Download The Peloponnesian War Sparta v. Athens 431 BC

The
Peloponnesian
War
Sparta v. Athens
431 BC
Lead-Up to the War
• Tensions between Sparta and Athens grow
– Had been growing for years due to alliances
• Athens becomes a massive naval power
– Money from alliance helped to create this
• Both sides begin pressing for attacks
– People want to get the upper hand on the other
– Eventually tension boils over into war
The War Begins (431 BCE)
• Sparta declares war 431 BC – attacks Athens
– Sparta known to be tough on land
– Athens known to be tough at sea
• Athens planned to avoid land battles and find a
way to attack by sea
– Sparta not easily accessible by sea – major problem
• Sparta marches on Athens; burns farmland
– Planned to eliminate Athenian food supply
– Hoped they would eventually surrender
Athenian Respond to Attacks
• Pericles pulls citizens inside the city walls for protection;
trying to avoid land battle w/ Sparta
• Good plan except for two major problems
– Major plague hits – kills 1/3 to 2/3 of Athenian population
including Pericles
– Athenian attack fails – Athens sends 27000 soldiers to attack
Syracuse to have Sparta retreat and help
• Athenian army is completely destroyed
• Athens surrenders after holding off Sparta for 9 years
Philosophers Arise w/ Answers
• Following the time of crisis, people in Athens
searching for answers
– Philosophers try to provide answers
– Philosopher- lovers of wisdom
• Believed in two major principles
– The world was put together in a logical way
– People could understand the world with logic and
reason
• 3 major philosophers to know about
– Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle
The Philosophers
• Socrates – 1st major philosopher of Greece
– Encouraged Greeks to question themselves and their moral
character
– He was later put on trial and condemned to death for
corrupting Athens’ youth; drank poison to die
• Plato – student of Socrates
– Most famous for writing The Republic
• Said that there were 3 social classes
• Smartest of the upper class would become philosopher-king
• Aristotle – student of Plato and questioned the world
– His research provided the basis for the scientific method
– Also tutored Alexander the Great; later takes over Greece