hieu 2031 ancient greece unit 16 study guides

Key Players and Factions

• Athens, a powerful city-state known for its naval supremacy, democracy, and cultural achievements
• Sparta, a militaristic city-state with a strong army and a unique social system focused on military training
  • Spartan society was divided into three main classes: Spartiates (full citizens), Perioikoi (free non-citizens), and Helots (state-owned serfs)
• Delian League, an alliance of Greek city-states led by Athens, initially formed to counter the Persian threat
• Peloponnesian League, an alliance of Greek city-states led by Sparta, formed to counter Athenian power
• Pericles, an influential Athenian statesman and general who played a crucial role in the early stages of the war
• Alcibiades, an ambitious Athenian politician and general who defected to Sparta and later returned to Athens
• Lysander, a Spartan admiral who played a key role in the final defeat of Athens

Origins and Causes

• Growing tensions between Athens and Sparta due to Athens' increasing power and influence after the Persian Wars
• Athenian imperialism and the expansion of the Delian League, which Sparta and its allies perceived as a threat
• The Megarian Decree, an Athenian trade embargo against Megara, a Spartan ally, which escalated tensions
• Sparta's fear of Athens' growing power and the potential spread of democracy, which threatened Sparta's oligarchic system
• The dispute between Corcyra and Corinth, two city-states aligned with Athens and Sparta respectively, over the city of Epidamnus
• Thucydides, an Athenian historian, argued that the underlying cause of the war was Sparta's fear of Athens' rising power

Major Battles and Campaigns

• The Archidamian War (431-421 BC), the first phase of the conflict, named after the Spartan king Archidamus II
  • Athenian strategy of avoiding land battles and relying on its strong navy and the protection of its city walls
  • Spartan strategy of annual invasions of Attica, the region around Athens, to destroy crops and weaken the Athenian economy
• The Sicilian Expedition (415-413 BC), a disastrous Athenian campaign to conquer Syracuse, a Spartan ally in Sicily
  • The expedition significantly weakened Athens' military and financial resources, marking a turning point in the war
• The Decelean War (413-404 BC), the final phase of the conflict, named after the Spartan fort of Decelea in Attica
  • Sparta, with Persian financial support, built a navy to challenge Athens' maritime dominance
  • The Spartan victory at the Battle of Aegospotami (405 BC) destroyed the Athenian fleet, leading to Athens' surrender

Strategies and Tactics

• Athens relied on its strong navy, the protection of its city walls, and its wealth from the Delian League to wage a defensive war
  • The Periclean strategy involved avoiding direct land confrontations with Sparta and focusing on maintaining control of the sea
• Sparta relied on its superior land army, annual invasions of Attica, and alliances with other city-states to weaken Athens
  • Sparta aimed to disrupt Athens' food supply and force them into a decisive land battle
• Both sides employed diplomacy and propaganda to gain allies and undermine each other's support
• The use of light-armed troops, such as peltasts and archers, became more prevalent during the war
• The development of new naval tactics, such as the Corinthian-style ramming and the Athenian diekplous (sailing through enemy lines)

Political and Social Impact

• The war led to significant political instability and changes in leadership within both Athens and Sparta
  • In Athens, the democratic system faced challenges, such as the oligarchic coup of 411 BC and the rule of the Thirty Tyrants after the war
• The conflict exacerbated social tensions within city-states, particularly between the aristocratic and democratic factions
• The war resulted in widespread destruction, loss of life, and economic hardship for many Greek city-states
  • The Athenian plague (430-426 BC) killed a significant portion of the city's population, including Pericles
• The war weakened the Greek city-states, making them more vulnerable to external threats and internal conflicts
• The conflict led to a decline in Greek cultural and intellectual life, as resources were diverted to the war effort

Aftermath and Consequences

• The defeat of Athens and the end of the Delian League, which had been a source of Athenian power and wealth
• The establishment of Spartan hegemony over Greece, although this was short-lived due to Sparta's inability to maintain control
• The weakening of the Greek city-states, which made them more susceptible to the rising power of Macedon under Philip II and Alexander the Great
• The war's impact on Greek philosophy and literature, as reflected in the works of Thucydides, Xenophon, and Plato
  • Thucydides' "History of the Peloponnesian War" is considered a seminal work in the field of history and political analysis
• The war's influence on the development of military strategy and tactics, as well as diplomatic practices in the ancient world

Legacy and Historical Significance

• The Peloponnesian War is considered a pivotal event in ancient Greek history, marking the end of the Classical period and the beginning of the Hellenistic era
• The conflict demonstrated the inherent instability of the Greek city-state system and the dangers of unchecked imperialism
• The war's outcome had far-reaching consequences for the balance of power in the Mediterranean world
  • The weakening of the Greek city-states paved the way for the rise of Macedon and, later, the Roman Empire
• The war's impact on political theory and philosophy, as it raised questions about the nature of power, justice, and the ideal form of government
• The enduring influence of Thucydides' historical account, which introduced concepts such as the distinction between immediate and underlying causes of war

Key Takeaways

• The Peloponnesian War was a prolonged conflict between Athens and Sparta, the two most powerful city-states in ancient Greece
• The war was driven by a complex set of factors, including Athenian imperialism, Spartan fear of Athens' growing power, and competing political ideologies
• The conflict featured several major battles and campaigns, such as the Sicilian Expedition and the Decelean War, which had significant impacts on the course of the war
• Athens and Sparta employed different strategies and tactics based on their respective strengths and weaknesses
• The war had far-reaching political, social, and economic consequences for the Greek world, leading to widespread destruction, instability, and the decline of the city-state system
• The conflict's outcome paved the way for the rise of Macedon and the eventual conquest of Greece by external powers
• The Peloponnesian War left a lasting legacy on military strategy, diplomacy, political theory, and historical writing, as exemplified by the works of Thucydides and other contemporary thinkers