Explore the Peloponnesian War and understand the political and economic causes of the war. Discover the results and the impact of the Peloponnesian War.
Updated: 12/19/2021
Causes and Results of the Peloponnesian War
Overview of the Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War was a conflict between the two powerful Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta. As the most politically and economically powerful city-states in Greece, the two factions developed a long-standing rivalry. Athens' power only grew when it became head of the Delian League, alarming Sparta and many other city-states. War broke out when Sparta gathered its allies to challenge Athens' power, a risky choice considering Athens' military might. Athens responded by preparing its navy and army. The war was fought from 431–404 BCE. Midway through the war, the two powers were able to come to a truce; but the peace did not last, and the city-states returned to conflict six years later. In 404 BCE, the Peloponnesian War resulted in a Spartan victory. However, the fragmentation of Greece following the war led to dire consequences for the city-states, and for Greece as a whole.
Background of the War
The Peloponnesian War was a general conflict between the rival city-states of Greece that lasted from 431-404 BCE. Classical Greek civilization did not have a central government or ruling empire but was instead made up of small, independent communities called city-states. Such a system led to political fragmentation, rivalry, and eventually, war. Athens, Sparta, Thebes, and Corinth are examples of some of the more famous city-states of this period and were among the main actors in the Peloponnesian War.
The city-states of Greece governed themselves and were highly competitive with one another when it came to trade, warfare, cultural influence, politics, and even sporting competitions. These tensions eventually led the two dominant city-states of Sparta and Athens to go to war in 431 BCE. Soon thereafter the other major city-states of Greece were drawn into the conflict.
The Peloponnesian War gets its name from the Peloponnesus, which is the southern peninsula of Greece where much of the conflict took place. Much of what we know about the Peloponnesian War comes to us from the Greek historian Thucydides who lived through the war and composed a history of the conflict.
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Causes of the Peloponnesian War
What caused the Peloponnesian War? Sparta and Athens had been long-standing rivals throughout the Classical Greek era. While there were many other city-states in Greece, these two emerged as the most powerful. They were ideologically opposed, with Sparta centering its entire society on the development of a strong military, and Athens focusing primarily on education, philosophy, and building its economy. As Athens gathered more power, Sparta began to worry for the future. The power of these two regions and their growing rivalry, were sparked into conflict due to rising tensions caused by the Delian League.
Political Structure of Ancient Greece
The political structure of ancient Greece was decentralized. City-states were population centers, and their surrounding areas were organized into a single political unit. Each city-state functioned as its own independent government. Greece was made up of over a thousand city-states, with no central ruler over them all. The geography of Greece separated these city-states both politically and culturally, as mountains, rocky terrain, and islands physically separated regions. Several important city-states included Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Thebes, Elis, Syracuse, and Rhodes. All of these city-states competed for political power and resources. Conflict between city-states was common. The later formation of the Delian League, a political organization meant to unite the city-states, attempted to solve the problem of political fragmentation. However, it only led to more conflict and divisions between city-states.
The Delian League
The Delian League was created in response to the Persian Wars. Being decentralized put the Greek city-states at a huge risk when attacked by foreign powers; it was difficult to amass large armies, especially in the smaller city-states. When the Persians invaded, Greek city-states joined together under the Delian League to fight against the Persian threat. This was organized under Athens' leadership in the Delos city-state. Athens had the largest and most powerful navy, which was a great asset in the fight against the Persians. Sparta, as well as several hundred other city-states, joined the military alliance in order to defend themselves from the outside threat. The Persian Wars lasted between 500–479 BCE, but the league remained powerful long after the war had ended. Under Athens' leadership, members of the league were required to pay tribute in order to fund the league. This influx of wealth strengthened Athens and allowed it to prosper, leading to resentment and discontent from other members of the league.
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Sparta's Rebellion
Sparta was the only city-state that could match the power and influence of Athens. Sparta and its allies, mostly members of the Delian League, grew upset at Athens' power. Together, they moved to challenge the city-state. Corinth, a Spartan ally, moved into Corcyra to protect their economic interests against Athens, and Sparta came to defend its ally. When it did, the Peloponnesian War broke out as Athens attempted to defend its interests. Most of the fighting would occur on the Peloponnese, a region of southern Greece, which is where the conflict derived its name.
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End of the Peloponnesian War
At the beginning of the war, Athens was favored to win. It had amassed much wealth from maritime commerce and was the foremost naval power in Greece. It held control of the Aegean Sea and was able to use its wealth from trade to finance its military. Sparta's military was land-based, and they faced many disadvantages at sea before building up their navy. Their troops were very well trained, and their hoplite troops were famous for their discipline and tactics, which had helped the Greeks to defeat the Persians decades earlier. Ultimately, Sparta won the war by 404 BCE when Athens surrendered. The Spartans were able to siege Athens and its allies, effectively cutting the city-state off from food and resources. Sparta was able to defeat Athens in naval battle in 405 BCE, effectively destroying Athens' once strong naval power. In 404 BCE, the war ended with Sparta victorious.
