Peloponnesian War Research Paper

The Peloponnesian War took place between the Athenian empire and Peloponnesian league: Thebes, Corinth and Sparta. The war commenced in April 431 B.C. when the Thebans launched a surprise attack on Plataea, a partner of Athens. The main reason for the start of the war was the Spartans fear of Athens' growing power. After Athens became leader of the Delian League, they became the Athenian Empire. Both Sparta and Athens were unusually powerful; Greek states that could afford to ignore the old rules of infantry warfare. Supported by Helots, the Spartans fielded a professional, year-round infantry. They nearly drove out the Persians and occupied a large number of territories. Athens naval power was also growing.
During the Persian war, Athens …show more content…
The Spartans and their allies decided not to intervene. The revolt was crushed. After Athens made an alliance with Corcyra, Rhegium and Leontini, the naval power became indestructible. Corcyra was Corinth's enemy, so this led to an endangered food supply to the Peloponnesian city. Corinth encouraged Sparta to take up arms and was backed by Megara and Aegea, which had been forced into an Athenian alliance. Strict trade regulations were also an issue. The sanctions forbade Megara from having any economic transactions with Athens and became a major contributing factor in the war. Thucydides groups the various wars together in the same way World War I and World War II are grouped together, the first war created a chain of events leading to the nest, which continued until the ultimate end. Nearly constant fighting left Athens bankrupt and demoralized, and Sparta and its allies were in no position to maintain an even harsher military hegemony over Greece. In the detritus of the Peloponnesian War, the fighting of the old ways ended. War had expanded into new environments and new, more costly strategies meant less protocol and control; war became a free-for-all, and much like the strategies and technologies of the World wars, the Peloponnesian war is a connection of ever-advancing systems that changed the way of life and relations of

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Peloponnesian Wars Research Paper