The Peloponnesian War:

An Encounter Between the Main Powers of the Greek World and the Exchanges

Seen Throughout History

Haley Cveykus

Senior Division

Historical Paper

2,414 Words

“History repeats itself, but in such cunning disguise that we never detect the

resemblance until the damage is done”- Sydney J. Harris

We know, today, that ancient Greece was a flourishing country with deep

influences in the arts, architecture, and religion. However, their bloody past is

something hidden in the shadows yet always there: lurking. In 490 BC we start to

see those shadows come to light. The Greek city states fought the Persian War in

490 BC. During the war they formed two different leagues, or alliances, to aid

them in their battles. One was the Delian league with city states allied around

Athens while the other was the Peloponnesian league with city states allied around

Sparta (Cartwright). The Greeks followed the rule: an enemy of my enemy is my

friend; therefore, city states who may have previously been at odds with each other

worked together to fight the Persians.

After defeating Persia in 479 BC Greece returned to their individualized city

states, or so they were supposed to. In reality, the Persian War changed the

relationship of the city states beyond recognition. Before long tensions were

starting to rise and a new war started to occur; this was the Peloponnesian War

between Athens and Sparta. The Peloponnesian War had countless parallels to

exchanges and encounters all throughout history whether they have to do with the

causes, consequences, or anything in between.

We can see comparisons immediately within the causes. When it came to

ancient Greece, "The obvious reason for the Spartans' willingness to get involved

is that, as Thucydides [a historian who fought in the war] says, they feared the

growing power of Athens" (De Souza). Sparta and Athens were the two major

powers in the Greek world at the time. "After heroic roles in the defeat of the

Persians (480-479 B.C.), for the next half-century Athens and Sparta assumed

preeminence among the city-states, and their rivalry slowly led to the long-

expected showdown" (Peloponnesian War).

A prime example of this ancient fear can be seen in modern times during the

Cold War. America had used their strong military presence during World War Two

to promote the creation of an atom bomb. At Hiroshima they used it as a means to

bring a faster end to the war and also to show their power. Meanwhile, other

countries started to worry that they would appear weak against the powerhouse

America had established itself as. Russia was the first to counter America’s deadly

invention. They created new technologies and shortly found themselves enveloped

in a Cold War all because of the fear and image of power. In the cases of both

encounters, those in both ancient Greece and America and Russia, no words were

originally exchanged nor battles raged; yet unease rested in the citizen’s hearts.

How they handled each separate situation was what ultimately changed their

outcome.

In 431 BC, war broke out between Athens and Sparta. For years battles

ensued. Under General Pericles, thousands of rural Athenians were trapped inside

the city walls for their own protection because of the war. While the Athenians

were cooped together, a plague rolled through which decimated two thirds of the

population. “The poor were living in shacks, and small rooms with no protection

and little food” (Peloponnesian War). A strategic military decision went from

saving people’s lives to ensuring their decimation. Even the great general Pericles

was killed by the plague. “The Spartans’ best ally was the unforeseen outbreak of

plague…” (Peloponnesian War).

Many encounters have been aided by the deadly hand of disease; sometimes

it comes silently, sometimes it screams, but it never misses a chance to ravage a

society. All the way back to the Mongols, disease has been a vital ally. Mongols

were violent but effective when it came to their military. A gruesome recollection

of battle involved them catapulting dead bodies into enemy lines to spread fear and

disease. Over time the uses and existence of disease during exchanges and

encounters has changed but disease will never cease to exist; from the first

encounter to the last it will be prevalent.

Disease was important; however, it was not the only reason the war ended in

Sparta’s favor. It took long years of fighting. Toward the end, Sparta defeated

Athens at sea, a feat none had expected. Athens finally had to endure looking in the

face of their longtime ally: defeat. The end of the war led to several consequences

for the Greek city states. The consequences of this encounter encompassed all of

Greece. The most prominent, even in today’s society, has to do with the changing

roles of women.

