The Peloponnesian War was the war fought between Athens and its Empire [the Delian League - Attica and many islands in the Aegean Sea and the city-states along the Ionian Coast] and Sparta and its Allies [called by historians the Peloponnesian League - principally comprising Sparta and Corinth]. Sparta’s was a conservative alliance which supported oligarchies and was opposed to the democracy of Athens. Indeed the Peloponnesian War has been seen as a struggle between Oligarchy and Democracy. The Athenians thought of themselves as tribally different from Spartans, as Ionians as opposed to Dorians. Only if the two were allied in defence of Hellas [against the Persians] did they both think of themselves as Hellenes. The radical political thought and constitution of Athens, its democracy and the freedoms that were given to its citizens contrasted strongly with the regime the people of Sparta lived under, posing a major threat to the latter’s political structure and way of life. Sparta’s strength lay in its land based army and military force. Its hoplites were the best in all of Ancient Greece. Athens relied on its navy to defend itself, though Corinth had a navy too.
Athens had enough ready money for its navy the next step was to provide a sufficient supply of timber. This was always a difficulty with the Athenians, for Attica itself could supply little for building triremes, and in particular for making the oars which had to be extremely strong and, especially for the upper tiers of rowers, of very great length also. Almost all the timber they required they were obliged to import; most of it came from Macedonia.
Sparta had a huge land based and trained army which it used to guard itself from revolts by its huge slave population, the Helots, the other peoples of the Peloponnesian peninsula whose land had been captured by Spartan military forces and their peoples enslaved and put to work by the Spartans to support their families.
Sparta and Athens had allied against the Persian invaders during the incursions made by Darius and Xerxes. This was the association formed of Greek city states to fight against the Persians during the
Greco-Persian Wars of the 5th century BC. This alliance was called the Hellenic League.
After the Persian Wars, Sparta left the Hellenic League and Athens set up the Delian League in its place to defend itself against possible future Persian aggression The allied city-states of the Delian League were all meant to contribute funds for a navy in their defence. The Delian League was so-called because the treasury for this league was set up on the island of Delos. Athens, having the technical skills to build the ships and the trained oarsmen, became the principal boat builders and supplied the labour, materials, and the crews for the Delian League’s navy . They moved the treasury from Delos to the Acropolis and the Parthenon temple. The contributions made by the subordinate members of the League were made compulsory, in effect turning the patment into tribute which the Athenian forces enforced ruthlessly if any member of the alliance failed to deliver up its share of the monies. In essence the Delian League became Athens’ Empire and the client member city-states of the alliance Athenian colonies. Many found reason in this to revolt against the Athenian hegemony.
Between the end of the Persian Wars and the middle of the 5th Century BC several incidents and sometimes open hostilities took place between Athens and the member city-states of the Peloponnesian League.
The period of fifty years between the defeat of the Persians at Plataea in 479 BC and the start of the Peloponnesian War in 431 BC is known as the
Pentecontaetia [πεντηκονταετία].
The
First Peloponnesian War was a series of conflicts and minor wars, such as the
Second Sacred War . There were several causes for the war including Athens’ building of its long walls, Megara's defection to Sparta and the concern felt by Sparta at the growth of the Athenian Empire.
Between 462 BC and 458 BC, Athens began the construction of two sets of defensive long and high walls, one running from the city to the old port at Phalerum, the other to the new port at Piraeus. Which it hoped would prevent their construction of Athens’ defensive walls, but work on them continued and they were completed soon after the battle. These walls ensured that Athens would never again be cut off from essential supplies as long as she controlled the sea. These walls enclosed not only Athens city centre but a vast area which included the two main ports.
460 BC Battle of Oenoe, where a small Spartan force which had been sent to quell an uprising in Argos was defeated by the forces of the Athenian-Argive alliance. Athens builds long walls for the Megarans to their port at
Nisaea, thereby making an enemy of Megara's old rival, Corinth.
457 BC when the Spartans and their allies defeat the Athenian army at
Tanagra by which it hoped it would prevent further work on Athens’ defensive walls, but work on them continued and much of the works was completed soon after the battle. The Athenians counter-attacked and gained a crushing victory over the
Boeotians at the
Battle of Oenophyta. They followed this victory up with the conquest of all Boeotia except for
Thebes. The victory at Oenophyta enabled Athens to defeat
Aegina later that year, and to finish the construction of the
Long Walls to the Athenian port of Piraeus.
The
Second Sacred War that year was the conflict over the occupation of the
Temple of Apollo at Delphi by the Phocians and the intervention of a Spartan force which returned control of it back to the Delphians. On the way back to the Peloponnese of the Spartan force, the
Athenians attacked them but were repelled, and the Spartans continued on their way home.
