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Second Peloponnesian War Essay

1093 Words5 Pages

The events predating the Second Peloponnesian War were written down by Thucydides, who was alive at the time. From Athens meddling in Lacedaemonian territory to the violation of the Thirty Year’s peace, even the god in Delphi knew of the imminent conflict between the former city-state allies Sparta and Athens. The Thirty Year’s peace was established in 446 BCE between Athens and Sparta; these two poleis found supporters in the likes of Aegina, Corinth and Megara, allies of Sparta, and Corcyra, ally of Athens. Thucydides records the detailed history of the relationship between these city-states and was practically the only contemporary author during the time of the Second Peloponnesian War. He provided great insight to readers and audiences. One of the stronger theories regarding the Second Peloponnesian War is …show more content…

The former allies, Sparta and Athens, had provoked one another for quite some time. From the events of Megara, to the meddling in foreign territories, Athenian actions provoked Sparta to declare war on Athens, their foreign engagements instigating war due to Athens’ incapability to come to a mutual agreement. Thucydides’ and Rhodes’ writings detail the Spartan and Athenian events which led to war. Each empire lacked the respect for each other that they needed to maintain a stable inter-city-state relationship. The Second Peloponnesian War could have been prevented if Sparta and Athens had respected the honor code laid out by the Thirty Year’s peace. While this is merely a historical analysis, honor is an essential piece of every society. Without the respect for one another how then could conflict ever be resolved. Thucydides and Rhodes are essential voices to explaining this fifth century conflict in Hellas. The writings of these two authors show that the actions of one may not prove to be significant, but the actions of many fuel a revolution of minds and

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