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AH1 Relations between Greek States 492-404 BCE > The Archidamian War 431-420 > Flashcards

The Archidamian War 431-420 Flashcards

1
Q

What was Sparta’s stated policy for the Archidamian War?

A

Liberating the Greeks

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2
Q

What was Sparta’s strategy for the Archidamian War?

A

They invaded Attica in the hope of provoking a fight

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3
Q

How often did Sparta invade Attica?

A

Annually

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4
Q

When and did Sparta not invade Attica and why?

A

In 329 and 426 because of the plague and earthquakes

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5
Q

How did the Spartans try to provoke the Athenians during their annual invasions of Attica?

A

By destroying their crops

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6
Q

What was Pericles’ strategy for the Archidamian War?

A

To avoid hoplite battle with Sparta and to rely on their empire and navy as if Athens were an island

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7
Q

What did Pericles instruct the population of Attica to do during the Spartan invasions?

A

To move inside the city walls and resist the urge to defend their land

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8
Q

Why did Sparta’s annual invasions of Attica not last very long?

A

Crops, especially the olives and vines Attica grew most, were very difficult to destroy and the Peloponnesians had to return in time to harvest their own crops

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9
Q

What was Sparta’s longest invasion of Attica and when did it happen?

A

40 days in 430

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10
Q

What was Pericles policy in terms of Athens’ empire during the Archidamian War?

A

They shouldn’t try to expand their empire during the war

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11
Q

What event ruined Pericles’ policy?

A

The plague in Athens

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12
Q

What was the first event of the Archidamian War?

A

Thebes attacked Plataea

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13
Q

Why did Thebes attack Plataea at the start of the war?

A

They knew war was coming and wanted to expand their influence in Boeotia

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14
Q

What was the initial outcome of Thebes’ attack on Plataea?

A

They took Plataea but were the overpowered and Athens helped garrison the city

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15
Q

What happened to Plataea after Athens installed the garrison?

A

A 3 year siege eventually won by Sparta

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16
Q

What did Sparta do after taking Plataea?

A

They killed everyone who had opposed them but most of the Plataeans had been evacuated to Athens

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17
Q

Who did the plague in 430 affect?

A

The people in Attica and Athenian troops across Greece

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18
Q

Why did the plague kill so many people?

A

Evacuating the Attic countryside meant there was 200,000 people in Athens who could catch it

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19
Q

Why did the plague spread so quickly?

A

The summer heat combined with a lack of drinking water, shelter and sanitation due to the evacuations

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20
Q

Why did the plague die out so quickly?

A

The survivors rapidly became immune

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21
Q

Roughly how many hoplites did Athens lose to the plague?

A

4,400

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22
Q

Roughly how many Attic civilians were killed by the plague?

A

100,000

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23
Q

Which notable Athenian leader was killed by the plague in 429?

A

Pericles

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24
Q

Where did the Peloponnesians send an embassy to in 430?