Many men were lost in the war and with that loss came the loss of

population and lack of income coming into a household. Women had to start

working outside of their homes because of their population losses and impending

poverty. “The orator Demosthenes, writing in the middle of the fourth century,

complained that they [women] now worked as nurses, wool-workers, and grape-

pickers on account of the city’s penury” (Scott). In both Athens and Sparta,

women’s roles changed and influence grew. “In Athens they appear center stage in

comic discussions of sexual and political equality and in the law courts on issues

relating to citizenship. In Sparta, women emerge as landowners and are portrayed

in training for motherhood and athletics” (Scott).

Not only were women becoming known in the workforce but also, in certain

instances, in positions of power. A specific example of this is a play called Women

of the Assembly. It was written after the war by the playwright Aristotle. The play

showing a situation where women were the ones who had a voice for their city.

Women were receiving more recognition even in death than they ever had before

in life. Their gravestones were neatly engraved and elaborately decorated. Ideas of

how women should be and act were vastly changing. There is one Greek story of a

women whose sons went off to war. A messenger came to her one day, and she

received the news that her sons were killed. She told him not to tell her of them,

but rather tell her if they had won the war instead. Before these words would have

been unheard of coming from a woman’s mouth.

Today we have certain ailments plaguing our culture when it comes to the

roles of women. One issue is representation in our government. Of our 43 different

presidents sworn into office not one of them has been a woman. So, although we

have made leaps and bounds in the name of women’s rights there is still much to

be done and much that is changing. Political power is only one issue, one we can

see has been happening since the times of the ancient Greeks.

A big issue at the Supreme Court level is abortion. People may wonder how

abortion can relate to ancient civilizations and although it doesn’t seem to relate

the principle does. In the Greek story of the mother told of her sons deaths it shows

a belief in something other than self-destruction for the sake of a child. It gives

historians an idea of them fighting for something more. Back then they fought for

their country and held those beliefs above all others. Today, we turn inward to

invest in ourselves. When it comes to abortion a mother could be fighting for her

quality of life or even her life in general, if having a baby could harm her.

Another parallel which relates to modern encounters was the minimized

power of Athens. They no longer were an imperial power. The perimeters set by

Sparta after Athens’s surrender demanded they had to give up all but 12 warships,

dismantle their long walls and fortifications, and become an ally of Sparta.

Everything they had built was diminished, and they had to begin slowly building

their power up again. Not only did they have to deal with their diminished navy,

but they had to start over again to gain new allies and work on digging themselves

out of the rut they fell in. Some cities believed the rules set by Sparta were not

harsh enough for the damages they had caused. "Corinth and Thebes led a group of

cities that wanted to see Athens destroyed, the men of military age executed and

everyone else sold into slavery, but the Spartans refused to impose such draconian

terms (officially because of the important services Athens had performed for

Greece, but probably because they didn't want to see either Corinth or Thebes step

into a power vacuum in Attica)" (The Great Peloponnesian War).

Sparta seemed to try to restore Greece to its former glory and kept up a

pretense of equality; meanwhile, they started trying to implement themselves into

the vacuum of power left by Athens's defeat. “Sparta’s attempt to gain control of at

least part of the old Athenian empire failed” (The Great Peloponnesian War). They

had little success since even though there was a power vacuum caused by the

defeat of Athens, Sparta was not the one to fill it. Sparta simply was too greedy.

In our past, especially our world wars, we see the effects of power vacuums and

greedy governments. Stalin and Hitler were two of the most oppressive dictators

who rose because of power vacuums. After World War One Germany experienced

extreme hardships and Hitler was the one to bring them out of it. To the people of

Germany, he was a savior. He filled the position Germany needed to fill but it led

to his greedy and oppressive rule. With Stalin, he rose amid the chaos after the

Czar fell. He also filled a position the people needed filled. He promised a stable

economy to the people while imposing his supreme rule, easily done behind the

sheet he settled over the citizen’s eyes.

