The%20Peloponnesian%20War

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The Peloponnesian War

• The Struggle for the Future of Greece

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Thucydides

• His History is our main source for the war
• Manuscript is incomplete at time of death
• Eyewitness accounts, recreation of speeches, tell
  the facts, not myth

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Reasons for War

• End of the Thirty Year Peace 440-431
• Spartan land dominance, Athenian sea power
• Corinth Athens is a threat to Greek liberty.

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Reasons for War

• Corinth 2nd largest naval power
• Athens - natural leader of the Greeks
• Sparta fears Athens

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Athenian Strategy

• Pericles plan pays off, as the Athenians can get
  supplies through the long walls, and with the
  help of their fleet.

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The City Secured

• Attica withdraws
• Spartan army invades, ravages city
• Walls protect food supply

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But the Plan is Flawed . . .

• Cant attack from within
• Cant keep thousands stuffed inside city
• Cant outlast the plague

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The Plague

• In general, there was no known cause, but
  people in good health were all of a sudden
  attacked by violent heat in the head and red and
  inflamed eyes, and internally the throat and
  tongue were bleeding . . . The body itself was
  not very hot, nor pale, but reddish, livid and
  breaking out into all manner of pustules and
  ulceratic wounds.

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The Death of Pericles

• 429 BCE
• Oligarchs vs. Democrats
• Settlement vs. War

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Cleons Plan or the Archidamian War

• Invade Sparta
• Logic Deter Spartans from invading Attica
• Helots will revolt
• 425 BCE invades with army, dead in 422

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The Peace of Nicias

• Nicas negotiates a treaty
• 30 year truce that lasts only 7 years
• Everyone goes back to their land
• But pro-war faction does not vanish

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Alcibiades the Agitator

• Everything you could want in a politician
• Young, good speaker, clever . . .
• Highly educated, daring, good at parties
• But best of all, he was the nephew of Pericles

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With a leader like this, what could go wrong?

• He is politically amoral
• Picks the war effort because it suits him
• Wants to lead and this side needs a leader
• By 420 he is strategos
• Figures out how to attack
• Up until now, the plan had only been how to
  defend Athens

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The Sicilian Expedition

• Sparta depends on the Magna Graecia for supplies
  and Corinth for trade
• Cut off the supplies, and you have victory
• Go for Syracuse

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The Magna Graecia
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Could this plan work?

• Capture Syracuse (main city in Sicily)
• Capture Sicily
• Cut Corinth and Sparta off from trade and supplies

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Problems

• How to get the fleet past Corinth?
• Could an Athenian army take Syracuse?
• How could Athens afford this?

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Nicias vs. Alcibiades

• Nicias on the war
• need large land army
• Feasibility of plan
• Take all supplies along
• Very expensive
• With this Nicias concluded thinking that it
  would either disgust the Athenians by the
  magnitude of the task . . . or that they would be
  persuaded to do this in the safest way possible

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Alcibiades Speech

• Know that we shall increase our power at home by
  this adventure abroad . . . Let us humble the
  pride of the Peloponnesians by sailing off to
  Sicily . . . And at the same time we shall become
  either masters, as we very easily may, of the
  whole of Hellas . . . Or in any case ruin the
  Syracusians, to no small advantage to us and our
  allies.

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Athenians Want War

• 3 Commanders to keep things fair and balanced . .
  .
• Alcibiades
• Nicias
• Lamachus

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The Expedition Begins

• 134 triremes, 27,000 men
• Treasury is emptied
• Defacing of statues
• Alcibiades arrested
• Spartans get a spy

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Nicias Takes Command

• How to win the war when the guy who wanted it is
  now on the other side???
• And the guy who didnt want it is now in
  charge???
• Things are not looking good for Athens

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Disaster Strikes

• Get the fleet home
• Surprise Ambush
• Land Assault
• Most terrible loses in the history of Greece

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Damage Control

• Athens raises second fleet
• Lack of leadership dooms attempt
• Oligarchs take control in 414
• Democrats favored by 410

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Welcome Home, Alcibiades

• Recalled from exile
• Four years of victories
• Falls from favor

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405 BCE

• Athenians attempt to restock ships
• Spartans and Corinthians are waiting
• Athenians fail to guard fleet
• There can be no recovery

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Spartans Invade Attica

• In 404, Athens surrenders
• Athenians forced to pull down walls of city
• Athenian fleet restricted
• Ally with Sparta (forced to do this)

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The Consequences are Dire

• Lost the Empire
• Never a major political influence again
• Sparta does not have the leadership skills to
  unite Greece

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Coming Soon . . .

• Who is closer to the idea Greek woman Uma or
  Jessica?