Afterwards Sparta embarked on a campaign of truncating "Athens' imperialistic ambitions in
Central Greece" The Athenians were defeated in 454 BC by the Persians in Egypt which caused them to have to enter into a Five Years Truce with Sparta.
451 BC Cimon [who has returned home to Athens from his ostracism] negotiates the Five Years' Truce with
Sparta, in which Athens agrees to abandon its alliance with
Argos, and Sparta promises to give up its alliance with Thebes. During that same year Argos signs the first
Thirty-Years Peace with Sparta.
447 BC A revolt breaks out in Boeotia as the oligarchs of Thebes conspire against the democratic faction in the city. The Athenians, under their general
Tolmides, with 1000 hoplites plus other troops from their allies, march into Boeotia to take back the rebelling cities. They capture
Chaeronea, but are attacked and defeated by the Boeotians at the
Battle of Coronea. As a result, the Athenians were forced to give up control of Boeotia as well as Phocis and Locris, all of which fall under the control of the hostile oligarchs who had quit the
Delian League.
Pericles leads Athenian forces in the expulsion of the Thracian peoples from the Gallipoli peninsula, to establish a new type of colonies there [
Cleruchies]. A
Cleruchy was a form of colonisation where the poor and unemployed people of Athens, its citizens, were encouraged and assisted to emigrate to the newly established colonies, plantations as out-settlements of Athens. In this manner Athens diluted the power local populations of the occupied city-states which led them to lose their self-identity The system of cleruchies became a regular part of Athenian imperialism.
The central parts of the
Long Walls from Athens to the port of
Piraeus are completed.
446 BC Achaea gains independence from
Athens.
Euboea, critically important to Athens for control of the sea and its food supplies, revolts against Athens. Pericles crosses over to Euboea with troops.
Megara also revolts against Athens and the Delian League. The Megarans invite the Spartan army in under King
Pleistoanax to assist them in their defence against Athens. The direct and immediate threat which the presence of the Spartans posed being so close to Athens led Pericles to enter into negotiations. Athens is forced to give up control over its mainland and confine itself to being a largely maritime power..
445 BC The huge drain of monies and manpower from Athens after years of war force Pericles to seek peace. With the support of the Athenian Assembly,
Callias diplomat,goes to
Sparta to arrange a peace treaty with the
Peloponnesian League. The 5 years truce of
451 BC is for another 30 years, the
Thirty Years Treaty.
Megara is returned to the
Peloponnesian League,
Troezen and
Achaea become independent,
Aegina becomes a tributary of Athens but is autonomous, and disputes between the Peloponnesian League and the Delian League are to be settled by arbitration. Each party agrees to respect the alliances of the other.
https://archive.org/details/ancientgreeks00john/page/350
444 BC The conservative and democratic factions in
Athens clash. The new leader of the conservatives,
Thucydides [not the famous historian], accuses
Pericles, leader of the democrats, of spending far too much money on ambitious building projects for the city. Thucydides initially wins the support of the
ecclesia. Pericles, however, proposes to reimburse the city all the money that has been spent on them from out of his own private wealth, on the condition that he could dedicate the new buildings with inscriptions bearing his name. This proposal is supported by the ecclesia, and Thucydides' efforts to depose him are defeated.
442 BC As a result of his failure to have Pericles deposed and daring to challenge Athens’ hero, Thucydides, is ostracised by the Athens citizens for 10 years. Pericles is once again unchallenged in Athenian politics.
440 BC Samos, an island in the Aegean and an autonomous member of the Delian League, having also a substantial fleet of its own, quarrels with
Miletus a city-state on the Ionian coast It appeals to Athens for assistance.
Pericles however decides in favour of Miletus, so Samos revolts. Pericles then sets sail for Samos with a fleet to overthrow its
Oligarchy and replace them with a democratic government. Sparta threatens to intervene. However, at a congress the
Peloponnesian League votes not to intercede on Samos’ behalf against Athens.
438 BC The construction of the
Parthenon on the top of the
Acropolis is completed after 9 years of construction. It is dedicated during the
Panathenaea, a festival held in honour of the goddess
Athena every four years. The colossal statue of the
Athena Parthenos is completed and installed in it It is made of gold and ivory, and stands some 12 metres high.
436 BC Following
Pericles' visit to the
Black Sea, a large Athenian cleruchy is founded at
Amphipolis. This was close to a Corinthian colony,
Potidaea in
Halkidiki.
Corinth feels it is being unduly pressured by Athens.
