Download The Peloponnesian War - National History Day in Wisconsin

The Peloponnesian War:
An Encounter Between the Main Powers of the Greek World and the Exchanges
Seen Throughout History
Haley Cveykus
Senior Division
Historical Paper
2,414 Words
“History repeats itself, but in such cunning disguise that we never detect the
resemblance until the damage is done”- Sydney J. Harris
We know, today, that ancient Greece was a flourishing country with deep
influences in the arts, architecture, and religion. However, their bloody past is
something hidden in the shadows yet always there: lurking. In 490 BC we start to
see those shadows come to light. The Greek city states fought the Persian War in
490 BC. During the war they formed two different leagues, or alliances, to aid
them in their battles. One was the Delian league with city states allied around
Athens while the other was the Peloponnesian league with city states allied around
Sparta (Cartwright). The Greeks followed the rule: an enemy of my enemy is my
friend; therefore, city states who may have previously been at odds with each other
worked together to fight the Persians.
After defeating Persia in 479 BC Greece returned to their individualized city
states, or so they were supposed to. In reality, the Persian War changed the
relationship of the city states beyond recognition. Before long tensions were
starting to rise and a new war started to occur; this was the Peloponnesian War
between Athens and Sparta. The Peloponnesian War had countless parallels to
exchanges and encounters all throughout history whether they have to do with the
causes, consequences, or anything in between.
We can see comparisons immediately within the causes. When it came to
ancient Greece, "The obvious reason for the Spartans' willingness to get involved
is that, as Thucydides [a historian who fought in the war] says, they feared the
growing power of Athens" (De Souza). Sparta and Athens were the two major
powers in the Greek world at the time. "After heroic roles in the defeat of the
Persians (480-479 B.C.), for the next half-century Athens and Sparta assumed
preeminence among the city-states, and their rivalry slowly led to the longexpected showdown" (Peloponnesian War).
A prime example of this ancient fear can be seen in modern times during the
Cold War. America had used their strong military presence during World War Two
to promote the creation of an atom bomb. At Hiroshima they used it as a means to
bring a faster end to the war and also to show their power. Meanwhile, other
countries started to worry that they would appear weak against the powerhouse
America had established itself as. Russia was the first to counter America’s deadly
invention. They created new technologies and shortly found themselves enveloped
in a Cold War all because of the fear and image of power. In the cases of both
encounters, those in both ancient Greece and America and Russia, no words were
originally exchanged nor battles raged; yet unease rested in the citizen’s hearts.
How they handled each separate situation was what ultimately changed their
outcome.
In 431 BC, war broke out between Athens and Sparta. For years battles
ensued. Under General Pericles, thousands of rural Athenians were trapped inside
the city walls for their own protection because of the war. While the Athenians
were cooped together, a plague rolled through which decimated two thirds of the
population. “The poor were living in shacks, and small rooms with no protection
and little food” (Peloponnesian War). A strategic military decision went from
saving people’s lives to ensuring their decimation. Even the great general Pericles
was killed by the plague. “The Spartans’ best ally was the unforeseen outbreak of
plague…” (Peloponnesian War).
Many encounters have been aided by the deadly hand of disease; sometimes
it comes silently, sometimes it screams, but it never misses a chance to ravage a
society. All the way back to the Mongols, disease has been a vital ally. Mongols
were violent but effective when it came to their military. A gruesome recollection
of battle involved them catapulting dead bodies into enemy lines to spread fear and
disease. Over time the uses and existence of disease during exchanges and
encounters has changed but disease will never cease to exist; from the first
encounter to the last it will be prevalent.
Disease was important; however, it was not the only reason the war ended in
Sparta’s favor. It took long years of fighting. Toward the end, Sparta defeated
Athens at sea, a feat none had expected. Athens finally had to endure looking in the
face of their longtime ally: defeat. The end of the war led to several consequences
for the Greek city states. The consequences of this encounter encompassed all of
Greece. The most prominent, even in today’s society, has to do with the changing
roles of women.