Impact of the Peloponnesian War
Greece was weakened as its city-states fought amongst themselves, leading to the deaths of many and the draining of the civilization's resources. They were now left militarily and economically weak. Yet again they were left vulnerable to outside attacks. The Delian League had broken up, leaving the peninsula fragmented. Athens, the once powerful city-state, was weakened. Even victorious Sparta was left weaker after exhausting itself from the war. It would be easy for foreign powers to invade Greece and take it over.
The kingdom of Macedon rose from the ashes of Greece. Macedon was a region to the north of Greece. Seeing the city-states weak, the Macedonians knew it was a perfect opportunity to invade. They planned to conquer the region, taking advantage of its disunity. Between 350–338 BCE, the Macedonians conquered Greece. King Phillip II founded the kingdom, creating an empire across the region. His heir, the famous Alexander the Great, would take on Persia, ultimately defeating the civilization. From there he would build an empire stretching from Greece all the way to India.
Lesson Summary
The Peloponnesian War was fought between the powerful city-states of Athens and Sparta between 431–404 BCE. After wars with Persia, the two city-states had become the most influential in Greece. Their growing power and rivalry, combined with tensions intensified by the Delian League, led directly to the Peloponnesian War. The Delian League was created to unite the city-states to fight against foreign invasions, mostly as a response to the Persian Wars. However, the league led to more disunity, as Athens' power within the league, and the money it made through tribute, upset the other city-states. When Sparta decided to challenge the authority of Athens, war broke out primarily in the Peloponnese, a region of southern Greece. Although Athens was at a major advantage due to their maritime commerce and naval power, Sparta was ultimately victorious. The Peloponnesian War led to major consequences, as the war had weakened and divided Greece, leaving an opening for Macedon, under the leadership of King Phillip II, to rise to power.
The Conflict and Its Causes
There are a number of factors that led to the outbreak of the Peloponnesian war. Firstly, the political structure of classical Greek society was itself a cause of war. With many independent city-states competing for resources and cultural influence, war was always a danger. Secondly, the alliance known as the Delian League had brought the city-states of Greece into an uneasy military alliance that many members began to resent over time.
The Delian League was an alliance formed after the Persian Wars (500 - 479 BCE) as a means to deter future attacks on Greece from the mighty Persian Empire. Athens became the natural leader of the Delian League since it had the largest navy with which to combat Persian advances. The other city-states of Greece paid tribute to Athens to help support the military coalition. As a result, Athens enjoyed a great deal of prosperity under the Delian League. However, this ultimately worked to foster animosity towards Athens and can be counted as a major cause of the war.
The third cause of the Peloponnesian War was likely due to Sparta's rebellion. War really wouldn't have been possible at all if Sparta had not risen to challenge Athenian hegemony. The Peloponnesian War was underway once Sparta and its allies moved to challenge Athens.
Although there were many actors and city-states involved, the Peloponnesian War formed around two distinct rival sides: one led by Sparta and the other led by Athens. Fighting took place throughout Greece and the Aegean Sea and even impacted areas as distant as Sicily. Athens and Sparta were both able to rely upon a number of allied city-states, which meant that the war spread throughout Greece.
Generally speaking, Athens was a naval power and was able to take advantage of seaborne warfare and an extensive network of commerce in the Aegean Sea. Much of Athens' strength was to be found in its ability to draw upon vast commercial wealth and to import needed goods from great distances. On the other side, Sparta was predominantly a land-based military power, fought campaigns with well-organized hoplite troops, and was renowned for its military discipline and battle tactics.
By 404 BCE, Sparta and its allies triumphed over Athens. But, how was victory achieved for Sparta? There are two dominant factors that led to Sparta's victory over Athens in the Peloponnesian War. Firstly, Sparta was able to stop the supply of food and other vital goods from reaching Athens. This threatened to starve out the people of Athens. At the same time, Sparta was able to win a decisive naval battle in 405 BCE that completely destroyed Athenian naval power. Without its all-important navy, Athens could not function, let alone fight a war. As a result, Athens surrendered in 404 BCE.
Consequences and Results
The Peloponnesian War weakened Greek civilization militarily and economically. In the war's aftermath, the city-states of Greece were not as unified as they had once been under the Delian League. Furthermore, the resources of once powerful city-states like Athens had been exhausted. Because of these factors Greece had become vulnerable to foreign invasion and conquest.
In a sense, the Peloponnesian war opened the door for the rise of the Kingdom of Macedon. From 350 - 338 BCE, the kingdom of Macedon moved in from the north and conquered much of Greece, taking advantage of weak and disunited city-states. King Philip II of Macedonian was able to create an empire across much of the region, and his heir, Alexander the Great, would later use Greece and the Macedonian Empire as a launching point for an invasion of Persia.
Lesson Summary
The Peloponnesian War was not a single battle nor was it limited to fighting between Athens and Sparta alone. The Peloponnesian War, named after the Peloponnesus region of Greece, was a widespread conflict involving a number of battles on land and at sea. The origins of the war are to be found in not only the rivalry between Athens and Sparta but in the larger political divisions of Greece into competing city-states, as well as in the tensions stemming from the Delian League. Following Sparta's victory in the war, Greece became weakened, which allowed for the rise to power of the Kingdom of Macedon and later, Alexander the Great.