434 BC Pericles imposes a series of measures (the "
Megarian decree") amounting to an effective economic embargo on
Megara for having violated land sacred to
Demeter. According to the provisions of the decree, Megarian merchants were to be excluded from the market of Athens and the ports in its empire. The ban strangled the Megarian economy and strained the fragile peace between Athens and
Sparta, which was allied to Megara.
An ultimatum was sent by Sparta to Athens: Sparta told Athens it would attack it if it did not lift its sanctions on the Megarans. Megara had been an ally of Sparta for a long-time and this blockade was seen to be an attempt by Athens to make Megara completely dependent upon it. Megara had defected from the Spartan-dominated
Peloponnesian League around 460 BC to the Delian League due to border disputes with its neighbour Corinth and this had been one of the primary causes of the
First Peloponnesian War (460 – c. 445 BC). Under the terms of the
Thirty Years' Peace of 446–445 BC Megara returned to the Peloponnesian League after successfully revolting from the Delian League. Pericles persuades the Athenians to ignore Sparta's ultimatum.
433 BC Pericles concludes a defensive pact with
Corcyra [Corfu], a strong naval power in the
Ionian Sea, and the bitter enemy of Corinth. Corinth sends a fleet to capture Corcyra. At the
Battle of Sybota, a small contingent of Athenian ships prevent the Corinth fleet from doing this. Afterwards Athens besieges
Potidaea, supposedly a tributary ally of Athens but more in reality a colony of Corinth. Corinth appeals to Sparta for help backed by Megara and Aegina, the latter which considers itself overtaxed by Pericles and denied self-rule by him.
432 BC Sparta summons members of the
Peloponnesian League for a conference. Athenian representatives are also in attendance.
Corinth leads a complaint against
Athens. The majority of the members of the Peloponnesian League vote in favour of a declaration that states Athens has broken the peace.
The Athenian admiral,
Phormio, continues laying siege to
Potidaea, blocking the entrance to the
Gulf of Corinth. In the meantime an Athenian fleet, led by
Archestratus, set sails for Potidaea. Iinstead of attacking Potidaea, this latter fleet attacks the
Macedonians, who have formed an alliance with the Potidaeans. The Athenians capture
Therma [modern Thessalonica] and then go on to besiege
Pydna. As they are besieging Pydna, they receive informations that Corinth has sent a force commanded by
Aristeus in support of Potidaea. In response, Athens sends yet more troops and ships under the command of
Hipponicus. The combined Athenian force sails to Potidaea and lands there. In the ensuing
Battle of Potidaea, the Athenians defeat Corinth and its allies.
431 BC Athens enters into an alliance with King Sitalkes of Thrace, after Nymphodorus, an influential Athenian, marries Sitalkes' sister. Nymphodorus who then negotiates an agreement between Athens and
Macedon, from which latter regains Therma. In its turn Athens withdraws its support for the Macedonian king’s brother. The Thracians promise to assist in his capture. In return, the King of Macedon marches on the Chalcidians, the people he originally persuaded to revolt.
The Thebans raid
Plataea, the last pro-Athenian city in Boeotia. They fail in this raid. The Plataeans take 180 captives putting them to death. Athens supports Plataea while Sparta aligns itself with Thebes. Sparta enlists the help of the Greek cities in
Magna Graecia and
Sicily. Both Sparta and Athens appeal to Persia for assistance, but to no avail..
The Spartans invade Attica. This is considered to be the start of the
Second Peloponnesian War. They lay waste to the countryside around Athens. Pericles, makes no real effort to oppose them, rather he orders the population in the countryside districts to seek refuge within Athens' city walls. He then pursues an active naval campaign against Sparta and its allies, preventing any revolt by Aegina by replacing its native population with Athenians.
430 BC The Spartans loot Attica for a second time. Pericles still refuses to engage them in open battle, Instead he leads a force of 100 ships to plunder the coasts of the Peloponnese. Potidaea finally falls to the Athenian forces
The Great Plague_of_Athens breaks out. The disease ravages the city densely packed with refugees. DNA analysis of the bodies found in the cemeteries seem to suggest the disease could have been typhus. The plague kills over 30,000 citizens, including sailors and soldiers. About a quarter of Athens’ population dies. The Spartans abandon their invasion of Attica from fear of catching the plague: their troops refusing to come into contact with the enemy. Pericles also falls ill but recovers. He is relieved from his duties as Athens’ general but is later reappointed.
429 BC Athens suffers a huge defeat in Thrace. 430 men and their generals are killed.
The Athenian admiral Phormio wins two major naval engagements against the Corinthians, the
Battle of Naupactus and the
Battle of Chalcis, at the mouth of the Corinthian Gulf.