Quite possibly the biggest consequence when we look at the Peloponnesian

War, was the endless series of wars Greece seemed to be trapped by. “Sparta, after

experiencing trouble with kings away from home, lost interest in continuing

warfare against Persia, and so Athens with its large navy took over the continuing

war against Persia- and that resulted in the growth of Athens’ power through the

Delian league, to the point at which Sparta felt threatened by it, and so to the

Peloponnesian war” (Rhodes). Indirectly, the Peloponnesian war was caused by

the growing power of Athens and Sparta’s distrust after the Persian War. Now we

see Sparta’s power growing after the Peloponnesian War in much the same way as

Athens had been before.

It’s not a far stretch to equate these endless battles to our own battles against

terrorism. We never could have known what would happen when we sent our

troops to Saudi Arabia and supported Israel. What came of our support of those

countries was a seemingly endless series of terrorism against our country. First,

came Al-Qaeda. They declared a holy war against us because of our alliances and

claimed we were committing atrocities against Muslims. We felt their rage on

September 11th and the day will never leave our memories. But it we thought 2001

would be the end of it we were horribly mistaken. After Al-Qaeda we declared war

on terrorism and continued sending troops to Iraq. This only added to radicalist’s

convictions. Recently a new group has rose named I.S.I.S. Their nature is terror,

same as Al-Qaeda before them. The Greeks never knew what would have

transpired after fighting the Persians. In our case, neither did we.

America is often compared to Athens in ways both good and bad. The list of

comparisons is vast. Athens was a center of excitement and culture. They were an

imperial power deeply rooted in democracy. “Thomas Paine long ago spelled this

natural affinity out: “What Athens was in miniature, America will be in

magnitude” ’ (Hanson 8). The recent American attitude of imposing democracy on

other countries is thought of to be an Athenian mood. “Like ancient Athenians,

present-day Americans are often said to believe that “they can be opposed in

nothing,” and abroad can “equally achieve what was easy and what was hard” ’

(Hanson 8).

Athens's defeat was an immensely important moment in history we cannot

overlook. When it comes to history repeating itself it is a prime example. At the

time Athens was defeated their long walls surrounding their city were torn down.

They weren’t torn down to sadness and tears but to laughter and music. The people

of Greece were happy Athens had been defeated. This is a cunning disguise in

history we have to make sure doesn’t repeat itself.

Not only was the war one of power but also of position. It was a war of the

ideologies and ideals, factors carried into the modern world. Athens was a

democracy while Sparta was an oligarchy. Among historians there is conflict over

which city state was freer despite the ideals their government was founded on. Yet

the amount of freedom the city states had wasn’t in question as much as their ideals

behind their governments were. It was a democracy against an oligarchy; the ideals

of freedom against others of trust and solidarity.

In America we see the same situation arising. A prominent example would

be the democracy of America against the communistic governments of the world.

We tried to enact change in these governments and spread our democracy. It can be

argued that different ideals are the basis of all conflicts. Topics in anything from

discrimination to wars can be related back to these ideals and traditions. None of

those have changed despite the fact that over two thousand years have gone past.

History is a time loop. It’s clear to see conflicts happening again and again

not only in ancient societies but our own societies today. Peace seems, now and

back then, to simply be nothing more than a utopian concept. In many ways the

Peloponnesian War can be compared to encounters and exchanges we have in

modern times and many historians mention looking toward the war when analyzing

modern wars. When we analyze exchanges and encounters from ancient times all

the way to today, we have to question if we have been truly learning anything from

our history, or if we have simply passed it off as nothing more than useless facts.

Then we have to ask ourselves, if we have been neglecting history, are we prepared

for the consequences.

Map of the Allies in the Peloponnesian War

Bibliography

Primary Sources

Aristophanes. Aristophanes Comedies. New York: Privately Printed for Rarity,

1931. Print.

The comedies gave a unique perspective on life for the Greeks after the war. It

helped me realize the changes that had gone on in Greece after the war and

specifically helped define the roles of women after the war.

