Pericles Impact Of War On Athens During The Peloponnesian War

Thucydides begins his historical narrative by stating that both Sparta and Athens were at the height of their powers, meaning a war between the two city states was inevitable (Thuc. 1.1). All of Greece was picking sides for the upcoming conflict, until it was the secondary powers that provoked the Peloponnesian war between Athens and Sparta (Lecture 11). The Peloponnesian war is characterized by a system of alliances, the Delian League and the Peloponnesian League, meaning the whole of Greece felt the impact of the conflict between Athens and Sparta (Lecture 10). However, Thucydides particularly focuses on the impact of war on Athens in his narrative of Greek history. According to Thucydides, the concurrent conquests, revolts, and battles that Athens dealt with during the Peloponnesian war impacted Athens socially, morally, financially, and politically.

Thucydides describes the social impact of warfare on Athens through the description of Pericles’ second speech, the funeral oration. Pericles delivered the funeral oration after the first wave of death had resulted from the Peloponnesian war. In Pericles’ speech, Thucydides is able to show that many individuals have lost their lives in the fight against Sparta and that many more will die in the future. But they

will be dying for a just and noble cause, the spread of Athenian culture (Thuc. 2.44). Thucydides also thinks to mention the widows of the Peloponnesian war in Pericles’ speech (Thuc. 2.46). By including the existence of the widows of war, Thucydides is acknowledging the impact of war on society as a whole.
Thucydides presents another example of the social impact of warfare on Athens through the description of the plague. In an attempt to protect Athens from a Spartan siege, Pericles builds a wall encompassing Athens and a pathway to the Athenian controlled waterfront on the Aegean Sea. However, by attempting to protect Athens from warfare with Sparta, Pericles has also inadvertently trapped the filth and disease of the city too. Plague breaks out as a result of the Athenian confinement and greatly reduces the Athenian population (Lecture 11). In addition, the plague reduced Athenian morale. Once an individual was diagnosed with the plague, the individual would fall deep into despair as the individual’s fortune had suddenly taken a turn for the worst (Thuc. 2.51). This sudden change in fortune affected the rich and the poor. Thucydides states that the plague marked the beginning of lawlessness in Athens, as the rich died leaving their money to the poor who spent the riches on acts of self-indulgence (Thuc. 2.53). The plague turned out to be an unforeseen byproduct of warfare tactics and represents the social impact of war on Athens. Thucydides may also have included the devastating effects of the plague to present a possible reason behind the Athenian defeat in the Peloponnesian war.
Besides having a social impact, war also had a moral impact on Athens. Thucydides describes the moral impact warfare had on Athens through the Melian Dialogue. During the Melian Dialogue, Athens is attempting to negotiate a peaceful surrender with Melos. Melos mainly wants to stay neutral in the conflict between Sparta and Athens, even though Melos is a Spartan colony. However, if the Athenians attack, the Melians believe the Spartans will come to their aid. The Athenians refuse to let neutrality be an option and attack the city. Athenians are known for having a reputation of honor, but when some Melian officials betray the city, the Athenians kill all the men and sell all the women and children into slavery. Through the Melian Dialogue, Thucydides portrays the moral corruption that comes with warfare and empire building. The Athenians were unnecessarily harsh with the Melians because they were following the universal law stating that one should rule whatever one can (Thuc. 5.105).
This deviation from traditional Athenian honor is seen once more in a naval battle with the Spartans. The Athenians had destroyed the Spartans when a storm appeared and sank the damaged ships. The Athenian generals make no attempt to rescue their opponent’s crew and are later put to death (Lecture 13). These two examples of Athenian moral corruption support Thucydides claim that the pursuit of maximum power is destructive. The attempt to gain maximum power will destroy the principles the original power was built upon (Lecture 13). But this concept leads to another rule of empires in that people will inevitably dislike the power controlling them and wish for something different (Lecture 11). Athens pursued maximum power, but the process had a moral impact causing the revolts amongst the Athenian allies. These revolts played a contributing factor in the fall of the Athenian Empire.
War had an additional financial impact on Athens in that Athens simply did not have the funds to support a long, large scale war with Sparta. During the Peloponnesian war, Athens is dealing with its allies revolting and refusing to pay tribute (Lecture 10). Athens is also sending support to different colonies who are attempting to revolt against Persia. Clearly, Athens is overextending its power, an action that will inevitably lead to the downfall of the Athenian Empire. In preparation for future naval battles, the Athenians had to economize and cut down on unnecessary expenses to procure enough timber to fortify the Athenian fleet (Thuc 8.4). The Spartans also did not have the funds for a large scale war with Athens; however, Sparta made an alliance with the Persians to receive funding to fight the Athenians. The terms of the alliance also stated that Sparta and Persia would prevent Athens from receiving money or supplies (Thuc 8.18). Without a source of money and with more allies revolting, Athens was unable to send continual naval support to the ships engaged at sea with the Peloponnesian League. This financial impact of war eventually caused the Athenian fleet to weaken and be defeated by the Peloponnesian League. The destruction of the Athenian fleet, Athens greatest advantage against the Spartans, allowed for the downfall of the Athenian Empire.
In addition to social, moral, and financial impacts, war also had a political impact on Athens. At multiple points during the Peloponnesian war, the Athenian democracy found itself being swayed by persuasive speakers arguing incorrect points. During the debate about the Sicilian Expedition, Nicias believed that Athens should handle the revolts amongst its allies before embarking on an ambitious naval campaign (Thuc. 6.9-14). Alcibiades on the other hand argues that it would be easy to conquer Sicily and that it would cut off Sparta’s supply of resources (Thuc. 6.16-18). Nicias is right when he argues that Athens is recovering from the plague and should spend time settling revolts amongst its allies. As Thucydides stated through Pericles, empires must understand the limits of their power (Lecture 13). However, in the Athenian democracy the majority rules and the vote was cast in favor of the Sicilian Expedition (Thuc. 6.24). In a time of warfare, any action that will potentially hinder the enemy’s ability to fight seems like an enticing course of action. So the democracy voted in favor of Alcibiades and the Sicilian Expedition. This debate is an example of warfare impacting Athenian politics by causing incorrect decisions to be made based on the skills of a persuasive politician. It was the accumulation of these incorrect decisions that led to the fall of the Athenian Empire.
The final impact of war on Athens is one that has already been previously mention.

It is the fall of the Athenian Empire, which is a result of the social, moral, financial, and political impacts of war. By the end of the Peloponnesian war, both Sparta and Athens had suffered considerable losses. Although the outcome of the Peloponnesian war may be called a Spartan victory, the main consequence of the war was the end of Greek power dominating the ancient world. Neither Sparta nor Athens fully recovered to its original height of power that it held before the Peloponnesian war (Lecture 13). The absence of the Greek superpower opened the door for a new dominating force to rise in the ancient

world.