Many men were lost in the war and with that loss came the loss of
population and lack of income coming into a household. Women had to start
working outside of their homes because of their population losses and impending
poverty. “The orator Demosthenes, writing in the middle of the fourth century,
complained that they [women] now worked as nurses, wool-workers, and grapepickers on account of the city’s penury” (Scott). In both Athens and Sparta,
women’s roles changed and influence grew. “In Athens they appear center stage in
comic discussions of sexual and political equality and in the law courts on issues
relating to citizenship. In Sparta, women emerge as landowners and are portrayed
in training for motherhood and athletics” (Scott).
Not only were women becoming known in the workforce but also, in certain
instances, in positions of power. A specific example of this is a play called Women
of the Assembly. It was written after the war by the playwright Aristotle. The play
showing a situation where women were the ones who had a voice for their city.
Women were receiving more recognition even in death than they ever had before
in life. Their gravestones were neatly engraved and elaborately decorated. Ideas of
how women should be and act were vastly changing. There is one Greek story of a
women whose sons went off to war. A messenger came to her one day, and she
received the news that her sons were killed. She told him not to tell her of them,
but rather tell her if they had won the war instead. Before these words would have
been unheard of coming from a woman’s mouth.
Today we have certain ailments plaguing our culture when it comes to the
roles of women. One issue is representation in our government. Of our 43 different
presidents sworn into office not one of them has been a woman. So, although we
have made leaps and bounds in the name of women’s rights there is still much to
be done and much that is changing. Political power is only one issue, one we can
see has been happening since the times of the ancient Greeks.
A big issue at the Supreme Court level is abortion. People may wonder how
abortion can relate to ancient civilizations and although it doesn’t seem to relate
the principle does. In the Greek story of the mother told of her sons deaths it shows
a belief in something other than self-destruction for the sake of a child. It gives
historians an idea of them fighting for something more. Back then they fought for
their country and held those beliefs above all others. Today, we turn inward to
invest in ourselves. When it comes to abortion a mother could be fighting for her
quality of life or even her life in general, if having a baby could harm her.
Another parallel which relates to modern encounters was the minimized
power of Athens. They no longer were an imperial power. The perimeters set by
Sparta after Athens’s surrender demanded they had to give up all but 12 warships,
dismantle their long walls and fortifications, and become an ally of Sparta.
Everything they had built was diminished, and they had to begin slowly building
their power up again. Not only did they have to deal with their diminished navy,
but they had to start over again to gain new allies and work on digging themselves
out of the rut they fell in. Some cities believed the rules set by Sparta were not
harsh enough for the damages they had caused. "Corinth and Thebes led a group of
cities that wanted to see Athens destroyed, the men of military age executed and
everyone else sold into slavery, but the Spartans refused to impose such draconian
terms (officially because of the important services Athens had performed for
Greece, but probably because they didn't want to see either Corinth or Thebes step
into a power vacuum in Attica)" (The Great Peloponnesian War).
Sparta seemed to try to restore Greece to its former glory and kept up a
pretense of equality; meanwhile, they started trying to implement themselves into
the vacuum of power left by Athens's defeat. “Sparta’s attempt to gain control of at
least part of the old Athenian empire failed” (The Great Peloponnesian War). They
had little success since even though there was a power vacuum caused by the
defeat of Athens, Sparta was not the one to fill it. Sparta simply was too greedy.
In our past, especially our world wars, we see the effects of power vacuums and
greedy governments. Stalin and Hitler were two of the most oppressive dictators
who rose because of power vacuums. After World War One Germany experienced
extreme hardships and Hitler was the one to bring them out of it. To the people of
Germany, he was a savior. He filled the position Germany needed to fill but it led
to his greedy and oppressive rule. With Stalin, he rose amid the chaos after the
Czar fell. He also filled a position the people needed filled. He promised a stable
economy to the people while imposing his supreme rule, easily done behind the
sheet he settled over the citizen’s eyes.
