Peloponnesian War facts for kids
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The Peloponnesian War was a huge conflict in Ancient Greece. It lasted from 431 BC to 404 BC. This war was mainly between two powerful groups of Greek city-states. One group was led by Athens, called the Delian League. The other was led by Sparta, known as the Peloponnesian League. They fought to see who would be the most powerful in Greece.
At first, neither side could win easily. But then, the mighty Persian Empire stepped in. They helped Sparta starting in 413 BC. This help allowed Sparta and its allies to finally defeat Athens. After the war, Sparta became the main power in Greece for a while.
The war had several stages. The first part was called the Archidamian War. It began when Sparta's king, Archidamus II, attacked the land around Athens. Later, Athens tried to conquer Syracuse in Sicily. This plan failed badly and cost Athens many ships. The final stage saw Sparta, with Persian support, build a strong navy. They defeated Athens in a big sea battle. Athens surrendered in 404 BC.
This war changed Greece forever. Athens lost its empire and its strong navy. Sparta became the most powerful city. Many cities were destroyed, and people faced hardship. The war also caused deep divisions among the Greek people. It marked the end of Greece's "golden age."
Contents
Learning About the Peloponnesian War
Historians learn about the Peloponnesian War from several ancient writers. The most important one is Thucydides. He was an Athenian general who fought in the early part of the war. He started writing his book, The History of the Peloponnesian War, as the war began.
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Thucydides gathered information from people who were there. He also wrote about events he saw himself. His history is very detailed and tries to be fair to both sides. However, his book ends before the war was completely over.
Another historian, Xenophon, continued Thucydides' story. His book, Hellenica, tells about the end of the war. Xenophon fought for Sparta later in his life. So, his writings sometimes show a preference for Sparta.
Other writers like Diodorus Siculus and Plutarch also wrote about the war. Diodorus gave a shorter overview. Plutarch wrote biographies of important leaders like Pericles and Alcibiades. These writings help us understand the war and the people involved.
Why the War Started
The main reason for the Peloponnesian War was the growing power of Athens. This made Sparta and its allies very worried. As the historian Thucydides said, war became unavoidable.
For about 50 years before the war, Athens became a huge power. It started the Delian League with other city-states. This league was formed to protect Greece after the Greco-Persian Wars against the Persian Empire.
Athens soon turned the Delian League into its own empire. It controlled many Greek cities, except for Sparta and its friends. These cities had to pay tribute to Athens. This money helped Athens build a powerful navy and grand buildings. But it also made many allied cities unhappy.
Sparta and its allies, known as the Peloponnesian League, grew concerned. They saw Athens becoming too strong. There were several smaller conflicts and disagreements between Athens and Sparta over the years.
For example, in 465 BC, there was a revolt of enslaved people (called helots) in Sparta. Athens sent soldiers to help, but Sparta sent them away. Sparta feared Athens might help the enslaved people instead. This made Athens angry, and they ended their alliance with Sparta.
Later, Athens and Sparta fought in a smaller conflict called the First Peloponnesian War. This war lasted about 15 years. It ended with a treaty called the Thirty Years' Peace in 446/5 BC. This treaty was supposed to keep peace between the two powerful leagues.
Peace Breaks Down
The Thirty Years' Peace did not last. In 440 BC, a powerful Athenian ally, Samos, rebelled. Sparta thought about going to war, but decided against it. Athens crushed the revolt, and peace continued for a short time.
However, new problems arose between Athens and Corinth, a key Spartan ally. Corinth fought against its colony, Corcyra. Corcyra then asked Athens for help. Athens agreed to a defensive alliance. Athenian ships helped Corcyra in a sea battle against Corinth. This angered Corinth, as it seemed Athens was breaking the peace treaty.
Athens then told Potidaea, a city that was a colony of Corinth but an ally of Athens, to tear down its walls. This made Corinth furious. Corinth secretly helped Potidaea rebel against Athens. This was a clear violation of the peace treaty.
Athens also placed trade restrictions on the city of Megara, another Spartan ally. These restrictions hurt Megara's economy. Many historians believe this was a major cause of the war.
