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The Peloponnesian Wars (431–404 BC) were a Greek civil war between the Delian League led by Athens and the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta. Free Greek states united under the Delian League, which controlled and created by Athens, before the Greek-Persian Wars. After long and bloody battles between the Delian League and Persians, Greek city states had victory against the Persians and after the war, Athens used the Delian League for their purpose and turned it to Athenian Empire. Sparta resisted to Athens and Sparta created the Peloponnesian League with some free Greek states which resisted to Athens’ policies. The Peloponnesian League gained victory against the Athenian Empire but The Peloponnesian Wars ended with heavy casualties and destroyed …show more content…
economies. Athenians lost their empire and Spartans could not establish their authority on Greece. On the other hand, Hellenistic states unites under Alexander the Great and Alexander began to conquering whole known world Macedonia to India, Egypt and Persia. The time when Alexander began his conquest, Greek city states united under Hellenistic Macedonian Empire. Greek unification continues under Roman Empire, East Roman Empire, Ottoman Empire and today’s modern Greece Republic. Actually, today’s Greece is a result of the Peloponnesian Wars –the great civil war of Greek history. The War Achaemenid Empire of Persia king Darius the Great had plans for taking advantage of political rivalries between separated and free Greek city states to conquer whole Greece and Balkans. After the first defeat on Battle of Marathon and death of king Darius the Great, his son Xerxes takes his father’s throne and he gathered whole Persia to conquer Greece. Greeks gained great momentum and refreshed their faiths after the Battle of Marathon victory. Greece united under the Delian League and this unification is the first approach for the politically united Greece which was created by Athenian general and politician “The hero of Marathon” Themistocles and Xerxes I saw a united fist rather than separated states. This union leads Greeks to victory and “God-King” Xerxes I tastes defeat on the end of Greco-Persian Wars. Greeks gains victory on Greco-Persian Wars and Athens increases their influence on Greece because they lead whole Greece against Persians and they start to manipulate the union. Athenians turn the union Athenian Empire with force. Some Greek states does not happy with the situation especially Sparta. Athenian Empire want to control Aegean Sea trade and this act cannot be acceptable for the other city states1. Spartans and allies creates the Peloponnesian League against Athenian Empire and they have support from Persians. On the First Peloponnesian Wars, Athenians take the lead but Sicilian Greek cities allies of Athens are attacked by Syracuse which allied with Spartans. Athens cannot help their allies and they turned their way to the Peloponnesian League. Byzantium and Anatolian city states takes place near the Athens and as a result of these new allies, war spreads Italy through Anatolia. On the Second Peloponnesian Wars, Athens economy cannot carry the war and rebellion movements in the Empire prepares the withdraw of the Athens and victory of Peloponnesian League.2 Themistocles: The first idea of the united Greece Themistocles was Athenian general and politician during the Greco-Persian Wars. Themistocles was a great figure of Athenian democracy and he was the creator of assault plan against Persians on Marathon3. Themistocles gains great reputation and respect after the Battle of Marathon victory because his battle plan is unique and it has been using on wars with his term: Shock strike. His plan was based on catching enemy unprepared and giving them no-time for realize the situation(chaos) that they going in to. More than 5.000 Persian men died on Battle of Marathon on the other hand, Athenians casualties only 192 men. This war is a turning point for world battle history. Themistocles’ technique used by Nazi Germany on World War II, aka “Blitzkrieg” and for instance, France falls just in two weeks to Wehrmacht and Nazi forces walk through Berlin to Moscow and Stalingrad just 3 months. Battle of Marathon is a turning point for Themistocles’ career and he realized Great Persian Empire can be defeated.
Also, he realizes they cannot do this alone. Themistocles offers a unification policy on Athenian Agora: The Delian League. Persians have enemies on Balkans and Anatolia but why Themistocles did not add them his list? Themistocles started the negotiations between Greek city states and Athens after the declaration of the military unification against Persians and he saw the cultural similarities and common future goals. Of course he was not angel, he thought he can use this commonity to benefits for the Athenians. Also he predicted that naval battles can bring advantage to Greeks because Greeks are expert on Sea. He created Athenian Naval Law4 and united Greek Armada can change the war according to Themistocles but Spartans have doubts about this unification due to the fact that they did not trust Athenians. Leader of the Sparta, Leonidas I thought this unification will use by Athenians for their advantage after the war. Spartans did not involve the union in the first approach because thought Persians are not trouble for them. Thermopylae defeat changed everything for Spartans. They realize that Sparta cannot defeat Persians just themselves. The time Themistocles and his navy about defeat on the Salamis bay, Spartan navy comes to aid5. This event was a sign of the first unification of Greece. Themistocles achieved creating a military union, which controlled by …show more content…
Athens, against the Persians. Thucydides’ wrote about Themistocles "A man who exhibited the most indubitable signs of genius; indeed, in this particular he has a claim on our admiration quite extraordinary and unparalleled." Themistocles was a great figure and hero of Greco-Persian Wars and we can call him preparatory of united Greece. Aftermath Athenian Empire resigned and golden age of Athens ended.