"The Avalon Project : The Atlantic Conference." The Avalon Project : The Atlantic

Conference. Yale Law School, n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

This website contained primary sources pertaining to World War Two. It was

influential in learning about the war and determining how to compare it to conflicts

in Greece.

Herodotus, Robin Waterfield, and Carolyn Dewald. The Histories. Oxford: Oxford

UP, 1998. Print.

The Histories were stories which seemed to encompass most of Greece’s history.

They helped me understand the context of the time so I could better understand the

war.

"The Internet Classics Archive | The History of the Peloponnesian War by

Thucydides." The Internet Classics Archive | The History of the

Peloponnesian War by Thucydides. Trans. Richard Crawley. N.p., n.d. Web.

20 Jan. 2016.

These were the complete works of Thucydides compiled onto one webpage.

Reading through them helped me gain the perspective of someone who was

actually involved in the war.

"President Kennedys European Trip 1961." President Kennedy's Trip to Europe,

May 30-June 5, 1961. Comcast Video Productions & Services, n.d. Web. 06

Apr. 2016.

This primary source helped understand the context of the Cold War and the people

involved in it. Once I understood more about the war it was easily comparable to

Greece.

"Rosie the Riveter." Rosie the Riveter. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

This primary source was a picture of Rosie. It pertains to women’s rights and

propaganda during the second world war, which also helped me find comparisons.

Thucydides, Rex Warner, and M. I. Finley. History of the Peloponnesian War.

Harmondsworth, Eng.: Penguin, 1972. Print.

Thucydides’ book compressed much of the Peloponnesian War down into a few

hundred pages. It told of events that happened through the war and gave me a

primary perspective to better understand the war.

Xenophon, and G. M. Edwards. The Hellenica. Books I and II. Cambridge:

U, 1958. Print.

Xenophon’s Hellenica took off where Thucydides’ history stopped. The Hellenica

tells of the history of Greece from 411 after. It helped me understand even more

about Greece and the war from another time and perspective.

Secondary Sources

"Al-Qaeda." Wikipedia. Wikipedia, n.d. Web. 6 Apr. 2016.

This website was very helpful when it came to determining similarities between

ancient Greece and modern consequences.

"Ancient History." The Peloponnesian War. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.

This source told me the basics of the Peloponnesian War. It helped me to create the

proper timeline for my paper.

Cartwright, Mark. "Peloponnesian War." Ancient History Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d.

Web. 20 Jan. 2016.

This source showed in depth examples from both sides of the war. It helped me

determine the reasons for the war and what each side was like.

"The Cold War." - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. N.p., n.d.

Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

This source and helped me understand more about the Cold War. The more I

learned about the Cold War the more I saw parallels between it and the

Peloponnesian War.

Dickens, G. "The True Cause of the Peloponnesian War." The Classical Quarterly.

Cambridge University Press, Feb. 2009. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.

This source was an essay written on the real causes for the war. It helped me

determine which causes were most influential.

Gard, Carolyn. "The Peloponnesian War." Ebsco Host. N.p., n.d. Web.

This source helped me understand the thirty years’ truce and other events that

happened during the war. It was a brief history of the war by an unbiased historian

years later.

Hanson, Victor Davis. A War like No Other: How the Athenians and Spartans

Fought the Peloponnesian War. New York: Random House, 2005. Print.

A War Like No Other was a very informative guide on the Peloponnesian War and

some of their weapons and tactics. It was helpful in understanding the way the

ancient Greeks fought. In addition to this, it brought to light numerous important

comparisons.

Kagan, Donald. The Fall of the Athenian Empire: Donald Kagan. Ithaca, NY:

Cornell U., 1987. Print.

The Fall of the Athenian Empire was an informative source which delved into

every area of the war. It helped me by giving me even more knowledge on the

topic and everything surrounding it.

Knox, E.L. Skip. "Results of the Peloponnesian War." Boise State University, n.d.

Web.

The results of the war were the most influential changes to come out of the

Peloponnesian war. For the Greek city states everything had changed and this

source helped me get a better understanding of those changes.