Athens is betrayed by the king of Macedon who sides with the Spartans. In response the king of Thrace invades Macedon with a vast army. Support from Athens fails to materialise. The kings of Macedon. and Thrace settle their differences by diplomacy. Thracian forces leave Macedon.
The
plague in Athens eventually claims Pericles
Cleon, who has led the opposition to him, takes over control.
428 BC Mytilene Revolt: Mytilene, the principal city on Lesbos, revolts against Athenian rule.
Sparta sends 40 Peloponnesian League’s ships to their aid. Athens sends forces to put down the rebellion. Mytilene is besieged.. The rebellion is crushed before the Spartan ships arrive. Athens votes not to slaughter the population of the rebellious city. See
Mytilene Debate and
Thucidydes: Mytilene Debate
The
Ionian city-states are also encouraged to rebel.
Alcidas, leader of the Spartan fleet which had been sent to the Aegean, declines open battle. His ships are sent instead to
Cyllene where the Spartans resolve to strengthen their fleet . They are then sent onto
Corcyra where another revolution has broken out. The Spartan admirals then defeat a fleet of Corcyra’s ships. However they retire when word reaches them that 60 Athenian ships are on their way to intercept them.
After Mytilene has surrendered to Athens, Cleon wins the vote for a decree in the ecclesia that the city should be destroyed. A fleet is dispatched to Mytilene to execute this. On the very next day the ecclesia votes to rescind this decree. The messengers carrying the new order only just get there in time to stop the slaughter. Mytilene is spared. Only the leaders of its revolt are executed.
The garrison of Plataea is starved into surrender to the Spartans and Thebans. Over 200 prisoners are put to death. Plataea is destroyed.
The civil war in Corcyra is won by the democrats who support alliance with Athens
The Sicilians are sending corn to Sparta. To block this trade Athens sends a force led by its general
Laches to its ally, the city of
Leontini, which is being threatened by
Syracuse,,, Sparta’s ally Laches mission fails. After his return he is prosecuted by Cleon for ‘having failed to uphold ,Athens’ interests in Sicily.
426 BCAthens’ military and naval forces are rejuvenated by Cleon and
Demosthenes despite opposition from
Nicias and his supporters..
Demosthenes fails in a siege of
Leukas, a colony of Corinth. Because of this he does not return to Athens for fear for his life. Later on that same year,
Ambracia invades
Acarnania. The Acarnanians seek help from Demosthenes, who is patrolling the Ionian Sea coast with twenty Athenian ships, he reaches Athens’ naval base at
Naupactus just in time to defend it against a large Spartan army coming from Delphi led by
Eurylochus who has come to the assistance of the Ambraciots. Demosthenes defeats the Spartan force and Eurylochus is killed during the
Battle of Olpae. A peace treaty is signed between the Acarnanians and the Ambraciots.
An Athenian army led by Nicias,
Hipponicus and
Eurymedon defeats a
Tanagran and
Theban army at the
Battle of Tanagra.
425 BC Demosthenes captures
Pylos a port near to
Sparta. The Spartan army,under
Brasidas, lands on the island of
Sphacteria, but he is repulsed by the Athenians. The Athenian navy traps the Spartan navy in Navarino Bay.
Cleon participates with Demosthenes in the invasion of Sphacteria. The
Battle of Pylos results in an Athenian victory leading to the surrender of many of Sparta’s forces. Pylos remains in Athenian hands, and is used as a base for raids into Spartan territory and as a refuge for fleeing Spartan
helots.
Peace negotiations between Athens and Sparta fail. There are still Spartans forces on Sphacteria. After the Battle of Pylos they are attacked by forces led by Cleon and Demosthenes. The Athenians defeat the Spartans at the
Battle of Sphacteria. The Spartans sue for peace. Cleon, ever the war-monger. persuades the Athenians to refuse.
424 BC
At the
Congress of Gela,
Hermocrates convinces the Sicilians to make peace on their island urging them to exclude foreign powers. The three-year war between Syracuse and Sicily's pro-Athenian town ends. Athens is forced to withdraw its troops.
Demosthenes and
Hippocrates fail in their attempt to capture
Megara. They are defeated by the Spartan general
Brasidas. Demosthenes then marches onto
Naupactus to assist a democratic revolution happening there, and to recruit troops for an invasion of
Boeotia. Demosthenes and Hippocrates fail to coordinate their operations. Hippocrates is defeated at the
Battle of Delium by the Thebans Demosthenes attacks
Sicyon and too is defeated.
Brasidas then marches through Boeotia and
Thessaly onto
Chalcidice with 700 helots and 1000 Peloponnesian mercenaries to join up with the Macedon king. Refusing to be made a tool for the furtherance of Perdiccas' ambitions, Brasidas captures
Acanthus,
Stagirus,
Amphipolis, and
Torone as well as several minor towns. His attack on
Eion is foiled by
Thucydides who has arrived leading an Athenian squadron.