Athenian democracy and economy collapsed6. Spartan type regime and Spartan sided government have succeeded on Athens. On the other hand, Spartans and their allies gained great victory against Athens but their economies crashed as well. Greeks lost more than half of their population on the civil war7. The Peloponnesian League and Sparta cannot establish authority on Greek peninsula and in fact, Persians are the true victorious of this war as it seems. Also, this lack of authority on Greece was a great advantage for new founded Hellenistic Empire by Alexander the Great. Alexander united whole Greece under his rule and he began his greatest conquest against Persians. Alexander’s armies defeat Persians every battle through Byzantium (today Istanbul) to Egypt and India. With a different point of look, this unification which created by Themistocles and after war unification with Alexander, establish strong connections among Greeks. When looking at the timeline, Greeks always stand together for every threat after this turning point. For example, Greeks stand together against new founded Roman Republic after death of Alexander and collapse of Hellenistic Empire. Long duration of Roman Empire occupation, Greeks strengthen their connections and they affect Romans culturally and religiously8. Roman law and regime system is a different version of Greek systems after the foundation of Empire. After the separation of Roman Empire
east and west, East Roman Empire and Greeks becoming more connected and Byzantine Empire started to see as a Greek empire from the European and Asian perspective. Byzantine means becomes Greek. After the fall of Constantinople and collapse of East Roman-Byzantine Empire, Greeks still stand together against Ottoman Empire. With the nationalist ideas of French Revolution, “Greece” rebelled against Ottoman Empire. Careful, not only Athens or not only Sparta. Greece rebelled together and they gained their independence from Ottoman Empire. This unification is a result of long time occupations and historical timeline however, if Greek city states did not realize two hand is more powerful than one hand on Greco-Persian Wars and common cultural heritage among themselves, they cannot come together. With the Peloponnesian Wars, Greeks realize their commons and these commons lead them to unification with help of invasions and occupations. In conclusion, The Peloponnesian Wars were bloody battles between Athenian Empire and Sparta. Greek city states and Sicilian Greek states had chosen their places near Athenians or Spartans and this rivalry becomes civil war in Greece. Persians have effect on this conflict and they regained their authority on Aegean Sea. Greek city states have great economical and populational damage as a result of that Athens and Sparta lost their power and authority on Greece. This is a great profit for Persians as it seems however, new founded Hellenistic Empire and Alexander the Great unites weak Greek city states under his rule. This unification cannot disband after the collapse of Hellenistic Empire, this unification continued under Roman Empire, East Roman Empire, Latin Empire and Ottoman Empire. The Peloponnesian civil wars are not separate Greeks actually. With the help of this civil war, Greeks realize their common historical past and they establish more strengthen wires among themselves. Because they come together and they beat one of the greatest empire of world history, Persians. Greece invaded many empires and states but they could achieve standing together against the outsiders. Themistocles created this idea against Persians on Greco-Persian Wars and with the help of many invasions, Greeks create strong connection among themselves which allow them from separation.
In early fifth century BC Greece, the Greeks consistently suffered from the threat of being conquered by the Persian Empire. Between the years 500-479 BC, the Greeks and the Persians fought two wars. Although the Persian power vastly surpassed the Greeks, the Greeks unexpectedly triumphed. In this Goliath versus David scenario, the Greeks as the underdog, defeated the Persians due to their heroic action, divine support, and Greek unity. The threat of the Persian Empire's expansion into Greece and the imminent possibility that they would lose their freedom and become subservient to the Persians, so horrified the Greeks that they united together and risked their lives in order to preserve the one thing they all shared in common, their "Greekness".
... one another until they were no more. From the Persian War to the Peloponnesian the two states had changed a lot of the years. Starting from their greatest alliance yet first moment of subtle rivalry, the Persian War. Although they were indistinctly competing against one another, without each other they could not have dominated. Then there were the two blows to the peace treaty. The first blow being the Athenian assistance in the battle between Corinth and Corycra. The second blow being the idea to burn Corinth’s town down. Although these were remarkable mistakes the Athenians saw nothing wrong with them. Lastly, was the war. In 431 B.C. the Peloponnesian War broke out between the two allies, after all they had been through, their alliance was over. War was bound to happen, although they lived in tranquility for so long, one or the other was destined to break out.
