After Greece defeated the Persian army at Salamis, it wasn’t kumbaya. A house divided cannot stand, but Greece divided anyway. Time passed, and the two dominant city-states—Sparta and Athens—developed independent leagues. They were coalitions between allies. Sparta and its allies made the Peloponnesian League, while Athens and its allies had the Delian League. The Peloponnesian War was the manifestation of hatred between the two leagues. That said, why did the people who defeated Persia not too long ago raise arms against each other? And how did that war impact the world?
The Delain League was formed to defend its members from Persia. It was a coalition between city-states for national security. Its treasury was located on the island of Delos. Each city-state needed to supply warships to the league for membership. Given that most of them didn’t have the resources to build ships, they gave Athens to build on their behalf. The system worked nicely until it didn’t.
Athens’ influence in the league was pertinent since they were politically, economically, and militarily the strongest city-state. Troubles formed when Athens relocated the treasury to Athens. Then they started using the league’s funds to build infrastructure in their city. But the funds were for warships to defend everyone, not to build Athenian palaces and roads. The rest of the league became skeptical about Athens’ role and whether the league was even necessary.
Messina attempted to secede from the Delian League, but Athens used military force to bring them back in. Retaining membership wasn’t optional anymore it was a mandate. The Greek city-states in the league were forced to provide funds—that Athens used for themselves—and leaving wasn’t an option.
Sparta, leader of the Peloponnesian League, viewed Athens’ abuse of other Greek city-states and their imperialism as a threat. In the name of Greek liberty, the Peloponnesian League declared war on Athens in 431 B.C. Pericles built walls around Athens, and to the ocean, so the city could continue trading with other countries. Meanwhile, the impenetrable walls defended Athens from Sparta. Since all the Athenians were trapped inside the walls, when an epidemic broke out in 430 B.C. it was very lethal. An estimated 1/3 – 2/3rds of the population died. Since Sparta couldn’t break the walls, and Athens was no match for their ground forces, the war resulted in a stalemate. The two nations made a truce in 421 B.C.
However, come 415 B.C. when Athens’ imperialism continued, they invaded Sicily, one of Sparta’s allies. That action commenced the war, but this time, Sparta had a navy. In 404 B.C. Sparta and the Peloponnesians won the war.
The war began because the other city-states were threatened by Athens’ hostility. While it was a success of the Peloponnesian League, in the aftermath, the war was devastating for both sides. For a brief period, Sparta enjoyed a powerful hand, but that didn’t last long. All of the Greek city-states became weak because of this civil war. The absence of unity that they possessed during the Persian Wars made them weak. By the mid-4th century, B.C., there wasn’t a dominant state. That made them all sitting ducks for an attack. King Phillip the 2nd of Macedon and his son Alexander the Great exploited that weakness.
Asher Sisneros 