The Archidamian War, 431 - 420 BC Flashcards
What was Archidamus II stated policy for commencing operation against Athens in 431BC?
To liberate the Greeks.
What was Spartan strategy?
To invade Attica and provoke a land-based fight, as a consequence there were annual invasions in 431, 430, 428, 427, and 425 BC.
What prevented annual invasions in 429 and 426?
Plague and earthquakes
What is the conflict between 431 and 421 BC typically referred to?
The Archidamian war
What was the basis of Pericles strategy?
To avoid hoplite battle with the Spartan army because, here, the Spartans could not be defeated.
What did Pericles do in regard to Attica?
Directed the rural population to abandon their fields, move inside the city for the duration of the invasion, and resist the temptation to defend their land.
How did people respond to Pericles policy?
Not uniformly accepted, Pericles was forced to defend his policy and Athenian imperialism in general. There was unrest at the sight of crops being destroyed.
Why was it hard for the Spartans to destroy Attican crops?
Mainly farmed the cash crops of olives and vines, both of which are almost impossible to destroy, most destruction done by the Peloponnesians was probably done in order to feed themselves.
Which was the longest invasion and how long did it last?
The 430 BC invasion was longest and lasted 40 days.
Why were the invasions so short?
The peloponnesian allies, unlike the Spartans, were all farmers who had to return home in time to harvest their own crops.
What did Pericles urge Athens do during the war? and why?
Pericles urged the Athenians not expand during the war. The strategy wasn’t to defeat the Spartans, just to outlast them. By this policy, avoiding a defeat was considered victory.
What responses did Athens make to Peloponnesian invasion?
Guard duties and cavalry action against the invaders, together with naval raids against the Peloponnese.
What was the first event of the war?
Thebes attacking Plataea in Boeotia, a direct contravention of the thirty year peace. Thebes succeeded in taking Plataea but were later overpowered and used as human shields. The Athenians helped to garrison the city and then it was besieged for 3 years by the Spartans. The city fell and the Spartans killed all who opposed them.
Where was the bulk of the Plataean population?
Evacuated and resided in Athens for the rest of the war.
When did the plague hit Athens? how long did it last?
Soon after the second invasion in 430 BC, it lasted for two years and had a brief resurgence in 426 BC.
Where did the Plague reach?
Only Attica, the Peloponnese were fine so were Athenian troops elsewhere
Why was the Plague worsened?
The evacuation of the Attican countryside had led to up to 200,000 people being crammed into Athens during the annual Peloponnesian incursions. The heat of summer combined with a lack of water, shelter, and sanitation, caused the disease to rapidly spread.
How many Athenian hoplites died from the plague?
4400 out of the total 13000
When did the Peloponnesians first attempt to send an embassy to Persia?
430 BC, but they were detained by the prince of Thrace and executed.
What happened in the second year of the war?
Potidaea fell to the Athenians.
Where was general Phormio stationed and what did he hope to capitalise on?
Phormio was operating in western Greece, hoping to capitalise on the successes in Ambracia and gain allies in the north of the Peloponnese.
What area did Phormio block?
The gulf of Corinth.
What did the blockade of the Gulf of Corinth lead to?
Naval battles at Naupactus where the Peloponnesian fleet, mainly made up of Corinthian ships, was soundly defeated.