Brasidas' capture of Amphipolis is a major reversal for
Athens, Thucydides is held responsible and ostracised giving Thucydides the opportunity to prepare his History of the war and make contacts with the Peloponnesian side
Battle of Delium 424 BC
Battle_of_Delium - Military Wiki
Nicias captures the Peloponnesian island of
Cythera, from which to harry the Spartans.
423 BC
The Athenian general, Laches,successfuly moves for an armistice with Sparta in the Athenian ecclesia. He hopes this might check the progress of Sparta's most effective general, Brasidas. However, the Truce of Laches was a failure. It had no effect of Brasidas’ action and collapses within a year.
Brasidas ignores the truce and proceeds to take
Scione and
Mende in the hope of reaching Athens and freeing the Spartan prisoners. Athens sends forces commanded by
Nicias who retakes Mende.
422 BC
Cleon ends the truce between Athens and Sparta. He resolves to take back Amphipolis in the Macedon. The Spartans under Brasidas completely rout the Athenians at the
Battle of Amphipolis. Both Brasidas and Cleon are killed during this battle.
Alcibiades takes over the leadership of the pro-war faction in Athens.
421 BCNicias, aristocrat and leader of the peace party in Athens and the, King of Sparta, negotiate the
Peace of Nicias. This brings about a temporary end to the War. The parties agree to return to the situation that existed before the war: All gains are to be given up.. The representatives on each side swear on oath to uphold the treaty, which is meant to last for a generation (thirty years). Not all of Sparta's allies agree to sign the treaty [Boeotia, Corinth,
Elis, and Megara].
Alcibiades engineers an anti-Spartan alliance between Athens and
Argos,
Mantinea and
Elis.
420 BCThe popular
Alcibiades is elected a
Strategos at Athens. He begins to dominate its politics.
Athens,
Argos,
Mantineia and
Elis form an alliance organised by Alcibiades in opposition to
Nicias. It confronts the
Spartan-
Boeotian alliance.
419 BCEven though the Peace of Nicias is still in effect,
Sparta assembles a strong army at Philus which descends upon
Argos from the north after a forced march at night. The Boeotian allied forces fail to show, Nevertheless Sparta is able to conclude a treaty with Argos.
418 BC
At Alcibiades’ insistence Argos breaks its treaty with Sparta.The largest land battle of the whole of the Peloponnesian War takes place, the
Battle of Mantinea, with as many as 10,000 troops on each side. Sparta under King Agis II gains a major victory over
Argos and its allies [
Athens,
Elis and
Mantinea]. The commander of the Athenian forces,
Laches, is killed during the battle.
The people of Argos give up democracy in favour of oligarchy and end their alliance with Athens setting up one with Sparta instead. Many of Argos' allies do the same. Athens becomes increasingly isolated.
Alcibiades urges Athens to conquer
Syracuse, and put
Sicily and
Carthage under its control: the additional forces would enable Athens to defeat Sparta. The Athenians agree to his plan.
417 BCAfter losing the
Battle of Mantinea, there is a huge political uproar in Athens. Alcibiades sides with Nicias against
Hyperbolus, who is seen as the champion of the common people and successor to Cleon and who wants to bring about the ostracism of either Nicias or Alcibiades, The latter combine forces and persuade Athenian people to expel Hyperbolus instead.
416 BCEncouraged by Alcibiades, Athens captures the neutral island of
Melos. Its people are treated with extreme brutality by the Athenians: all the men on the island capable of bearing arms are put to death, and the women and children enslaved.
The
Ionians of the city of
Segesta on Sicily beg Athens [Ionian] for help against the
Dorians of
Selinus who are supported by
Syracuse [Dorians like the Spartans] . The Athenians feel ethnically obliged to assist their ally They prepare to send an armada to attack Sicily.
415 BC
Just before the expedition sets sail many of Athens’
Hermae [sacred busts of Hermes] were found vandalised. The Athenian political orator,
Andocides is accused of the crime and imprisoned. This act of mutilation is seen as a bad omen and causes a general panic across the city. Andocides implicates others whom he calls the real perpetrators, which include
Alcibiades. These others are condemned to death. Andocides, because he has revealed who the others were, is sent into exile instead.
The Athenian expedition to Sicily sets sail under Nicias,
Lamachus and Alcibiades. After the armada has departed. Alcibiades having been accused of the above profanity is recalled to Athens to stand trial: hearing that he has been condemned to death in absentia, he defects to Sparta. Nicias takes charge of the expedition. The Athenian forces land at Dascon a harbour near Syracuse besieging the latter.