In 432 BC, Corinth asked Sparta to call a meeting of its allies. They wanted to complain about Athens. Athens also sent representatives to this meeting. After much debate, the Spartan assembly voted that Athens had broken the peace. This was essentially a declaration of war.
The Archidamian War (431–421 BC)
The first ten years of the war are known as the Archidamian War. It is named after Sparta's king, Archidamus II. The first attack happened on April 4, 431 BC. Thebans attacked an Athenian outpost at Plataea.
Sparta and its allies were mostly strong on land. They had large armies, including the famous Spartan Army. Athens, however, was a sea power. Its empire spread across many islands. Athens got its wealth from these islands and used it to build a powerful navy.
The two sides had different strengths. Sparta's plan was to invade the land around Athens. This would destroy Athenian farms. But Athens had strong walls, called the Long Walls. These walls connected Athens to its port, Piraeus. This meant Athens could still get supplies by sea. Many people moved inside the city walls for safety.
Spartan invasions usually lasted only a few weeks. Spartan soldiers needed to return home for harvests. Also, they had to keep their enslaved people, called helots, under control.
Athens's leader, Pericles, advised his people to avoid big land battles. He knew the Spartan army was too strong. Instead, Athens used its powerful navy to attack Spartan allies by sea.
In 430 BC, a terrible plague hit Athens. The crowded city suffered greatly. Thousands of people died, including Pericles and his sons. This plague weakened Athens a lot. The Spartans even stopped their invasions because they feared catching the disease.
After Pericles died, Athenian leaders like Cleon wanted a more aggressive approach. A clever general named Demosthenes led some successful naval raids. Athens also fortified new positions around the Peloponnese.
One important victory for Athens happened at Sphacteria in 425 BC. Athenian forces trapped a group of Spartan soldiers on an island. This was shocking because Spartans were known for never surrendering. About 300 Spartan soldiers were captured. This hurt Sparta's image of being unbeatable.
Later, the Spartan general Brasidas led an army to capture Amphipolis, an Athenian colony. Amphipolis had important silver mines that funded Athens's war efforts. Both Brasidas and Cleon were killed in battles over Amphipolis. After these losses, both sides were tired of fighting.
The Peace of Nicias (421 BC)
With the deaths of Cleon and Brasidas, who were strong supporters of the war, a peace treaty was signed. It was called the Peace of Nicias in 421 BC. This peace was supposed to last for six years.
However, it was not a time of true peace. Small fights continued, especially in the Peloponnese. Some of Sparta's allies wanted to rebel. They were supported by Argos, a powerful city that was not allied with Sparta. Athens also supported Argos.
In 418 BC, a major land battle took place at Mantinea. Sparta and its allies fought against Argos, Athens, and their friends. Sparta won a complete victory. This helped Sparta regain control over the Peloponnese.
In 416 BC, Athens attacked the neutral island of Melos. Athens demanded that Melos join their side. When the Melians refused, Athens besieged their city. After Melos fell, the Athenians killed the adult men and enslaved the women and children.
The Sicilian Expedition (415–413 BC)
In the 17th year of the war, Athens heard that an ally in Sicily was under attack. The main city in Sicily was Syracuse, which was allied with Sparta.
Athens decided to send a huge expedition to Sicily. They hoped to conquer all of Sicily. This would give Athens many new resources. Alcibiades was one of the leaders of this expedition. Before they left, some religious statues in Athens were damaged. Alcibiades was accused of being involved. He was recalled to Athens for trial, but he feared being unfairly judged. So, Alcibiades escaped and went to Sparta.
The Athenian force was enormous, with over 100 ships and thousands of soldiers. But the new commander, Nicias, delayed attacking Syracuse. This gave Syracuse time to ask Sparta for help. Sparta sent their general Gylippus with reinforcements. Gylippus helped Syracuse defeat the Athenian forces.
Nicias asked Athens for more help. Another fleet, led by Demosthenes, arrived. But the Syracusans and their allies defeated the Athenians again. Demosthenes wanted to retreat, but Nicias hesitated. A bad omen, a lunar eclipse, caused further delays.
