Write a one to two page paper recounting what you learned about the Peloponnesian Wars this week.
The Peloponnese war was like the Civil War of Greece, where two prominent sides of the same country go to war. Sparta and Athens had always had small conflicts. But over time the tension grew and the fights . In 459 B.C the got more out of hand. War had finally been declared as both regions had snapped. The Spartans instilled toughness into their young boys and the culture was proud of their military, wanting to be the most prestigious empire the world had ever seen, and Athenians on the other hand, were quite powerful on the battlefield but also wealthier, having high quality weapons.
The Peloponnese Wars broke out. Megara and Corinth started fighting, and Athens ended its treaty with Megara. Megara was also a Spartan ally. The Delian League; Athens ally’s, started to oppose Sparta allies. The war lasted 15 years, with Athens gaining Megara and some other incontestability Sparta invaded Attica, which forced the Athenians to return its conquered land. Later the Thirty Years’ Peace was signed in 446BC. Athens and Sparta agreed that each city-state would have its own ally system.
Finally in 432BC, Sparta agreed that Athens had broke the peace treaty and so with that Sparta declared war. This war lasted 17 years. Athens was lead by navy general Pericles. This navy general promoted using Athens strong naval force to secure Sparta’s coasts. This worked for several years, and Athens even won several victories. This was until a plague struck Athens in 430BC, and killed 30,000 men. Now in this time Athens was weak, but then they were able to recover their navy and go back to war. This fleet was lead to a victory by Demosthenes in the battle of Pylos in 425BC. Also clean came to finish off the stranded Spartan naval soldiers. Then the tables turned when general Brasidas marched an army to Thrace; the source of Athen’s silver trade. Brasidas was able to take Amphipolis, and forced Athens to respond to Sparta’s land attacks.Brasidas was then exiled and wrote about this war.
The war had a small time of peace when Brasidas and Clean were killed in the battle of Amphipolis. The peace lasted 6 years until Sparta’s allies started to rebel. Sparta prevailed and was able to Gain back the Peloponnese league. Now in the 17th year of the war the battle moved to Sicily. Athens went to defend its colony against Syracuse, and Sparta came to reinforce Syracuse. Sparta was able to win a naval battle and took control of Athens. At the end of these wars Sparta had control of Athens.
Hope you enjoyed this weeks essay on the Peloponnese Wars. Can’t wait to see what you have to say.
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