Hermocrates leads the Syracusan defence. Syracue does not fall.
Alcibiades persuades the Spartans to send
Gylippus to assist Syracuse and also to fortify
Decelea in
Attica to cut off the land route for Athens’ food supply. He also encourages the Ionians to revolt against Athens. A Spartan fleet not long after arrives in support of Syracuse. a stalemate ensues.
414 BCAthens sends 73 ships to
Sicily under the command of
Demosthenes to assist Nicias with his siege of Syracuse.
The Athenian army moves to capture Syracuse while the larger fleet of Athenian ships blockades the city from the sea. After some initial success, the Athenian troops become disorganised in the night operation and are thoroughly routed by
Gylippus, the
Spartan commander. The Athenian commander
Lamachus is killed. Nicias, although ill, is now left in sole charge of the siege.
413 BCAfter suffering the defeat in which Lamachus was killed, Demosthenes suggests that they abandon the siege immediately and return to Athens, where they are needed to defend against a Spartan invasion of Attica but Nicias refuses The Syracusans and Spartans trap the Athenians in the harbour and the Athenians sustain heavy losses in the
Battle of Syracuse. Demosthenes is ambushed and forced to surrender. Nicias is also captured. Both are executed. Most of the surviving Athenian captives are put to work in the Sicilian quarries.
The Persian
satrap of
Lydia and
Caria, forms an alliance with Sparta. The Spartans, with strategic advice from Alcibiades and with some assistance from the Persians advance almost to the gates of Athens. Sparta occupies Decelea.
412 BC
Darius II seizes the opportunity to recover control of the Greek cities of Ionia which have been under Athenian control since 449 BC. He orders his
satraps there to collect overdue
tribute from them.
The Spartans sign the
Treaty of Miletus, which one of mutual assistance in which the Persians are given complete freedom in western Asia Minor in exchange for agreeing to pay for seamen to man the Peloponnesian fleet.
Alcibiades helps stir up revolts amongst Athens' allies in Ionia However, Alcibiades antagonises the Spartans. As a result, he is forced to flee to the court of the Persian satrap Alcibiades advises him to withdraw his support from Sparta whilst conspiring with the oligarchic faction in Athens, as Sparta's allied cities break away in a series of revolts.
The Athenians vote to use the last of their reserves to build a new fleet.
Clazomenae revolts against Athens. After a brief resistance, however, it again acknowledges the Athenian supremacy.
411_BC
June 9 there is a
Coup in Athens. It has been initiated by
Alcibiades, who was in exile at that time acting as an assistant to the Persian
satrap Tissaphernes. Athens’ democracy is overthrown by an oligarchy led by
Antiphon,
Theramenes, Peisander and
Phrynichus their leader . The oligarchs declared aim was to ensure better financial management of the war. They set up a
Council of Four Hundred. Athens’ total defeat of its Expedition to Sicily and the subsequent revolts amongst many of its subject allies had drained Athens’ treasury of funds. But rule by the oligarchs was extremely antidemocratic and the Council only lasted four months. Mutiny broke out amongst the troops at Piraeus, The Council sent
Theramenes to put it down. However he made himself the mutineers’ leader. Phrynichus, the leader of the oligarchs, is assassinated.
The naval
Battle of Eretria, between Sparta and Athens, takes place in September that year off the coast of Euboea. The fleet of the oligarchs is defeated by the Peloponnesians. Most of Euboea revolts. Following the battle, almost all of Euboea switches sides.
The Athenian Ecclesia holds an assembly and votes to depose the Council of Four Hundred and restores the traditional constitution, but it restricts some of the privileges of citizenship to a body called the
Five Thousand. The Ecclesia resumes its old form as a committee of all citizens.
The Athenian navy under
Thrasybulus recalls
Alcibiades from
Sardis. Alcibiades' election is confirmed by the Athenians at the request of Theramenes. The Spartan fleet in the Hellespont is then defeated at the
Battle of Cynossem by an Athenian fleet led by Thrasybulus and Alcibiades
Antiphon defends himself in a speech which Thucydides describes as the greatest ever made by a man on trial for his life. Nonetheless, Antiphon fails to persuade his accusers and he is executed for treason.
410 BC
The Athenian generals
Theramenes and
Thrasybulus with 20 ships collaborate with
Alcibiades. The Athenian fleet ínflicts a severe defeat on the Spartan navy led by
Mindarus and also the supporting Persian land army near Cyzicus on the shores of the
Propontis. As a result of this victory at the
Battle of Cyzicus, Athens regains control over the grain route from the Black Sea.