This delay was disastrous. The Athenians were forced into a huge sea battle in Syracuse's harbor. They were completely defeated. Nicias and Demosthenes tried to lead their remaining soldiers away by land. But the Syracusan cavalry chased them down. Almost the entire Athenian army was killed or enslaved. The Athenian navy was destroyed.
The Final Years of War (413–404 BC)
After the disaster in Sicily, Sparta decided to intensify the war against Athens. On Alcibiades' advice, Sparta fortified Decelea, a place near Athens. This stopped Athens from using its nearby land and silver mines. It also allowed many Athenian enslaved people to escape to Sparta. Athens had to bring all its supplies by sea, which was very expensive.
Many people thought Athens would fall quickly. Its treasury was almost empty, and its navy was gone. Many young Athenians had died or were imprisoned in Sicily.
Athens Fights Back
Despite these huge losses, Athens managed to survive for a while. Their enemies were slow to act. Also, Athens had kept some money and 100 ships hidden for emergencies. These ships became the core of a new Athenian fleet.
An oligarchical revolution happened in Athens, where a small group tried to take power. But the Athenian fleet, based on the island of Samos, refused to accept this change. They appointed Alcibiades as their leader. This led to the return of democracy in Athens within two years.
Alcibiades helped the Athenian fleet win important victories. At the battle of Cyzicus in 410 BC, the Athenians destroyed the Spartan fleet. This helped Athens regain control of parts of its empire and rebuild its finances. Between 410 and 406 BC, Athens won many battles.
Persia Helps Sparta
From 414 BC, the Persian ruler Darius II was worried about Athens's power. After Athens's defeat in Sicily, Darius II ordered his governors in Asia Minor to support Sparta. The Persian Empire provided money and ships to the Spartans.
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In 408 BC, Darius II sent his son, Cyrus the Younger, to Asia Minor. Cyrus allied with the Spartan general Lysander. Cyrus gave Lysander a lot of money to build a strong Spartan navy. This Persian support was crucial for Sparta's final victory.
Athens's Defeat
In 406 BC, Athens lost a naval battle at Notium. This led to Alcibiades being removed as a general. He went into exile and never led Athenian forces again. Athens did win another battle at Arginusae, but bad weather prevented them from rescuing their stranded crews. This caused outrage in Athens, and several top naval commanders were executed. This weakened Athens's navy even more.
The new Spartan general, Lysander, was a brilliant naval strategist. He was also good friends with the Persian prince Cyrus the Younger. Lysander quickly sailed his fleet to the Dardanelles. This area was vital for Athens's grain supply.
Athens had no choice but to follow. In 405 BC, Lysander completely defeated the Athenian fleet at the Battle of Aegospotami. He destroyed 168 Athenian ships. Only 12 ships escaped. This battle broke the power of the Delian League.
Facing starvation and disease from a long siege, Athens surrendered on April 25, 404 BC. Its allies soon surrendered too. Sparta refused to destroy Athens completely. Instead, Athens had to tear down its walls, give up its fleet, and lose all its overseas territories. Athens was forced to become an ally of Sparta.
Aftermath of the War
The Peloponnesian War completely changed Greece. The Athenian Empire was replaced by a Spartan empire. Sparta took control of Athens's former allies and their tribute money. However, Sparta's allies, who had fought hard, received very little.
For a short time, Athens was ruled by a group of 30 men, called the Thirty Tyrants. This was a harsh government set up by Sparta. But in 403 BC, the people overthrew them, and democracy was restored in Athens.
Even though Athens lost its empire, it slowly regained its independence. It continued to be an important city in Greek politics. Sparta's power did not last long either. Other Greek cities, like Thebes, grew stronger.
Eventually, Macedon became the most powerful kingdom in Greece. Philip II of Macedon united most of the Greek world. Later, his son, Alexander the Great, conquered Sparta in 331 BC.
A symbolic peace treaty was signed by the mayors of modern Athens and Sparta on March 12, 1996. This happened almost 2,400 years after the war ended.
See also
In Spanish: Guerra del Peloponeso para niños
Related Pages
Important Writers
- Plutarch
- Thucydides, who wrote History of the Peloponnesian War
- Aristophanes, who wrote the play "Lysistrata"