Pericles ascended to power at the empire’s height and was, according to Thucydides, the city’s most capable politician, a man who understood fully the nature of his city and its political institutions and used his understanding to further its interests in tandem with his own. After Pericles, however, Thucydides notes a drastic decline in the quality of Athenian leaders, culminating in Alcibiades, the last major general to be described in The Peloponnesian War. While he is explicit in this conclusion, he is much more reticent regarding its cause. What changed in Athens to produce the decline in the quality of its leadership? The development of an empire is a change strongly emphasized in the Archeology as a radical departure from the Hellenic tradition, and consequently a major source of conflict among the Greeks.
The battle of Thermopylae was the Greek’s first stand against the massive army of King Xerxes, and was the most influential battle of the entire war. Up to this point, the Persian army was seen as too massive and powerful to be stopped. The once warring city-states of Greece knew they couldn’t stand against the Persians alone, and knew in order to defend their homeland they would have to unite. A unity of command was agreed upon; King Leonidas of Sparta was chosen to lead the Greek forces. He was chosen to lead because of the unsurpassed warring abilities the Spartans were so well known for made him perfect for the objective of stopping the Persians.
There are times in history that something will happen and it will defy all logic. It was one of those times when a few Greek city/states joined together and defeated the invasion force of the massive Persian Empire. The Greeks were able to win the Greco-Persian War because of their naval victories over the Persians, a few key strategic victories on land, as well as the cause for which they were fighting. The naval victories were the most important contribution to the overall success against the Persians. The Persian fleet was protecting the land forces from being outflanked and after they were defeated the longer had that protection. While the Greeks had very few overall victories in battle they did have some strategic victories. The Battle of Thermopylae is an example of a strategic success for the Greeks. The morale of the Persian army was extremely affected by the stout resistance put up by King Leonidas and his fellow Spartans. The Greeks fought so hard against overwhelming odds because of what they were fighting for. They were fighting for their country and their freedom. They fought so hard because they did not want to let down the man next to them in the formation. Several things contributed to the Greeks success against the Persian invasion that happened during the Second Greco-Persian War.
Of all the history of the Ancient Greece, there were two events that showed really well how disunity among the Greeks highly contributed to its downfall, which were the Peloponnesian War and Successors’ War. Interestingly, both wars occurred after a unity and followed by a unity that was carried out by “outsiders”. This may have actually shown that the Greeks had never learned from their past
The Persian War was a war between the Greeks and the Persians. Even though the Greeks were still not united they fought to defend each territory that was theirs. The Peloponnesian war was a war among the Greek city states. That is the difference among the two; one was fought against an enemy who attacked the Greece land and the other was fought among the Greeks themselves. The Persian War begun because the Greeks made a military rebellion in Asia Minor which caused the Persians to face more conflicts themselves. This was known as the Ionian Revolt. After the Ionian Revolt, the Persians more than ever wanted to take over Greece Eventually leading to the Persian War. This was the reason why the Persian war began, basically of revenge. The major parties involved in the conflict of this war were the Persians and the Greek city states.
The Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.) was a conflict between the Athenian Empire and the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta that resulted in the end of the Golden Age of Athens. The events of the war were catalogued by the ancient historian Thucydides in The History of the Peloponnesian War. Thucydides’ writings showed the ancient Greek belief that there is a parallel between the city-state and the character of its citizens; in order for the city-state to be successful, its citizens must be virtuous. Thucydides did not believe that the true cause of the Peloponnesian War were the immediate policies of the Athenian Empire against the city-states in the Peloponnesian League but rather the fundamental differences in the character of the two city-states
Greece and Persia are two of the four great empires that rose to the top rapidly. Both empires have well organized political systems that greatly influenced the way later governments were structured in the United States and Europe. Greece and Persia empire’s structures weighed greatly on their development and growth, but the diverse topographies of Greece and Persia also made a vast impact. These features affected the cultures and even how the political government changed overtime.