Alcibiades installs a garrison at
Chrysopolis under
Theramenes to exact taxes from all shipping that comes from the Black Sea. This new source of money allows Athens to end the regime of the Five Thousand. It is able to restore its former democratic institutions in full . The demagogue
Cleophon dismisses peace overtures which have been made by Sparta.
A revolt in favour of oligarchy in Corcyra fails.
409 BC
Alcibiades recaptures Byzantium for Athens, ending its rebellion. Athens now has secured complete
control over the Bosporus and the supply route of food grain from the Black Sea region.
Thrasyllus, Athenian general. sets sail with a sizable force to campaign in Ionia. There, he quickly captures Colophon and raids the hinterland, but is defeated outside Ephesus by a combined Ephesian, Persian, and Syracusan force.
Pausanias succeeds his father Pleistoanax, king of Sparta.
Darius II of
Persia continues pursuing war against
Athens. His queen,
Parysatis, persuades him to appoint his younger son,
Cyrus, as satrap of
Lydia,
Phrygia, and
Cappadocia and commander in chief of the Persian forces in Asia Minor replacing
Tissaphernes. Tissaphernes powers are confined to the satrapy of
Caria. Darius II sets up funds to re-create the Spartan fleet and sends Cyrus to
Sardis with orders to give increased support to Sparta.
Alcibiades returns to Athens in triumph after an absence of 7 years. He leads the procession from Athens to
Eleusis, atoning him for his alleged impiety in 415 BC when he was held to been involved in profaning its
Sacred Mysteries. Athens appoints him commander-in-chief assigning him autocratic powers. He leaves Athens for Samos to rejoin his fleet.
That Autumn the Spartan admiral
Lysander arrives at
Ephesus to build up a great fleet with help from the new ally the Persian satrap, Cyrus.
The Athenian general
Thrasybulus recaptures
Abdera and
Thasos.
The Spartan admiral
Lysander refuses to be lured out of Ephesus to do battle with Alcibiades. However, while Alcibiades is away seeking supplies, the Athenian squadron is put under the command of
Antiochus, his helmsman. The Spartan fleet (with the help of the
Persians) rout the Athenians at the
Battle of Notium. The enemies of Alcibiades now want to strip him of his command. He never returns again to Athens. He sails north to Thrace. Except for an appearance at
Aegospotami, Alcibiades' involvement in the Peloponnesian War is over.
406 BC
Callicratidas is appointed admiral of the Spartan fleet, replacing Lysander.
Callicratidas assembles a fleet and sails to
Methymna, on
Lesbos, to which he lays siege. Athens’ grain supply is threatened
Alcibiades is replaced by a board of generals. Athens sends a member of the board, Admiral
Conon, to lift the siege of
Mytilene. To defend Lesbos, Conon is forced to move his smaller fleet from
Samos to the Hekatonnesi islands near Methymna. When Callicratidas attacks him, Conon is forced back to Mytilene, where he is blockaded by Callicratidas' fleet.
Athens wins the
Battle of Arginusae, near Lesbos, and the blockade of Conon is broken. To relieve Conon, the Athenians assemble a new fleet composed largely of newly constructed ships manned by inexperienced crews. This inexperienced fleet is inferior to the Spartans, but its commanders employ new and unorthodox tactics, which allow the Athenians to secure a dramatic and unexpected victory. The Spartan force is soundly defeated, and Callicratidas is killed.
Returning to Athens after the battle,
Theramenes leads Athenian agitation against the eight generals who have commanded in the engagement; the six who have returned to Athens are condemned for negligence in not having picked up survivors from the ships disabled in the battle. The Athenian generals (including Pericles' son) are put to death.
Sparta sues for peace. The Athenian leader
Cleophon rejects this. Sparta yields to cyrus’ demands that Lysander commands the Spartan fleet in the Hellespont.
405 BC
After their victory in the
Battle of Arginusae over the Spartans, the Athenian fleet follows the reappointed Spartan admiral, Lysander, to the Hellespont. There the Athenian fleet is destroyed by Lysander’s at the
Battle of Aegospotami in the Sea of Marmara. Conon flees to Cyprus.
The Spartan king
Pausanias lays siege to Athens while Lysander's fleet blockades Piraeus. This action closes the grain route through the Hellespont, thereby starving Athens.
While the Peloponnesians besiege Athens, Theramenes tries to negotiate with Lysander. He is away for three months while Athens is being reduced to starvation. Then he heads the embassy that negotiates the terms of capitulation to the Spartans.
404 BC
Athens’ democratic leader
Cleophon urges the Athenians to continue to resist the Spartans, but the situation is desperate. He is arrested, sentenced to death and executed.
On April 25 being full of refugees and weakened by plague and hunger,Athens surrenders. The Peloponnesian War is brought to an end.
