from Macedonia to Egypt and from Greece to part of India.
How did ancient Greece fall?
A 300-year drought may have caused the demise of several Mediterranean cultures, including ancient Greece, new research suggests. A sharp drop in rainfall may have led to the collapse of several eastern Mediterranean civilizations, including ancient Greece, around 3,200 years ago.
The Peloponnesian War | World History | Khan Academy
