 Archidamian War: 431 BC - repeated Spartan invasions of Attica
 Athens raid coast of Peloponnese whilst keeping down unrest in
Empire
 Peace of Nicias 421 BC
 Sicilian Expedition 415-3 BC
 Ionian War:
 Sparta supported by Persia supports rebellions in Athens’ subject
states in the Aegean and Ionia undermining Empire’s stability and
depriving Athens of naval supremacy.
 Aegospotami 405 BC Navy destroyed
 404 BC: Athenian surrender
 Epidamnian democrats seek foreign assistance in their
dispute with the aristocracy
 Refused by the main regional power, Corcyra, they
turn to Corinth, the third power in Greece and
Epidamnus’ metropolis
 Corinth sends an armament to restore the democracy
at Epidamnus. Corcyra responds by laying siege to that
city
 Corinth refuses to agree to Corcyrean offers of
arbitration. Corinthian naval forces are defeated by the
Corcyrean fleet on blockade
 Corinth begins building up its naval power in response
to the defeat. It also turns to its ally, Sparta, for
political support
 This effectively enlists the whole Peloponnesian
League in its dispute with Corcyra
 Corcyra, a neutral city, turns to Athens for help. In a speech
to the Athenian assembly its representatives produce
weighty arguments in favour of alliance:
 (1) War with the Peloponnesians is inevitable; the
Corcyrean navy will be of use to Athens in the impending
crisis
 (2) the destruction of Corcyra or submission to Spartan
control will weaken Athens vis-à-vis the Peloponnesian
League
 (3) because Corcyra is neutral, alliance with Athens is not
in technical violation of the treaty between Athens and
Sparta
 The Corinthians delegates respond with a speech
claiming their right to Corcyrean submission: Corcyra
is a Corinthian colony
 They also subtly threaten Athens with retribution, if
Athens becomes involved
 The Athenian assembly first votes to support Corinth
 Upon a second ballot it throws its support to Corcyra.
“It appeared that there would be war with the
Peloponnesians and they were loath to give over naval
power of such magnitude as the Corcyreans’ to
Corinth, though if they could let them weaken one
another in mutual conflict it would be favourable for
the war the Athenians would have to wage with the
Corinthians and other naval powers. And at the same
time, the island [of Corcyra] appeared to them to lie
favourably for the coasting voyage to Italy and Sicily.”
(I.44).
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCsph5Pykvk
 The Athenians send a small naval squadron to assist
Corcyra (strictly defensive)
 Their combined forces are defeated by a Corinthian
fleet off Epidamnus. Athenian reinforcements arrive
the next day, however
 The Corinthians refuse to give battle, fearing the
outbreak of war with Athens
 Both the Corinthians and the Corcyreans claim victory
in their dispute
 Athens begins to prepare itself for war, although the
peace treaty remains in effect
 It demands that Potidaea – a colony of Corinth but also
a tribute-paying member of the Athenian empire –
destroy their fortifications and expel all Corinthians
from their city
 Athens demanded this to confirm the loyalty of
Potidaea – worried about revolt in Chalcidice area
 The Potidaeans revolt. They join the Peloponnesian
League, which threatens to invade Attica if its new
member is attacked
 The Athenians send a force to pacify Potidaea, which
is now protected by a Corinthian army
 The Athenians are victorious on land and sea, but do
not breach the city walls (Pallene)
 They have meanwhile dispatched another armada to
reduce other allies threatening to revolt
 Twice defeated, although technically still at peace, the
Corinthians send delegates to request aid from the
Lacedaemons
 Other allies are invited to make speeches in the Apella
 Megarian ambassadors point out that Megara is
illegally excluded from trade with the Athenian empire
(huge loss)
 Megara is a long-term trade rival of Athens
 In the winter of 433/432, the Athenian politician Pericles
proposed, a law that has become known as the "Megarian
Decree"
 It was an extraordinary decision. The inhabitants of
Megara, a neighbour city of Athens, had cultivated land
that was consecrated to Demeter, had killed an Athenian
herald, and were accordingly punished
 Their merchants were excluded from the market of Athens
and the ports in its empire, the Delian League
 The Megarian Decree was something like a modern trade
embargo. This type of sanction, was unknown in the Greek
world during peace-time
 The Corinthians speak last. They claim:
 (1) The Athenians are bent on the hegemony of Hellas
 (2) If the Lacedaemons cannot guarantee the freedom
of their allies, the latter will be forced to find new
protectors (guess who????). Thebes starts to get a bit
excited...
 (3) The Lacedaemonians would be foolish to allow (1)
and (2) occur without opposition
 Some Athenians happen to be at Sparta on other
business and ask for permission to make a statement
 Their speech is intended to remind the
Peloponnesians of the power of Athens and the origins
of its empire. They claim:
 (1) It was Athenian naval power that drove the Persians out
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of Hellas and keeps Hellas safe today
(2) The subject cities accepted Athenian hegemony in
gratitude for (1)
(3) All imperial powers have the right to manage their own
subjects, the Lacedaemons act not differently in the rule of
their empire
(4) “We have done nothing…out of the human manner in
accepting an empire when it was offered to us and then in
refusing to give it up. We are governed by three mighty
reasons: honor, need, and profit”
(5) The Lacedaemons should make the decision on its
merits, unswayed by the opinions of others
If the Lacedaemons vote formal hostilities, “You will have
begun the war…” (I.78)
 The Lacedaemon king Archidamus argues against
hasty decision (HUBRIS) and in favour of a diplomatic
mission to Athens
 The Lacedaemons will be stronger if they take time to
prepare. He also praises the unique virtues of the
Spartan regime: courage, discipline, and deliberation
 But Sthenelaidas makes a “hawkish” appeal to Spartan
honour: Sparta must not betray its allies when they are
wronged. This argument carries the day
 Still takes aaaaaaaaaaaggggesss for battle.....Delphi etc