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How Did Athens Conquer The Peloponnesian War?

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In Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War, Athens invaded the Spartan island of Melos. The Athenian king was determined to conquer Melos, one of the weaker islands surrounding them rather than let them be neutral. The citizens of Athens perceived neutrality as a sign of weakness, which could later cause his subjects to rise against him. Athens presents the Melians with a choice of becoming their vassals or for the Athenians to decimate Melian territory. After rejecting the cruel offer, Athens considered Melos an enemy of war, besieging the small island. After the Athenians displayed their command to the diminutive military of Melos, the island quickly surrendered. During the Peloponnesian war, Athens decided to conquer the island of Melos to keep their real enemy, the people, from considering him as a weak ruler. The Athenian generals agreed to encamp in Melos and, before harming them, sent negotiators to the Melians, threatening them the same way they had threatened every Spartan colony: Become subjects of Athens or be attacked and then enslaved. Melos refused, so the Athenian generals gave them more time to think about the serious decision. Still, the Melians defied the Athenians of their wishes. The generals proceeded to construct a wall around Melos and supplies were cut off. After months had passed, the Athenians planned to attack the city and the Melians, having discovered their plot, surrendered. Because Melos …show more content…

Although Athenian citizens could vote and had a say in the government, it was the king who made the real decision. When the generals came to negotiate with the Melians, they were representing the king's wishes. Athens wanted to conquer other colonies and nations, expanding their empire. Athens thought that any kingdom weaker than them should be conquered. It was thought that the strong had a right to conquer the

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The Athenians was able to project the new strategy with the Spartans as they requested for peace and the return of their soldiers on the island. Encourage by Cleon the Athenians reject the peace offering from Sparta “grasping at something further”. Athenians requested four cities that were lost to be return to Athens. The Spartan envoys needed time to consult on the request that the Athenians made. “Cleon violently assailed” the envoys, causing the Spartans to depart knowing whatever they offered would not be good enough for the

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The historian Thucydides described himself as a wealthy Athenian general whose exile to the Peloponnese allowed him to personally observe, from both the sides of the conflict, a comprehensive account of the Peloponnesian War. Book 1 in Thucydides’ “History of the Peloponnesian War” is dedicated to explaining over fifty years of the events and proceedings that led to the abandonment of the Thirty Year’s Peace and subsequent war. In Book 1 he identifies four main incidents, which I shall refer to as ‘grievances’, regarding the conduct of Athens towards both their Delian members and the Peloponnesian allies. Yet he also mentions what he deems to be a more ‘real’ truth than these four grievances that led to Sparta and the Peloponnese going to

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Even thousands of years later, the history of ancient Greek culture, the tales of legendary gods, the Spartan troops, and Athens' political system remain valuable and relevant to this day. There are even movies that continue to honor Spartan soldiers' bravery and Athens' democracy. This paper seeks to discuss how people in Athens and Sparta obtained the right to participate in public affairs, who held public office, and what rules governed the selection of public office holders, while also providing a glimpse into how the two city-states' governmental structures were similar and different at the same time. How did people in Athens and Sparta obtain the right to participate in public life and make decisions affecting the community? To have

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Although Pericles’ words strived to inspire and encourage the Athenian people to fight valiantly against Sparta and its allies, they are not enough to embolden the Athenian people onto victory in the Peloponnesian War. His words do motivate Athenians to make tremendous effort in extending their power and defeating Sparta and its allies, but in the end, may have lead to Athenians’ demise. Fostering pride and determination throughout the war, Athens makes several attempts to expand its naval power, but fails in its plan to overtake Syracuse on the coast of Sicily, weakening its efforts against Sparta and its allied city-states. Finally, in the naval battle at Aegospotami, the Spartans have a decisive victory over Athens, and the Athenians eventually surrender, ending the Peloponnesian War.

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and the location was chosen by the Persians because they believed it gave them the upper hand. Themistocles fought in this battle and eventually “the work he did saved Athens during the Persian Wars,” (Green, pg. 26), and he was elected the “Chief Archon of Athens,” which means he was the chief of the nine magistrates in Athens. During the battle, neither the Athenians or Persians moved for several days. The Athenians were hoping the Spartans would show up to assist them in the battle and that is why they were waiting. Then Miltiades heard that the Persian cavalry was away and this is when the Athenians decided it was time to engage because it was possible that they stood a chance.

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First, I want to highlight that the invasion of Melos, the Athenians were under the influence of their military and power success over Melos, especially that they proved to Melians the greatness and the importance of power, not justice. Thus, under the snowball effect, and as the great power they (Athens) wanted to have more and more power, that might played part in the decision making process during the expedition assembly. If the Athenians had not been that sure about their strength and had not such a huge desire to gain a lot of glory being a hegemon, they might have extracted some other meanings from the Melian dialogue. Thucydides emphasized the idea that force without any limits or sense of justice, could generate an uncontrollable desire for infinite gain to enlarge the Empire, especially when there were no logical limits to do

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In Athens a war is about to start against the Spartans. And pericles made the decision to take action against them. Pericles recently said to the Athenian people that “if we go to war, as I think we must, be determined that we are not going to climb down, for it is from the greatest dangers that the greatest glories are to be won. “, which in his words meant that they should win because of the planning. Athenian’s are expected to abandon the surrounding land and move to the city walls.

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The situation was further compounded by foreign forces and internal power battles, adding to the complexity of Athenian political history. Therefore, it is not fully accurate to say that the Peloponnesian War was the only factor in Athens' democratic temporary downfall. Although the war was a pivotal event in Athens' history, its repercussions were multifaceted and related to other historical events (“The Peloponnesian War.”, n.d.). Conclusion In conclusion, Athens encountered difficulties during the Peloponnesian War as a result of military defeats, internal unrest, and the intrusion of outside forces allied with Sparta.

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Apparently, Athenians wanted to throw the Persians out of their home land after an Athens leader took over the Delian league. In which they did, the Athens took over a great sum of the Peloponnesian land. As the tension continued, Athens began to build a wall surrounding its empire to prevent Sparta from attacking. At this point in time, the tension between all the city states in Greece were on high alert. An almost “every-man-for-himself” situation.

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Well, first of all the Spartans made decisions by their power. The Spartans were constantly in battle. They obviously took advantage of the Helots and made them their slaves. They were in control and had a higher power in Sparta. The Athenians were democratic.

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