Theramenes secures terms saving Athens from being sacked. The Spartans allow Athens to keep its independence. However, under the terms of surrender, they force Athens to give up all of its colonies and what remains of its fleet. It is also made to become an ally of Sparta. Its Long Walls are torn down. The Greek Ionian towns along the west coast of Asia Minor are forced into becoming subject territories of the Persian Empire once more.
Lysander sets up a puppet oligarchic government in Athens known as the
Thirty Tyrants led by
Critias but which also includes Theramenes as a principal member. This new governing body executes a number of citizens and takes away citizens’ rights from all but a few.
Many of Athens' former allies are now subject to the rule of
decarchies [boards of 10] . These decarchies are reinforced by garrisons lrd by a Spartan military commander [
Harmost].
Thrasybulus is forced into exile by the Thirty. He retires to Thebes.
Theramenes and Critias fall out with one another. Critias has Theramenes executed for treason by the forced drinking of poison [like Socrates].
After losing the
Battle of Aegospotami, Alcibiades, flees to
Phrygia where he begs the Persian satrap,
Pharnabazus, to come to the aid of Athens. The Spartans uncover his scheme and arrange for Pharnabazus to have him assassinated.
Lysander sets sail to
Samos and conquers it for Sparta.
References
Peloponnesian War - Military Wiki | Fandom
https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Mytilenean_revolt
https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Sicilian_ExpeditionA Dictionary of the Ancient Greek World p.167- Peloponnesian War: David Sacks - Internet Archive
Battles
Sybota
Potidaea
Spartolos
Rhium
Naupactus
Mytilene
Tanagra
Aetolia
Olpae
Idomene
Pylos
Sphacteria
Delium
Amphipolis
Mantinea
Hysiae
Melos
Sicilian Expedition
Syme
Eretria
Cynossema
Abydos
Cyzicus
Notium
Arginusae
Aegospotami
Some Personages
Pericles
Cleon
Nicias
Alcibiades
Demosthenes
Brasidas
Lysander
Alcibiades
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Audio
The Ancients - Sparta vs Athens: The Greek World War Podcast
Ancient Greek Theatre and the Peloponnesian War
Several extant Ancient Greek plays provide insights into Athens' involvement in the Peloponnesian War, showcasing the city's ethos, politics, and societal impact during that period.
Here are a few notable examples:
"The Acharnians" by Aristophanes: This comedy, performed in 425 BCE, satirizes the war and its effects on Athenian society. The protagonist, Dikaiopolis, makes a private peace with Sparta, highlighting the war's toll on ordinary citizens and the desire for peace amid the conflict.
"The Clouds" by Aristophanes: Another comedy by Aristophanes, performed around 423 BCE, "The Clouds" satirizes the intellectual and moral corruption of Athenian society. It indirectly criticizes the war and its impact on Athenian values, education, and governance.
"The Trojan Women" by Euripides: This tragedy, first performed in 415 BCE, depicts the aftermath of the Trojan War but serves as a powerful commentary on the consequences of conflict. Although not directly about the Peloponnesian War, it reflects the themes of war, loss, and suffering that were prevalent in Athenian society during that time.
"The Persians" by Aeschylus: Although not specifically about the Peloponnesian War, this tragedy, performed in 472 BCE, portrays the Persian perspective of the Graeco-Persian Wars. It offers insights into the themes of hubris, pride, and the consequences of imperial ambition, which were relevant to Athens' involvement in the Peloponnesian War.
5. The Lysistrata by Aristophanes:
Aristophanes' Lysistrata is very much connected to the Peloponnesian War, a brutal conflict that raged between Athens and Sparta (431-404 BC). Here's how:Historical Context:
- The play was first performed in 411 BC, during the second decade of the war.
- Athens had suffered a major setback with the Sicilian Expedition (415-413 BC). Public morale was low, and Athenians were weary of the fighting.
Lysistrata's Response:
- The play offers a comedic response to the war's devastation. Lysistrata, a clever Athenian woman, rallies women from both Athens and Sparta.
- Their strategy? A sex strike! They withhold intimacy from their husbands until the men agree to negotiate peace.
War Critique:
- Lysistrata's plan highlights the power women hold within the home and the toll war takes on families.
- Interestingly, the year after Lysistrata's performance (410 BC), Athens and Sparta did agree to a brief truce, known as the Peace of Nicias. However, the war ultimately resumed.
In conclusion, Lysistrata is a comedic commentary on the harsh realities of the Peloponnesian War. It uses humour to advocate for peace and challenge traditional gender roles.
- The play criticizes the men's warmongering and their focus on personal glory over peace.