Quite possibly the biggest consequence when we look at the Peloponnesian
War, was the endless series of wars Greece seemed to be trapped by. “Sparta, after
experiencing trouble with kings away from home, lost interest in continuing
warfare against Persia, and so Athens with its large navy took over the continuing
war against Persia- and that resulted in the growth of Athens’ power through the
Delian league, to the point at which Sparta felt threatened by it, and so to the
Peloponnesian war” (Rhodes). Indirectly, the Peloponnesian war was caused by
the growing power of Athens and Sparta’s distrust after the Persian War. Now we
see Sparta’s power growing after the Peloponnesian War in much the same way as
Athens had been before.
It’s not a far stretch to equate these endless battles to our own battles against
terrorism. We never could have known what would happen when we sent our
troops to Saudi Arabia and supported Israel. What came of our support of those
countries was a seemingly endless series of terrorism against our country. First,
came Al-Qaeda. They declared a holy war against us because of our alliances and
claimed we were committing atrocities against Muslims. We felt their rage on
September 11th and the day will never leave our memories. But it we thought 2001
would be the end of it we were horribly mistaken. After Al-Qaeda we declared war
on terrorism and continued sending troops to Iraq. This only added to radicalist’s
convictions. Recently a new group has rose named I.S.I.S. Their nature is terror,
same as Al-Qaeda before them. The Greeks never knew what would have
transpired after fighting the Persians. In our case, neither did we.
America is often compared to Athens in ways both good and bad. The list of
comparisons is vast. Athens was a center of excitement and culture. They were an
imperial power deeply rooted in democracy. “Thomas Paine long ago spelled this
natural affinity out: “What Athens was in miniature, America will be in
magnitude” ’ (Hanson 8). The recent American attitude of imposing democracy on
other countries is thought of to be an Athenian mood. “Like ancient Athenians,
present-day Americans are often said to believe that “they can be opposed in
nothing,” and abroad can “equally achieve what was easy and what was hard” ’
(Hanson 8).
Athens's defeat was an immensely important moment in history we cannot
overlook. When it comes to history repeating itself it is a prime example. At the
time Athens was defeated their long walls surrounding their city were torn down.
They weren’t torn down to sadness and tears but to laughter and music. The people
of Greece were happy Athens had been defeated. This is a cunning disguise in
history we have to make sure doesn’t repeat itself.
Not only was the war one of power but also of position. It was a war of the
ideologies and ideals, factors carried into the modern world. Athens was a
democracy while Sparta was an oligarchy. Among historians there is conflict over
which city state was freer despite the ideals their government was founded on. Yet
the amount of freedom the city states had wasn’t in question as much as their ideals
behind their governments were. It was a democracy against an oligarchy; the ideals
of freedom against others of trust and solidarity.
In America we see the same situation arising. A prominent example would
be the democracy of America against the communistic governments of the world.
We tried to enact change in these governments and spread our democracy. It can be
argued that different ideals are the basis of all conflicts. Topics in anything from
discrimination to wars can be related back to these ideals and traditions. None of
those have changed despite the fact that over two thousand years have gone past.
History is a time loop. It’s clear to see conflicts happening again and again
not only in ancient societies but our own societies today. Peace seems, now and
back then, to simply be nothing more than a utopian concept. In many ways the
Peloponnesian War can be compared to encounters and exchanges we have in
modern times and many historians mention looking toward the war when analyzing
modern wars. When we analyze exchanges and encounters from ancient times all
the way to today, we have to question if we have been truly learning anything from
our history, or if we have simply passed it off as nothing more than useless facts.
Then we have to ask ourselves, if we have been neglecting history, are we prepared
for the consequences.
Map of the Allies in the Peloponnesian War
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Aristophanes. Aristophanes Comedies. New York: Privately Printed for Rarity,
1931. Print.
The comedies gave a unique perspective on life for the Greeks after the war. It
helped me realize the changes that had gone on in Greece after the war and
specifically helped define the roles of women after the war.
"The Avalon Project : The Atlantic Conference." The Avalon Project : The Atlantic
Conference. Yale Law School, n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.
