The Peloponnesian War

431-404 B.C.E

PERICLES LEADS ATHENS

After the Persian Wars one of Athens’ greatest leaders, Pericles, emerged. By 460 B.C., Pericles was the strongest leader in Athens. He remained the leader until his death 31 years later. He was so important that this time in Athens is often called the Age of Pericles.

Pericles had three goals for Athens. 1) STRENGTHEN DEMOCRACY: Pericles wanted to change the balance of power between

the rich and the poor. He increased the number of public officials who were paid. Now even poor citizens could hold a public office if elected. To hold office, a person sill needed to be a free, Greek male, over 18, and the son of Athenian-born parents. Direct Democracy became the practice in Athens. All citizens could participate in running the government.

2) MAKE ATHENS AN EMPIRE: To protect oversees trade, the Greek city-states formed a league for mutual protection called the Delian League. Pericles used money from the Delian League to build a strong navy. The naval fleet made up of at least 300 war ships. This fleet was the strongest in the Mediterranean. Because of the strong navy, Athens took over leadership of the Delian League. The treasury was moved to Athens and Athens’ power was strengthened. Athens began treating others in the Delian league as conquered people, not allies.

3) BEAUTIFY ATHENS: Greek city-states paid a tribute to the Delian League. The funds were supposed to help build the power of the league. Instead, Pericles used these funds to beautify Athens, which was left in ruins after the Persian Wars. He did not ask approval from other members to do this. This action made other city-states angry. Pericles spent the money to purchase gold, ivory, and marble to create sculptures and construct beautiful buildings .

THE OUTBREAK OF WARThe Peloponnesian War broke out because of 3 main reasons.

1) Some city-states feared Athens because of its grab for power and prestige.

2) Under the leadership of Pericles, Athens grew from a city-state to a naval empire.

3) Athenian settlers began to move into lands of other city-states.

The other city-states resented how Athens spent money from the Delian League, which was intended for the mutual protection of all the city-states. Several city-states wanted to break free from Athenian power. Pericles’ policy was to punish any city-state that resisted Athens.

Sparta headed a league of city-states to stand up to the power of the Delian League. This was called the Peloponnesian League. In 431 B.C., Sparta declared war on Athens.

ALLIANCES OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR

Over the course of the war major battles were fought on both land and sea. Cities revolted leading to sieges. It’s difficult to gage an accurate count of casualties throughout the war. This war did not just affect those involved in the military. All people throughout Greece were in harms way.

THE WAR RAGES

Each side in the war had advantages and disadvantages. Sparta had the better land-based military force, and its location could not be attacked by sea. Athens had the better navy and could strike Sparta’s allies by sea. These differences shaped the war strategy of each side.

Sparta’s strategy was to cut off the Athenian food supply by destroying crops. The Spartans did this by taking control of the countryside around Athens. The Spartans planned an annual invasion of Athenian lands to destroy the freshly planted crops. They were both trying to starve the people of Athens as well as antagonize the Athenian military to come out from behind the city fortifications and confront the Spartans in the open battle.

Athens’s strategy was to avoid battles on land and to rely on sea power. Pericles persuaded the Athenians to allow Spartans to destroy the countryside. The Athenian navy was able to supply the city with food from the sea as well as land troops into Spartan territory to inflict similar damage. Pericles brought people from the areas surrounding Athens inside the city-walls. The people would be safe there and Athens would be supplied with food by the sea.

With one side being a powerful land based army and the other being a dominant naval power, the war dragged on for decades with many of the battle outcomes being indecisive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeKxox_l80U&t=101sShow video from 3:30 – 6:39

DISASTER STRIKES ATHENSBecause of Pericles’ plan to bring people into Athens, the city

became badly overcrowded. In the second year of the war, an outbreak of a plague took many lives in Athens. The plague was a disease that spread easily and usually caused death. Athens lost as many as one-third of its people and armed forces. Pericles, too, died from the plague.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeKxox_l80U&t=101sShow from 6:53 – 7:31

THE SIEGE OF SYRACUSEThis two year campaign 414-413 ended with most or all of the 5,500 Athenian force being either killed or captured into slavery. It is unknown how many civilians were killed during the campaign. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXlwEiXG99A

IN 404 B.C., ATHENS SURRENDERED TO SPARTA

Athens would never again regain the power it once had.

Sparta suffered heavy losses as well. By the end of the war it’s believed that there were no more than a few thousand men of fighting age left in Sparta.

Cities and crops were destroyed. Countless thousands of Greeks died. ALL Greek city-states lost economic and military power.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeKxox_l80U&t=101s

Show video from 24:09 to the end

AFTERMATHTo the north of the

Greek city-states, King Philip II of Macedon came to power in 359 B.C. Planning to build and empire, he looked south toward the weakened Greek city-states.

THE KINGDOM OF MACEDONIAMacedonia was now the new power of Greece. King Philip II

had plans to build an empire that included the lands of Greece and Persia.

As a teenager, Philip had been a hostage in the Greek city of Thebes. There he observed its army and its military tactics. Philip learned of the advantages of a professional army. Philip organized a well-trained professional army. He devised new battle formations and tactics. He experimented with the combined use of cavalry and infantry. He supplied his soldiers with new weapons, like the catapult. His soldiers also used battering rams to smash through closed gates.

PHILIP CONQUERS GREECEPhilip II focused on the Greek city-states,

which has been severely weakened during the 50 years since the Peloponnesian War. The Greek city-states were too disorganized and weak to unite against Philip. In 338 B.C., Philip completed his conquest of the Greeks, and Philip became the ruler of all Greek city-states. His dictatorial rule ended Greek democratic practices. He brought Greek troops into his army and prepared to attack Persia.

In 336 B.C, Philip was assassinated at his daughters wedding. They said at the time of his assassination that Philip was a great king.

They also said that his son, Alexander was simply great.