Peloponnesian League facts for kids
The Peloponnesian League was a powerful group of ancient Greek city-states. It was led by Sparta and mostly located in the Peloponnese area. This alliance lasted for a long time, from about 550 BC to 366 BC. It is most famous for being one of the two main sides in the big war called the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC). Their rival was the Delian League, which was led by Athens.
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What's in a Name?
The name "Peloponnesian League" is what people today call this alliance. But it's not perfectly accurate! That's because some members were actually outside the Peloponnese region. Also, it wasn't a "league" in the way we think of one today, with all members having equal power.
In ancient times, people called it "the Lacedemonians and their allies." Lacedemonians was another name for the Spartans. This name could also be a bit confusing, because Sparta sometimes had allies who were not part of this specific group.
History of the League
How the League Began (around 550 BC)
In its early days, Sparta grew by taking over nearby lands like Laconia and Messenia. The people there were forced into slavery, becoming known as helots. But when Sparta tried to conquer Tegea to its north, they failed.
After this defeat, Sparta changed its strategy. Instead of fighting, they started making friends through diplomacy. They used a clever trick called the "bones policy." This meant they would claim to have the bones of famous mythical heroes, like Orestes, the son of Agamemnon. By doing this, Sparta tried to show itself as the natural leader, just like the ancient heroes described by Homer.
Tegea then signed a peace treaty with Sparta. This was the very beginning of what would become the Peloponnesian League.
Other cities soon followed Tegea's lead. Many of them, like Mantinea, Phlieus, Corinth, and Epidaurus, were afraid of their powerful neighbor, Argos. So, they quickly made alliances with Sparta. Soon, almost all the cities in the Peloponnese had joined Sparta, except for Argos and the Achaean cities in the north.
There wasn't one big treaty for the whole League. Instead, Sparta, as the main leader (called the hegemon), made a separate treaty with each city. Each member swore an oath to Sparta: "to have the same friends and enemies as the Spartans, and to follow them wherever they may lead." This meant members were loyal to Sparta, not necessarily to each other. They could even fight among themselves!
The treaties also said that members had to help Sparta if its helots (slaves) revolted. This shows how much Sparta feared slave uprisings. The alliances were meant to be permanent, meaning cities couldn't just leave whenever they wanted.
Another reason cities stayed in the League was that Sparta supported oligarchy (rule by a small group of wealthy people) in most member cities. These rulers could count on Sparta to help them stay in power.
Big Changes in 506 BC
A major change happened around 506 BC. The Spartan king, Cleomenes I, tried to take over Athens. He wanted to put his friend Isagoras in charge. He called on the League army to help. But when the Corinthians found out what he was really doing, they went home. Another Spartan king, Demaratus, also disagreed with Cleomenes.
Because of this failure, Sparta had to make a big change. They agreed to create a special meeting called the League congress. Here, members could vote on whether to go to war or make peace. Before this, Sparta could just tell its allies to fight without explaining why.
So, the Peloponnesian League became a two-part system. First, the Spartan citizens would vote in their own assembly, called the ecclesia. If they voted yes, then the League congress would meet. In the congress, all the allies would discuss and vote on Sparta's plan. Each ally's vote was equal. Even if a city voted against a decision, they still had to follow it if the majority agreed.
Sometimes, allies said no to Sparta's ideas. For example, around 504 BC, Sparta wanted to attack Athens again. But the allies, led by Corinth, all said no. In 440 BC, Sparta wanted to fight Athens again, but Corinth and other allies refused. Corinth was very important in the League because of its location. Sometimes, cities would even use religious reasons to avoid helping, like claiming a bad omen or a sacred truce.
When there was a war, Sparta was always in charge of the League army. One of the Spartan kings usually led the army. Spartan officers, called xenagoi, would go to allied cities to gather troops and decide how many soldiers each city should send.
Wars Against Athens
Many people used to think the Peloponnesian League was the same as the Hellenic League, which fought against the Persian Empire. But they were actually two different groups. The Hellenic League was a new alliance formed just to fight Persia.
The Peloponnesian League and the Delian League (Athens's alliance) often had problems. These problems led to the First Peloponnesian War in 460 BC. One big reason for this war was a fight between two Peloponnesian League members, Corinth and Megara. Megara felt Sparta wasn't helping it enough, so it switched sides and joined Athens. This started the big conflict between the two Leagues. That war ended with Megara rejoining the Peloponnesian League.
Later, the two Leagues fought again in the famous Peloponnesian War. Under Sparta's leadership, the Peloponnesian League won this war in 404 BC, defeating Athens and its allies.
Changes in 378 BC
In 378 BC, the League was reorganized into 10 military areas. Before this, there were no such areas. Sparta probably wanted to make the League more efficient, especially since new, distant members like Chalkidike had joined. This new system also helped spread the burden of providing troops more evenly among the allies.