This website contained primary sources pertaining to World War Two. It was
influential in learning about the war and determining how to compare it to conflicts
in Greece.
Herodotus, Robin Waterfield, and Carolyn Dewald. The Histories. Oxford: Oxford
UP, 1998. Print.
The Histories were stories which seemed to encompass most of Greece’s history.
They helped me understand the context of the time so I could better understand the
war.
"The Internet Classics Archive | The History of the Peloponnesian War by
Thucydides." The Internet Classics Archive | The History of the
Peloponnesian War by Thucydides. Trans. Richard Crawley. N.p., n.d. Web.
20 Jan. 2016.
These were the complete works of Thucydides compiled onto one webpage.
Reading through them helped me gain the perspective of someone who was
actually involved in the war.
"President Kennedys European Trip 1961." President Kennedy's Trip to Europe,
May 30-June 5, 1961. Comcast Video Productions & Services, n.d. Web. 06
Apr. 2016.
This primary source helped understand the context of the Cold War and the people
involved in it. Once I understood more about the war it was easily comparable to
Greece.
"Rosie the Riveter." Rosie the Riveter. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.
This primary source was a picture of Rosie. It pertains to women’s rights and
propaganda during the second world war, which also helped me find comparisons.
Thucydides, Rex Warner, and M. I. Finley. History of the Peloponnesian War.
Harmondsworth, Eng.: Penguin, 1972. Print.
Thucydides’ book compressed much of the Peloponnesian War down into a few
hundred pages. It told of events that happened through the war and gave me a
primary perspective to better understand the war.
Xenophon, and G. M. Edwards. The Hellenica. Books I and II. Cambridge:
U, 1958. Print.
Xenophon’s Hellenica took off where Thucydides’ history stopped. The Hellenica
tells of the history of Greece from 411 after. It helped me understand even more
about Greece and the war from another time and perspective.
Secondary Sources
"Al-Qaeda." Wikipedia. Wikipedia, n.d. Web. 6 Apr. 2016.
This website was very helpful when it came to determining similarities between
ancient Greece and modern consequences.
"Ancient History." The Peloponnesian War. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.
This source told me the basics of the Peloponnesian War. It helped me to create the
proper timeline for my paper.
Cartwright, Mark. "Peloponnesian War." Ancient History Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d.
Web. 20 Jan. 2016.
This source showed in depth examples from both sides of the war. It helped me
determine the reasons for the war and what each side was like.
"The Cold War." - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. N.p., n.d.
Web. 06 Apr. 2016.
This source and helped me understand more about the Cold War. The more I
learned about the Cold War the more I saw parallels between it and the
Peloponnesian War.
Dickens, G. "The True Cause of the Peloponnesian War." The Classical Quarterly.
Cambridge University Press, Feb. 2009. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.
This source was an essay written on the real causes for the war. It helped me
determine which causes were most influential.
Gard, Carolyn. "The Peloponnesian War." Ebsco Host. N.p., n.d. Web.
This source helped me understand the thirty years’ truce and other events that
happened during the war. It was a brief history of the war by an unbiased historian
years later.
Hanson, Victor Davis. A War like No Other: How the Athenians and Spartans
Fought the Peloponnesian War. New York: Random House, 2005. Print.
A War Like No Other was a very informative guide on the Peloponnesian War and
some of their weapons and tactics. It was helpful in understanding the way the
ancient Greeks fought. In addition to this, it brought to light numerous important
comparisons.
Kagan, Donald. The Fall of the Athenian Empire: Donald Kagan. Ithaca, NY:
Cornell U., 1987. Print.
The Fall of the Athenian Empire was an informative source which delved into
every area of the war. It helped me by giving me even more knowledge on the
topic and everything surrounding it.
Knox, E.L. Skip. "Results of the Peloponnesian War." Boise State University, n.d.
Web.
The results of the war were the most influential changes to come out of the
Peloponnesian war. For the Greek city states everything had changed and this
source helped me get a better understanding of those changes.
