The causes of the Peloponnesian war in 431 BC Flashcards
Explain the Corinthian complaint (460-459 BC) (5)
-Corinth and Athens already had a bad relationship
-Megara joined the Delian league due to a border war with Corinth and “it was chiefly because of this that the Corinthians began to conceive a bitter hatred for Athens” Thucydides
-“war could be avoided if Athens would revoke the Megarian Decree” Thucydides
-“do not force the rest of us in despair to join a different alliance” Thucydides
-“when one is deprived of ones liberty one is right in blaming not so much the man who puts the fetters on as who had the power to prevent him but did not use it” Thucydides
give two examples of Sparta being fearful of Athenian power
-“what made war inevitable was the growth of Athenian power and the fear which this caused in Sparta” Thucydides
-early in the period Spartans sent embassy to the Athenians asking them not to build walls because their allies “were alarmed both by the sudden growth of Athenian sea power” Thucydides
Explain the 30 year peace treaty in 447BC (3)
-Athenians needed the treaty as they had lost thier land empire in 447 they were facing some revolts from allies (Euboea and Megara who invited the Peloponnesian league to invade Attica) and the spartans were on the offensive. Athens had no choice but to sue for peace
-Sparta may have wanted the peace due to Helots or Oliganthropia. this would explain the idea that Pleistonax wasn’t bribed to leave he did so due to pro-peace
-“we prevented the peloponnesian sates from helping Samos” which showed sparta had thought of breaking treaty Thucydides
give two examples of Athenian Imperialism
-432BC Spartans send another embassy to Athens with an ultimatum “sparta wants peace Peace is still possible if you will give the Hellens their freedom” Thucydides
-Thucydides thinks real reason for Archidamian war is 2what made war inevitable was the growth of athenian power and the fear which this caused in Sparta”
