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Ancient Greece - The Peloponnesian War

Ancient Greece - The Peloponnesian War: Encyclopedia II - Ancient Greece - The Peloponnesian War

In 431 BC war broke out again between Athens and Sparta and its allies. The immediate cause was a dispute between Corinth and one of its colonies, Corcyra (modern-day Corfu), in which Athens intervened. The obviate cause was the growing resentment of Sparta and its allies at the dominance of Athens over Greek affairs. The war lasted 27 years, partly because Athens (a naval power) and Sparta (a land-based military power) found it difficult to come to grips with each other. Sparta's initial strategy was to invade Attica, but the Athenia ...

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Ancient Greece, Ancient Greece - Origins, Ancient Greece - The rise of Hellas, Ancient Greece - Social and political conflict, Ancient Greece - The Persian Wars, Ancient Greece - The dominance of Athens, Ancient Greece - The Peloponnesian War, Ancient Greece - Spartan and Theban dominance, Ancient Greece - The rise of Macedon, Ancient Greece - The conquests of Alexander, Ancient Greece - Society, Ancient Greece - Social Structure, Ancient Greece - Way of Life, Ancient Greece - Education

Ancient Greece, Ancient Greece - Education, Ancient Greece - Origins, Ancient Greece - Social Structure, Ancient Greece - Social and political conflict, Ancient Greece - Society, Ancient Greece - Spartan and Theban dominance, Ancient Greece - The Peloponnesian War, Ancient Greece - The Persian Wars, Ancient Greece - The conquests of Alexander, Ancient Greece - The dominance of Athens, Ancient Greece - The rise of Hellas, Ancient Greece - The rise of Macedon, Ancient Greece - Way of Life, Ancient Olympic Games, Architecture of Ancient Greece, Art in Ancient Greece, Eleusinian Mysteries, Fiction set in Ancient Greece, Greek literature, Greek mathematics, Greek mythology, Greek philosophy, Greek theatre, History of Athens, History of the Greek language, List of ancient Greeks, List of ancient Greek cities, Timeline of Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece: Encyclopedia II - Ancient Greece - The Peloponnesian War

Ancient Greece - The Peloponnesian War

Main articles: Peloponnesian War, and [[]], and [[]], and [[]], and [[]]

In 431 BC war broke out again between Athens and Sparta and its allies. The immediate cause was a dispute between Corinth and one of its colonies, Corcyra (modern-day Corfu), in which Athens intervened. The obviate cause was the growing resentment of Sparta and its allies at the dominance of Athens over Greek affairs. The war lasted 27 years, partly because Athens (a naval power) and Sparta (a land-based military power) found it difficult to come to grips with each other.

Sparta's initial strategy was to invade Attica, but the Athenians were able to retreat behind their walls. An outbreak of plague in the city during the siege caused heavy losses, including Pericles. At the same time the Athenian fleet landed troops in the Peloponnese, winning battles at Naupactus (429 BC) and Pylos (425 BC). But these tactics could bring neither side a decisive victory. After several years of inconclusive campaigning, the moderate Athenian leader Nicias concluded the Peace of Nicias (421 BC).

In 418 BC, however, hostility between Sparta and the Athenian ally Argos led to a resumption of fighting. At Mantinea Sparta defeated the combined armies of Athens and her allies. The resumption of fighting brought the war party, led by Alcibiades, back to power in Athens. In 415 BC Alcibiades persuaded the Athenian Assembly to launch a major expedition against Syracuse, a Peloponnesian ally in Sicily. Though Nicias was a skeptic about the Sicilian Expedition he was appointed along Alcibiades to lead the expedition. Due to accusations against him, Alcibiades fled to Sparta where he persuaded Sparta to send aid to Syracuse. As a result, the expedition was a complete disaster and the whole expeditionary force was lost. Nicias was executed by his captors.

Sparta had now built a fleet to challenge Athenian naval supremacy, and had found a brilliant military leader in Lysander, who seized the strategic initiative by occupying the Hellespont, the source of Athens' grain imports. Threatened with starvation, Athens sent its last remaining fleet to confront Lysander, who decisively defeated them at Aegospotami (405 BC). The loss of her fleet threatened Athens with bankruptcy. In 404 BC Athens sued for peace, and Sparta dictated a predictably stern settlement: Athens lost her city walls, her fleet, and all of her overseas possessions. The anti-democratic party took power in Athens with Spartan support.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article "The Peloponnesian War", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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