The Peloponnesian War

After alliances were formed among city-states in ancient Greece, pitting the dominant Athenians against the rising power of Sparta, as is frequently the case in the back and forth struggle for hegemony, the Peloponnesian War resulted from rising tensions between the opposing Athenian and Peloponnesian Leagues, sparking a war that lasted from 431 to 404 BC.

Obscure Origins

Rooted in civil war within the obscure country of Epidamnus, the first ten years of the Peloponnesian War became known as the Archidamian War—so named after Sparta’s King Archidamus—under the Spartan slogan of “Freedom for the Greeks,” as Spartans fought to liberate themselves from Athenian rule. As Spartan forces decimated the countryside surrounding Athens, before laying siege to the walled city itself, Athenian General Pericles declined to attack Spartan forces attempting to breach the city walls, instead opting for multiple naval campaigns abroad, returning to the besieged city in 430 BC, just as plague swept through Athens, taking the lives of two-thirds of the city’s population.

Fractured Unity

A year later, after Pericles was censured during a political uprising, he too succumbed to the disease, which in turned fractured Athenian unity and leadership. With only mixed results on both sides of the conflict, the two warring city-states signed the Peace of Nicias in 423 BC, which called for an end to conflict for the next 50 years. Brought down by rebellion between various allies on both sides of the war, the Peace of Nicias crumbled after just eight years, when in 415 BC, Athens was called upon by allies in Sicily to help ward off invaders from Syracuse.

The Final Push

Convinced that Athens was planning an invasion of Italy, Sparta backed Syracuse, leading to a string of naval defeats for the Athenians. Despite the number of Athenian losses, war raged on for another decade, until Spartan General Lysander destroyed the last of the Athenian navy, forcing the surrender of Athens in 404 BC after a lengthy siege of the city. Athen’s defeat marked the end of the Golden Age of Greece, while the Peloponnesian War in particular forever changed styles of warfare that eventually led to Athen’s absorption into the Spartan Empire, making the Peloponnesian War, a major turning point in the late history of ancient Greece.