A

Persia

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25
What happened to the Peloponnesian embassy in 430?
They were detained and executed by the prince of Thrace
26
Which city fell to Athens in 429?
Potidaea
27
Where was Athens campaigning in 429 and why?
Western Greece, Phormio was hoping to capitalise on the successes in Ambracia and gain allies north of the Peloponnese
28
What did Phormio do whilst campaigning in western Greece that led to naval battles at Naupactus?
He blocked the Gulf of Corinth
29
What was the outcome of the naval battles at Naupactus?
The Athenians won a resounding victory
30
What did Athens' dominance at Naupactus mean for the rest of the Archidamian War?
There were no more significant naval encounters
31
What was the result of Athens' operations in Ambracia?
A fair peace independent of Athens or the Peloponnese was agreed in late 426/early 245
32
Who revolted from Athens and joined Sparta in 428?
Mytilene
33
Why was Mytilene's revolt from Athens in 428 significant?
They were one of the only two remaining ship-building allies
34
What did Athens do in response to Mytilene's revolt in 428?
Voted for Cleon's motion to put Mytilene's entire population to death
35
What happened the day after Athens voted to put everyone in Mytilene to death?
They had another debate and changed their minds
35
How do we know Athens was running out of money by 426/5?
The Cleonymos and Thoudippos decrees
36
What did the Cleonymos and Thoudippos decrees do?
Tightened up on tribute collection by placing penalties on officials who failed to exact the money, and increased the amount of tribute to be paid
37
What did Demosthenes do in 425?
Fortified a position in Pylos (south-west Peloponnese)
38
Why did Demosthenes fortify a position in Pylos in 425?
To incite the helots living there to revolt
39
How did the Spartans respond to Demosthenes fortifying Pylos in 425?
They withdrew from Attica and counter-attacked by land and sea
40
How did Sparta counter the Athenians at Pylos?
They occupied the island Sphacteria south of Pylos to control the harbour and isolate the Athenians
41
What happened to the stranded Athenians at Pylos?
They repelled attacks until a fleet arrived, securing the harbour and isolating the Spartans instead
42
How did Sparta respond to their hoplites being stranded on Sphacteria?
They arranged an armistice and sent an embassy to Athens asking for peace
43
How did Athens respond to Sparta's request for peace in 425?
Cleon convinced them to ask for the cities they gave up in the 30 Year Peace back
44
What was the outcome of Sparta's request for peace in 425?
Sparta couldn't accommodate Athens' demands and went home empty handed
45
Why did Athens regret not taking Sparta's offer of peace in 425?
They realised they couldn't maintain their blockade through the winter
46
Which Athenians disagreed on how to handle Sphacteria and what was the outcome?
Cleon and Nicias, Cleon claimed he could take Sphacteria in 20 days despite the fact he had no military experience
47
What forces did Cleon take to Sphacteria?
800 hoplites and 1600 archers/javelin throwers
48
What happened when Cleon's forces landed on Sphacteria?
The Spartan fell back and surrendered when given the option
49
Why was Sparta surrendering at Sphacteria so significant?
It destroyed their reputation of being the best of all Greeks and never surrendering
50
Why might the Spartans on Sphacteria have surrendered in 425?
Their commander, Styphon, may have been one of the Spartans who voted against war
51
What happened to the Spartans who surrendered in 425?
They were taken to Athens, and used to threaten Sparta into stopping their invasions of Attica
52
What happened to Cleon as a result of his success at Sphacteria?
His power in Athens increased
53
What was Athens strategy following their success at Sphacteria?
To hem the Spartans into the Peloponnese
54
What island did Athens take after Pylos/Sphacteria and under the command of which general?
Cythera, Nicias
55
How did Sparta's strategy change after the events on Sphacteria in 425?
They sent Brasidas and a force of freed helots and mercenaries to Thrace in 424 to incite Athens' allies to revolt
56
Why did Athens have lots of allies in Thrace?
It was rich in minerals and timber
57
Which Thracian city did Brasidas approach first in 424?
Acanthus
58
How did Acanthus respond to Brasidas in 424?
They were unsure if they should trust him but allowed him to address their people
59
How did Brasidas get Acanthus to let him in in 424?
He threatened them
60
What were Athens doing whilst Brasidas was in Thrace in 424?
They were trying to re-establish their land-empire in Boeotia
61
What was the outcome of Athens trying to regain their land-empire in Boeotia in 424?
They were opposed by the Theban-led Boeotian confederacy and fought the first hoplite battle of the war at Delium
