Greek Wars
The Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War lasted from 431 to 405 B.C.E. The war was between the two most powerful ancient Greek city-states, Athens and Sparta. Sparta had a strong army and Athens had a strong navy. Sparta was part of the Peloponnesian League and Athens was aligned with the Delian League. Their conflict started in 431 B.C.
The Delian League vs. The Peloponnesian League
The whole reason this war started was that Athens had control of the Delian League. By 454 B.C. the league's power was transferred to Athens (Athens was keeping most of the money from the Delian League). The Delian League was founded in 478 B.C.E. Sparta felt that Athens was becoming too powerful and that they could be a threat. Sparta created the Peloponnesian League in response to the Delian League..
War Tactics & The Deadly Plague
Athens knew that they could not compete with Sparta on land. Instead, Athens relied on their strong navy and preferred to fight at sea. Sparta was one of the most fiercest armies in all of Greece, and beyond. Under Pericles, Athens decided to stay in their walled-in city and avoided fighting the Spartans on land. Around 430 B.C., another enemy attacked Athens. Athenians started to suffer from vomiting, fever, rashes, and headaches. This deadly plague killed one out of every three Athenians. In four years the deadly plague killed 60,000 people. The deadly plague was doing a lot of damage to the people. Historians think it may have been Typhoid Fever.
Truce
In 421 B.C., Athens sign a truce with Sparta. Athens and Sparta began a period of peace. The truce lasted 30 years. The peace would not last long.
The Three Key Provisions in the Truce Agreement
Athens and Sparta had three key provisions for keeping the peace: 1. Allies could not realign, 2. Neutral states could eventually enter into an alliance, and 3. Disputes would be handled through third-party arbitration.
Alysson R.
Olive Vista STEAM Magnet Middle School Student