Lendering, Jona. "Peloponnesian War." Peloponnesian War. N.p., n.d. Web. 24
Jan. 2016.
Jona Lendering’s entry on her analyzation of the Peloponnesian War gave me
another modern perspective of the war. It was very influential in helping me get a
better understanding of all the events and how to connect them to today.
"Map of the Peloponnesian War." Map of the Peloponnesian War. Trans. Ken
Mayer. Wikipedia, n.d. Web.
This map was the key to helping me understand the allies for each side of the war.
It shows what areas were allies with Sparta and which were with Athens and
names the important cities.
McBride, Alex. "Roe V. Wade." PBS. PBS, Dec. 2006. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.
Roe V. Wade was a monumental case when referring to women’s rights. I used this
case to compare it to changes in the roles of women from ancient Greece.
"Partners in Winning the War: American Women in World War II." Partners in
Winning the War: American Women in World War II. National Women's
History Museum, 2007. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.
This was another source defining women’s rights. It was another source I used to
compare the changing roles of women in ancient Greece to today.
"Peloponnesian War | Ancient Greek History." Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.
Encyclopedia Britannica has an extensive amount of material and their information
on the Peloponnesian War was very extensive. This aided me when it came to
collecting notecards and information on the war in general.
"Peloponnesian War." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 20 Jan.
2016.
This source published by A&E was extremely informative. It had articles and
videos on the Peloponnesian War which helped me better understand both the
historical context and war in general.
"The Peloponnesian War." Message to P. J. Rhodes. N.d. E-mail.
Rhodes is a professor of ancient history and was very well versed in ancient
Greece. He answered my questions involving many of the consequences of the
war. He helped me get a better understanding of the consequences.
"The Peloponnesian War." Message to Philip De Souza. N.d. E-mail.
Philip De Souza is a professor in ancient Greece from Dublin. He helped me by
answering my questions on the specifics of the war and helped explain things I
didn’t quite understand.
"The Peloponnesian War." Message to Tim Howe. N.d. E-mail.
Howe is a professor of ancient history from Minnesota. He helped me by
answering my questions about Potidaea and the specifics of their rebellion.
"Peloponnesian War." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.
Wikipedia gives a brief history of the entire Peloponnesian War. It helped give me
a broader perspective of the topic.
"Reasons for the Peloponnesian War." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.
PBS does a very good job of explaining in detail some of the major causes for the
Peloponnesian War. It helped me understand, more in depth, the causes for the
war.
Royde-Smith, John Graham. "World War II." Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Feb. 2016. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.
This source from Britannica was influential when learning about World War Two.
I learned more about the war and was able to better relate it to ancient Greece.
Scott, Michael. "The Rise of Women in Ancient Greece." Ebsco Host, Nov. 2009.
Web.
Michael Scott’s analyses on the roles of women after the Peloponnesian War
helped immensely. It had numerous examples of how their roles changed and
helped me understand more about the roles women posed in ancient times.
"Second or Great Peloponnesian War, 431-404 BC." Second or Great
Peloponnesian War, 431-404 BC. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.
The Second or Great Peloponnesian War was a great source when it came to
explaining the war. It helped me understand that the war happened in stages and
ultimately changed the way wars in Greece were fought.
"Syria Iraq: The Islamic State Militant Group - BBC News." BBC News. N.p., n.d.
Web. 06 Apr. 2016.
This source helped me determine similarities between ancient and modern conflicts
and the endless series of wars Greece and America both seem to be trapped by.
"War and Democracy: A Comparative Study of the Korean War and the
Peloponnesian War." (Book, 2001) [WorldCat.org]. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan.
2016.
War and Democracy compared the modern wars to the Peloponnesian War. This
helped me create a better understanding of the war and connect it to modern
events.
"WOMEN IN WWII AT A GLANCE:." Women in WWII at a Glance. The
National WWII Museum, n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.
Women in WWII was an interesting source when looking at more women’s rights
issues. The more I learned about modern issues the more I learned I could relate
them to ancient issues.