Each area was supposed to provide 3,000 to 4,000 hoplites (heavy infantry soldiers) for the League army. This meant the League could theoretically have an army of at least 30,000 men! Allies could also choose to pay money instead of sending soldiers. Many cities liked this option, and Sparta could then use the money to hire mercenaries (paid soldiers). This also helped Sparta, as it had fewer men available itself.
The ten districts were:
- Lacedemonia: Sparta's own territory.
- Arcadia (south and north): The large region of Arcadia was split into two parts to make sure each district had a similar number of soldiers.
- Elis: The western Peloponnese.
- Achaea: The northern Peloponnese.
- Corinth and Megara: Located on the Isthmus, a narrow strip of land.
- Sicyon, Phlius, and the Acte (now the Argolis): The northeastern Peloponnese.
- Acarnania: In western Greece.
- Phokis and Lokris: In central Greece.
- Olynthos and Thrace: Areas that had just been conquered.
War Against Thebes and the End of the League
After winning the Peloponnesian War, Sparta became very powerful and tried to control more of Greece. For example, Sparta forced Elis back into the League around 400 BC. Sparta also weakened Elis by making some of its dependent cities, like the Akrorians and Triphylians, independent. These cities then joined the Peloponnesian League as their own groups.
In 385 BC, Sparta broke up the city of Mantinea into smaller villages. Sparta had always tried to keep the Arcadian region divided so it couldn't unite and become too strong. This made many cities angry because Sparta was supposed to respect their independence.
The turning point came when Sparta lost a major battle against Thebes at Leuktra in 371 BC. This defeat greatly weakened Sparta's control over the League members. In Arcadia, the people of Mantinea were the first to rebuild their city. Other Arcadian cities, even their old rival Tegea, supported them. United by their dislike of Sparta, the Arcadians formed their own alliance, the Arcadian League, and left the Peloponnesian League.
The Peloponnesian League became even smaller when Thebes helped Messenia become free from Spartan control in 369 BC. Some cities, like Corinth and Sicyon, stayed loyal to Sparta. But as the war continued in the 360s BC, many others joined Thebes or stayed neutral. By 366 BC, the Peloponnesian League had effectively ended.
Members of the Peloponnesian League
Here are some of the cities and groups that were part of the Peloponnesian League:
Early Members (before around 504 BC)
- Tegea: The very first city to ally with Sparta, starting the League.
- Corinth: Joined around 550 BC. It was the most important member after Sparta. Corinth left the League during the Corinthian War (395 BC) but rejoined later. Its final departure in 366 BC helped end the League.
- Sicyon: Stayed a member until it was conquered in 369 BC.
- Epidaurus: Joined because it felt threatened by Argos. It remained a member until 366 BC.
- Phleius: Joined due to the threat from Argos. Its leaders stayed loyal to Sparta until 366 BC.
- Megara: Often switched sides between Sparta and Athens. It left the League in 461 BC to join Athens, starting the First Peloponnesian War. It rejoined in 448 BC and stayed until the League ended.
- Aegina: Joined before the late 6th century BC. It left in 457 BC after Athens captured it, but rejoined after Athens was defeated in 405 BC.
- Elis: One of the earliest members. It left the League in 420 BC but was forced back in around 400 BC. Elis left again in 370 BC after Sparta's defeat at Leuctra.
- Mantinea: Left the League in 421 BC, rejoined after a defeat in 418 BC, and left again after Leuctra to form the Arcadian League.
- Most other communities in Arcadia were also members. They all left in 370 BC to form the Arcadian League.
Later Members (after around 504 BC)
- Mycenae and Tiryns: Joined after Argos was defeated by Sparta in 494 BC. However, Argos later recaptured and destroyed them.
- The Boeotian League: Joined the League between 446 and 431 BC. Its main city, Thebes, was a key player against Sparta in the Corinthian War and left the League for good in 378 BC.
- The Phocians and the Eastern Locrians: Probably joined around the same time as the Boeotians.
- The Achaean League: Joined around 429 BC. Its cities were conquered by Thebes in 366 BC.
- Athens: Was forced to join the League in 404 BC after losing the Peloponnesian War. Athens left the League in 395 BC.
- The Akrorians and Triphylians: Became free from Elis around 400 BC and joined the League as their own groups.
- Olynthus and the Chalkidians: Joined the League after Sparta defeated them in 378 BC.
Important Wars of the Peloponnesian League
- War against Polycrates: Around 525 BC, Sparta and Corinth tried to attack Polycrates, a ruler of Samos, but they failed.
- War against Hippias: Around 511 BC, Sparta sent an army to Athens to remove the ruler Hippias. They succeeded, forcing Hippias to leave.
- First Peloponnesian War
- Second Peloponnesian War
- Corinthian War
- First Olynthian War: In 382 BC, the League attacked the Chalcidian League, led by Olynthus. Sparta won, and Olynthus was forced to join the Peloponnesian League.
- Boeotian War
