431 BC- 404 BC
PELOPONNESIAN WAR
Causes
 Many Greek cities resented Athens’ domination
of the Delian League
 Some revolted against Athens
 Sparta and Athens were long time rivals
 Sparta led the Peloponnesian League to oppose
the Delian League
 Overconfident
 Both sides believed they held advantages
over the other (Athens at sea; Sparta on land)
and would win, so they moved towards war.
Peloponnesian War
431 – 404 BCE
Sparta gets jealous of Athens
Sparta and Athens fight over
control of Greece
Power struggle
Athens treated Delian League city states as if
they were their empire, used League funds for
projects in the city of Athens (statues, etc.)
Sparta feared Athens was
getting too powerful.
Economics
Athens stopped Corinth
(Sparta’s ally) from taking over
another city-state. laid siege to a
colony of Corinth.
Athens slapped Megara with
trade sanctions (they could not
trade with any allies of Athens – a
death blow to their economy.
Corinth and Megara convinced
Sparta to go to war with Athens.
Athens strategy
 Naval power
 Surround Sparta by
sea
 Prevent food and
supplies from
reaching
Peloponnesian
League
Sparta Strategy
 Sparta had a
strong army
 Surround Athens
and prevent it
from raising food
around the city
 Did not have a
navy until the
end of the War
Stalemate
 For much of the war, neither side could gain
the upper hand over the other
 With a few short period of peace in between,
it lasted 30 years
Plague
 Athens was severely
weakened when a
plague broke out
 It killed almost 1/3
of the population
including Pericles,
Athens’ able leader
Syracuse Expedition
 The Athenians made a
huge mistake in 416 BC,
they invaded Sicily to
conquer Sparta’s ally,
Syracuse.
 They hoped to destroy the
Spartan’s food supply
 They were surrounded and
annihilated
The war ends
 Syracuse weakened the Athenians, but they
held out for over 10 more years
 The Spartans finally conquered Athens in 404
 Athens had to give up its navy and empire
 Athens had to follow Spartan foreign policy
Thucydides
 Father of scientific history because of
standards for evidence collecting
 History of the Peloponnesian War
Aftermath
 Athens was the strongest, although Sparta
was victorious
 Much of Greece lie in ruin
 Greece was severely weakened economically
and militarily
 Greek culture slowed
Peloponnesian War
Results (404 BCE)
The war had resulted in the deaths of many of their
citizens.
Orchards, vineyards, and fields had been destroyed.
The treasuries of the city-states had been destroyed, and
faith in democracy had been reduced.
As a result of the Peloponnesian War, Greece became
weaker, and poorer.
338 BCE - Led by Philip II the Macedonians in
conquered Greece