The Conflict Between Athens And Sparta And The Peloponnesian War

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The Peloponnesian War marked the ending of the Golden Age for Greece. After years of prosperity in art and literature, it abruptly came to an end when Athens and Sparta decided to wage war on one another. At the time, Athens and Sparta were the two most powerful city-states in Greece and they both believed that they could not be stopped by anyone or anything-- except for one another. Sparta and Athens pitted the Peloponnesian League and the Delian League against one another, the two leagues representing the listed cities respectively. The Peloponnesian War itself was a series of conflicts between Athens and Sparta which used old strategies and led to the destruction of an empire. The Peloponnesian League was started by Sparta in the 6th century B.C.E. Sparta was slowly becoming the most …show more content…

Unlike Athens, they knew they were strong and not overbearingly confident. Athens believed that financial stability would lead the to victory. By the end of the war, Athens was broke. All of their allies distrusted them too.
Another reason Sparta won was because of the Persians. Sparta had an extremely strong land force and a small navy. Persia sent naval ships to the Spartans and hoped to help destroy the Athenian empire (Hunt p. 80). Without the help of Persia, the war may have turned out a little differently. Both Sparta and Athens were forces to be reckoned with. It all boils down to two powerful city-states fighting to be the leader of Greece. They both had their own ideas and clashed because of it. Although Athens believed they were the leading force, they were proven wrong. Sparta became the most powerful polis in all of Greece. After the war, Athens was completely destroyed. They had no money from years of fighting and most of their land was destroyed by the spartans. They had nothing left while Sparta had it all. Without Athens strong ambition in itself and their overbearing confidence, Sparta would have never

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