Lendering, Jona. "Peloponnesian War." Peloponnesian War. N.p., n.d. Web. 24

Jan. 2016.

Jona Lendering’s entry on her analyzation of the Peloponnesian War gave me

another modern perspective of the war. It was very influential in helping me get a

better understanding of all the events and how to connect them to today.

"Map of the Peloponnesian War." Map of the Peloponnesian War. Trans. Ken

Mayer. Wikipedia, n.d. Web.

This map was the key to helping me understand the allies for each side of the war.

It shows what areas were allies with Sparta and which were with Athens and

names the important cities.

McBride, Alex. "Roe V. Wade." PBS. PBS, Dec. 2006. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

Roe V. Wade was a monumental case when referring to women’s rights. I used this

case to compare it to changes in the roles of women from ancient Greece.

"Partners in Winning the War: American Women in World War II." Partners in

Winning the War: American Women in World War II. National Women's

History Museum, 2007. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

This was another source defining women’s rights. It was another source I used to

compare the changing roles of women in ancient Greece to today.

"Peloponnesian War | Ancient Greek History." Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.

Encyclopedia Britannica has an extensive amount of material and their information

on the Peloponnesian War was very extensive. This aided me when it came to

collecting notecards and information on the war in general.

"Peloponnesian War." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 20 Jan.

2016.

This source published by A&E was extremely informative. It had articles and

videos on the Peloponnesian War which helped me better understand both the

historical context and war in general.

"The Peloponnesian War." Message to P. J. Rhodes. N.d. E-mail.

Rhodes is a professor of ancient history and was very well versed in ancient

Greece. He answered my questions involving many of the consequences of the

war. He helped me get a better understanding of the consequences.

"The Peloponnesian War." Message to Philip De Souza. N.d. E-mail.

Philip De Souza is a professor in ancient Greece from Dublin. He helped me by

answering my questions on the specifics of the war and helped explain things I

didn’t quite understand.

"The Peloponnesian War." Message to Tim Howe. N.d. E-mail.

Howe is a professor of ancient history from Minnesota. He helped me by

answering my questions about Potidaea and the specifics of their rebellion.

"Peloponnesian War." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.

Wikipedia gives a brief history of the entire Peloponnesian War. It helped give me

a broader perspective of the topic.

"Reasons for the Peloponnesian War." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.

PBS does a very good job of explaining in detail some of the major causes for the

Peloponnesian War. It helped me understand, more in depth, the causes for the

war.

Royde-Smith, John Graham. "World War II." Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Feb. 2016. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

This source from Britannica was influential when learning about World War Two.

I learned more about the war and was able to better relate it to ancient Greece.

Scott, Michael. "The Rise of Women in Ancient Greece." Ebsco Host, Nov. 2009.

Web.

Michael Scott’s analyses on the roles of women after the Peloponnesian War

helped immensely. It had numerous examples of how their roles changed and

helped me understand more about the roles women posed in ancient times.

"Second or Great Peloponnesian War, 431-404 BC." Second or Great

Peloponnesian War, 431-404 BC. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.

The Second or Great Peloponnesian War was a great source when it came to

explaining the war. It helped me understand that the war happened in stages and

ultimately changed the way wars in Greece were fought.

"Syria Iraq: The Islamic State Militant Group - BBC News." BBC News. N.p., n.d.

Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

This source helped me determine similarities between ancient and modern conflicts

and the endless series of wars Greece and America both seem to be trapped by.

"War and Democracy: A Comparative Study of the Korean War and the

Peloponnesian War." (Book, 2001) [WorldCat.org]. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan.

2016.

War and Democracy compared the modern wars to the Peloponnesian War. This

helped me create a better understanding of the war and connect it to modern

events.

"WOMEN IN WWII AT A GLANCE:." Women in WWII at a Glance. The

National WWII Museum, n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

Women in WWII was an interesting source when looking at more women’s rights

issues. The more I learned about modern issues the more I learned I could relate

them to ancient issues.