The roots of the Peloponnesian war can be traced long before 431 BCE, when it officially started. It can be traced back to as early as the Persian Wars, where the Athenians had found their home burned by the hands of the Persians. That disaster left the Athenians with no home and no sanctuary. Even though that was a defeated battle amidst a victorious war, they still had reason to believe that the Persians will come back for more. Apprehensive at the thought of having their city burned yet another time, the Athenians knew they had to do something. Naturally, they chose to get help. Gathering up the neighboring city-states around them, the Athenians formed the Delian League; an alliance working directly to defend the whole of Greece from Persian attacks (Kagan 8). In the beginning, this worked out well; everybody got their say on what went on in the league, and everybody was satisfied. However, the Athenians saw that if they were to take more power, the members of the league would not be strong enough to resist. Therefore, that was exactly what they did; they took more and more power until what was the Delian League became the Athenian Empire (Kagan 8). As they grew even more powerful and wealthy, their neighbors of Sparta and the Peloponnesian League, Sparta's alliance, could not help but notice (Kagan 13). In 431 BCE, lighted b...
The Peloponnesian War was between the Greek cities of Athens and Sparta due to the growing tensions that continued to grow between the two cities that eventually came to a breaking point. The Peloponnesian War, which can be divided into three phases known as: The Archidamian War, The Sicilian Expedition and The Decelean War, is one of the greatest event in Greek history and an analysis of the causes and effects of this war will give us a better understanding for how the cities of Athens and Sparta came to war and the impact it left behind.
In Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, Pericles commends the ergon of Athenian heroes, which has placed them in the realm of logos, while directing the Athenians to follow these ideals of logos. The maintenance and continued success of Athens' political establishment relies on the prevalence of polis, rationality and discourse over family, emotion and reckless action. However, the indiscriminate turns of fate and fortune, often place logos in opposition with the base, primal nature of ergon. Both Thucydides and Sophocles recognize that when logos conflicts with the unexpected ergon, the preservation of rationality and unanimity among the citizens of the polis depend on the leadership of a single honest leader. In the History of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides presents Pericles as a man of logos, whom Athens needs to achieve its full potential as an empire and later to rescue her from disaster. Likewise, Sophocles presents Theseus, in Oedipus Colonus, as the perfect successor of Pericles, who returns Athens to its former glory before the end of the war. In these two examples, we see that the dominance of logos over ergon within a polis lies in the ability and logos of the city’s current leader.
The Peloponnesian War is the conflict between the Peloponnesian League, led by Sparta, and the Delian League, led by Athens. Much of our knowledge on the causes and events of the Peloponnesian War, depends on the Athenian Thucydides 460-400 BC, writer of the History of the Peloponnesian War. He served as an Athenian commander in Northern Greece during the early years of the war until the assembly exiled him as he lost an outpost to the enemy. During this exile, he was able to interview witnesses on both sides of the conflict. Unlike Heredotus, he concentrated on contemporary history and presented his account of the war in an annalistic framework that only occasionally diverts from chronological order.
In ancient times, Greece wasn't a united country but more of a group of lands where Greek-speaking people lived. Around 2000.B.C. the Mycenaean?s settled on the Greek mainland seeking to form a civilization. Already having the geography provide to the Greek culture, they put in many ideas and developed a writing system with the help of the Minoans, a group of people who were native to the Greek mainland. They fought a ten-year war against Troy known as the Trojan War. Although they were victorious, the weakened civilization collapsed and a new group of people, the Dorian?s took Greece into what is known as the Dark Age of Greece. Being less advanced than the Mycenaean?s, the writing system was dropped and a new way to tell history was formed through word or epics. Two major city-states or polis formed: Athens and Sparta. Athens developed a limited Democracy, which was ruled by the people through representatives. This proved to be most efficient because all people were treated equally. Its was kept under control with a set of laws that harshly punished citizens for even the simplest crimes created by Draco in 621B.C. Solon came into power in 594 B.C., and took out Dracos? wicked methods by making four social classes based on wealth and abolishing debt slavery. Around 500 B.C., Cleisthenes created the Council of Five Hundred in which council members were randomly chosen by only citizens could be in a limited democracy. He also rearranged the social classes formed by Solon into ten groups based on where a citizen lived rather on wealth. Education in Athens was only given to males and when they became of age they then went on to serve in the military. Athens honored cultural things such as art and literature. Sparta was a military state run by an oligarchy government or rule by a small group of citizens based on wealth. Social order in Sparta consisted of citizens, noncitizens and helots. Sparta had the strongest army in Greece.
Beginning in 492 B.C., a series of wars erupted, appropriately entitled the Persian Wars, which lasted around thirteen years. Because of the constant battles between the Persians, led by Xerxes, and Greece, both civilization started growing weaker and weaker. When the wars ended, the Greeks were successful at defeating the Persians. However, being in a weakened state caused the Greek city- states (mainly Athens against Sparta) to fight amongst themselves in order to have more influence over the rest of the city-states. This type of war was termed the Peloponnesian War and continued from 431B.C. to 404 B.C. (History of Greece:The Golden Age of Greece) and