62
Who led the Athenian forces at the Battle of Delium in 424 and what was the outcome?
Demosthenes, Athens lost
63
Which Thracian city did Brasidas target in the winter of 424?
Amphipolis
64
What bridge did Brasidas take on his way to Amphipolis and why was it strategically important?
The bridge across the Strymon, it controlled access to the Hellespont
65
Who did Athens send to oppose Brasidas in Amphipolis?
Thucydides
66
What did Brasidas do upon hearing of Thucydides opposition to him?
He offered them moderate terms and convinced them to open the city to him before Thucydides arrived
67
What did Brasidas ask Sparta for after his successes in Thrace?
Additional troops
68
Why did Brasidas not receive the additional troops he asked for after his successes in Thrace?
Differences in opinions and rivalries in Sparta
69
What were the main opinions about continuing the war in Sparta?
Some were happy Brasidas was achieving their stated aim of liberating the Greeks, others just wanted to make peace
70
Which city did Brasidas take after Amphipolis?
Torone
71
What was agreed in 423?
An armistice between Athens and Sparta
72
What did Brasidas do whilst the armistice was being agreed in 423?
Convince Scione to revolt from Athens
73
Why did Scione's revolt cause problems that the other Thracian cities' did not?
The armistice signed in 423 allowed each side to keep what they had at the time, Scione revolted after the armistice had been agreed
74
How did Athens respond to Scione's revolt?
They demanded the city back as per the armistice
75
What did Athens do when Brasidas and the inhabitants of Scione refused to give the city back?
Cleon proposed to kill all the inhabitants like he had for Mytilene and Nicias besieged the city
76
What city went over to Brasidas after Scione and what happened to it?
Mende, Nicias re-took it on his way to besiege Scione
77
How long did the armistice agreed in 423 last and why?
1 year because Cleon wanted to regain what had been lost in the north
78
What did Cleon did after not renewing the armistice?
He sailed north and re-took Torone before fighting a battle against Brasidas for Amphipolis
79
What was the outcome of the Battle of Amphipolis in 422?
Athens were defeated, Cleon was killed during the battle, and Brasidas was wounded and died later
80
Why was peace more likely after the Battle of Amphipolis in 422?
Cleon and Brasidas, the people most opposed to peace on each side were dead
81
Why was Athens inclined to peace in 422/1?
They had suffered major defeats at Delium and Amphipolis and feared their allies would revolt
82
Why was Sparta inclined to peace in 422/1?
They wanted to recover the prisoners, they had lost their military reputation/confidence, the helots were deserting and their 30 year truce with Argos was due to end
83
Who led the peace negotiations in 422/1 on each side?
Nicias and King Pleistoanax recently returned to Sparta
84
What was agreed in 421?
The Peace of Nicias
85
How long was the Peace of Nicias to last?
50 years
86
Who couldn't attack each other under the Peace of Nicias?
Athens and their allies couldn't attack Sparta and their allies and vice versa
87
What did Sparta have to give up under the Peace of Nicias?
The cities they took in Thrace and Panactum (an important fort on the Attica-Boeotia border)
88
What did Athens have to give up under the Peace of Nicias?
Cythera and other islands off the Peloponnese, and the prisoners taken from Sphacteria
89
Who had to agree to the Peace of Nicias?
All the allies
90
Who could amend the Peace of Nicias?
Athens and Sparta if they both agreed
91
How were the cities Sparta returned to Athens under the Peace of Nicias divided?
Into those who had actively resisted Athens (Amphiplos, Scione and Torone) and those who had just gone along with it
92
What happened to the cities returned to Athens by the Peace of Nicias that had actively resisted them?
They could be treated as Athens saw fit (the people of Scione were put to death in accordance with Cleon's edict)
93
What happened to the cities returned to Athens by the Peace of Nicias that had just gone along with Brasidas?
They could keep their independence as long as they paid the original tribute set in 478
94
Why were there problems with the Peace of Nicias from the beginning?
It felt like it was between Athens and Sparta, not between the leagues, so Sparta's allies refused to support it, and the inhabitants of Amphipolis refused to return to Athens and the Spartan commander didn't want to force them to
95
What did Sparta do when Argos didn't renew their peace treaty?
They brokered a defensive alliance with Athens for 50 years, in which they agreed to defend each other's territory and make war and peace together

AH1 Relations between Greek States 492-404 BCE (13 decks)

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