Greek Historians
and The
Peloponnesian War
The Father of History
Herodotus…
of Halicarnassus
Halicarnassus is now modern day
Bodrum
http://www.livius.org/hehg/herodotus/logoi.html
CLICK HERE!!!!!
This site talks about the book Herodotus
wrote, The Histories.
Herodotus
That Herodotus was able to write tells us that
his parents could afford a teacher and were
well to do. Herodotus must have been a rich
man, possibly a member of the old
aristocracy.
We may speculate that he fought as a heavy
armored infantryman (a hoplite), like all
Greek men of his class and age. This would
explain why his descriptions of battles are
always from a soldier's point of view and
sometimes confused. He was a soldier, not a
general.
Don’t ask…
Book written by Thucydides.
You can still purchase his book
today.
(Wait for the movie)
Thucydides from Athens
Peloponnesian War
Thucydides, an Athenian aristocrat, was a
young man when the war began. He
eventually became a general for Athens.
However, after a defeat in battle,
Thucydides was exiled from Athens for the
rest of the war. Despite being exiled, he
had a keen interest in the events
happening in Athens. Thucydides
continued to follow the war.
History of the Peloponnesian
War
Thucydides authored The History of the
Peloponnesian War. He gathered
information from many sources. But in the
retelling he shaped the information to
emphasize his version of the truth. His
views are present throughout his work.
However he did present events as being
caused by the actions and motives of men.
Athens and Sparta and their
respective allies.
Causes for the Peloponnesian
War
After the defeat of the Persians in 480 BC,
the Greek city-states formed an alliance.
They did this to protect themselves from
other invaders. Their goal was also to
protect the trade routes in the Aegean
Sea.
To pay for this protection each city state
gave money to the alliance. The funds
were kept on the island of Delos, hence
they called the alliance the Delian
Causes of the Peloponnesian
War
Because the Athenian navy was protecting the
islands, Athens became the strongest member
of the league.
It was felt that the Athenians treated other
members of the league unfairly.
At the same time the city-states on the
Peloponnesian peninsula had their own alliance
called the Peloponnesian League
It seemed to some that without any fighting the
Athenians made the Delian League the Athenian
Empire. This concerned the members of the
Peloponnesian League
Peloponnesian War
Lasted from 431 BC
until 404 BC.
Athens vs. Sparta
Athens was a naval power.
Athens controlled the Aegean Sea
Corinth was a city-state aligned with
Sparta.
Corinth believed their food supply from
Sicily to be in jeopardy.
Corinth appealed to Sparta to take up
arms.
Spartan Warriors
•The Peloponnesian army lead by Lysander, captured
or destroyed almost the entire Athens navy.
•With the grain supply now cut Lysander could proceed
to Athens itself to blockade it from the sea while the
Spartan army under King Pausanius held the land side.
•After six months of starvation and no prospect for
relief, Athens surrendered on generous terms offered by
Sparta.
•Corinth and Thebes protested, demanding total
destruction, but Sparta did not want to create too great
a power vacuum.
•The city walls and those connecting Athens to Piraeus
were torn down and the empire dissolved.
The walls that eventually were
removed.
Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War
began April 4, 431
BC.
The Peloponnesian War
ended April 25, 404
BC.
The End
Or is it?