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Video Transcript
Background of the War
The Peloponnesian War was a general conflict between the rival city-states of Greece that lasted from 431-404 BCE. Classical Greek civilization did not have a central government or ruling empire but was instead made up of small, independent communities called city-states. Such a system led to political fragmentation, rivalry, and eventually, war. Athens, Sparta, Thebes, and Corinth are examples of some of the more famous city-states of this period and were among the main actors in the Peloponnesian War.
The city-states of Greece governed themselves and were highly competitive with one another when it came to trade, warfare, cultural influence, politics, and even sporting competitions. These tensions eventually led the two dominant city-states of Sparta and Athens to go to war in 431 BCE. Soon thereafter the other major city-states of Greece were drawn into the conflict.
The Peloponnesian War gets its name from the Peloponnesus, which is the southern peninsula of Greece where much of the conflict took place. Much of what we know about the Peloponnesian War comes to us from the Greek historian Thucydides who lived through the war and composed a history of the conflict.
The Conflict and Its Causes
There are a number of factors that led to the outbreak of the Peloponnesian war. Firstly, the political structure of classical Greek society was itself a cause of war. With many independent city-states competing for resources and cultural influence, war was always a danger. Secondly, the alliance known as the Delian League had brought the city-states of Greece into an uneasy military alliance that many members began to resent over time.
The Delian League was an alliance formed after the Persian Wars (500 - 479 BCE) as a means to deter future attacks on Greece from the mighty Persian Empire. Athens became the natural leader of the Delian League since it had the largest navy with which to combat Persian advances. The other city-states of Greece paid tribute to Athens to help support the military coalition. As a result, Athens enjoyed a great deal of prosperity under the Delian League. However, this ultimately worked to foster animosity towards Athens and can be counted as a major cause of the war.
The third cause of the Peloponnesian War was likely due to Sparta's rebellion. War really wouldn't have been possible at all if Sparta had not risen to challenge Athenian hegemony. The Peloponnesian War was underway once Sparta and its allies moved to challenge Athens.
Although there were many actors and city-states involved, the Peloponnesian War formed around two distinct rival sides: one led by Sparta and the other led by Athens. Fighting took place throughout Greece and the Aegean Sea and even impacted areas as distant as Sicily. Athens and Sparta were both able to rely upon a number of allied city-states, which meant that the war spread throughout Greece.
Generally speaking, Athens was a naval power and was able to take advantage of seaborne warfare and an extensive network of commerce in the Aegean Sea. Much of Athens' strength was to be found in its ability to draw upon vast commercial wealth and to import needed goods from great distances. On the other side, Sparta was predominantly a land-based military power, fought campaigns with well-organized hoplite troops, and was renowned for its military discipline and battle tactics.
By 404 BCE, Sparta and its allies triumphed over Athens. But, how was victory achieved for Sparta? There are two dominant factors that led to Sparta's victory over Athens in the Peloponnesian War. Firstly, Sparta was able to stop the supply of food and other vital goods from reaching Athens. This threatened to starve out the people of Athens. At the same time, Sparta was able to win a decisive naval battle in 405 BCE that completely destroyed Athenian naval power. Without its all-important navy, Athens could not function, let alone fight a war. As a result, Athens surrendered in 404 BCE.
Consequences and Results
The Peloponnesian War weakened Greek civilization militarily and economically. In the war's aftermath, the city-states of Greece were not as unified as they had once been under the Delian League. Furthermore, the resources of once powerful city-states like Athens had been exhausted. Because of these factors Greece had become vulnerable to foreign invasion and conquest.
In a sense, the Peloponnesian war opened the door for the rise of the Kingdom of Macedon. From 350 - 338 BCE, the kingdom of Macedon moved in from the north and conquered much of Greece, taking advantage of weak and disunited city-states. King Philip II of Macedonian was able to create an empire across much of the region, and his heir, Alexander the Great, would later use Greece and the Macedonian Empire as a launching point for an invasion of Persia.
Lesson Summary
The Peloponnesian War was not a single battle nor was it limited to fighting between Athens and Sparta alone. The Peloponnesian War, named after the Peloponnesus region of Greece, was a widespread conflict involving a number of battles on land and at sea. The origins of the war are to be found in not only the rivalry between Athens and Sparta but in the larger political divisions of Greece into competing city-states, as well as in the tensions stemming from the Delian League. Following Sparta's victory in the war, Greece became weakened, which allowed for the rise to power of the Kingdom of Macedon and later, Alexander the Great.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What impact did the outcome of the Peloponnesian War have on Greece?
The Peloponnesian War left Greece divided and weak. Because of this, Macedon was able to more easily invade and conquer the region.
What were the three main causes of the Peloponnesian War?
The Peloponnesian War was caused by the growing power of Athens and Sparta. It was also caused by their rivalry, and the tensions built between city-states by the Delian League.
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Peloponnesian War Causes & Results | What Caused the Peloponnesian War?
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