Following the Persian War, Greek city-states united to protect themselves by forming the Delian League. Led by Athens' strong navy and powerful leaders, the league served as a powerful military alliance. Although Sparta also fought against the Persian invasion, they were wary of how quickly the Athenians gained power. As the two most politically and economically powerful groups of the ancient world, Sparta and Athens fought for more power. With the rise of the Delian League, Sparta and its allies confronted Athens, who responded by strengthening their navy and military forces.
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As Greece and Athens became increasingly powerful in the ancient world, tensions between city-states heightened, leading to decades of conflicts between Athens and Sparta known as the Peloponnesian War. Lasting from 431-404 BC, the Peloponnesian War was a fight for dominance over the Greek world. In 404 BC, Athens surrendered to Sparta, but the victory had consequential effects on both sides. As Athenians and Spartans attempted to recover, the detrimental effects of the long war resulted in the end of the Golden Age for Greece.
As the war progressed, both sides suffered disastrously. After losing both the Battle of Pylos and the Battle of Sphacteria in 425 BC, 292 Spartans were held prisoner by Athens. Already with low numbers, this loss was a major hit to Spartan strength. By 422 BC, Athens began to rapidly lose battles as well. The same year both sides lost morale as key generals were killed in the Battle of Amphipolis: Spartan Brasidas and Athenian Cleon. Exhausted, Athens was fearful they would lose allies as a result of their losses and Sparta needed to recoup their prisoners.
In 421 BC, Athens and Sparta signed a peace treaty known as the Peace of Nicias. The negotiations were conducted by Athenian commander Nicias, who wanted to end the war without any major setbacks to his career, and Spartan King Pleistoanax, who wanted his prisoners returned. The two sides agreed on eighteen major clauses including the release of prisoners, support for future revolts, and the return of cities.
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Although the truce was intended to last for 50 years, it ended after a year and a half. The Peace of Nicias was broken from the start; despite promising the restoration of Amphipolis, Sparta had added a clause that nullified their promise. After additional broken promises and signs of mistrust, the second half of the war began in 414 BC.
In 415 BC, Athens received news that their allies in Sicily were being attacked by the Sicilian city of Syracuse. After the brief Peace of Nicias, Athens decided to defend their allies by starting the Sicilian Expedition, a military expedition spanning from 415-413 BC and reigniting the Peloponnesian War. Both Athens and their Sicilian allies were Ionian, while the people of Syracuse and their Spartan allies were Dorian. Syracuse and Sparta shared ethnic, historic, and cultural similarities; when Athens decided to attack, Sparta officially allied with Syracuse and fought to defend the city-state.
While Athenian general Nicias was one of the key figures involved with the peace treaty, general and orator Alcibiades aggressively promoted the need to send Athenian fleets to Sicily. Although Nicias disagreed, Alcibiades' support grew, and he then created the largest fleet in Athenian history consisting of over 100 ships and roughly 5,000 infantrymen. Even with the increase in ships, the purpose of the exhibition was to protect Athens' allies. The original plan was to send enough ships to reinforce their allies, but with their large force, Alcibiades believed they could conquer the city and capture Syracuse which would drastically increase their resources.
Before setting off, significant religious statues of Athens were damaged, and people blamed Alcibiades for this happening. Although nobody knew who had done this, Alcibiades' aggressive personality led many to blame him for religious crimes of impiety as well as crimes against democracy. The fleet left without him, and Alcibiades promised to stand trial and defend himself.
Fearful he wouldn't receive a fair trial in Athens, Alcibiades fled. In hopes of protection, Alcibiades defected to Sparta. When he arrived, he warned them about the Athenian fleet. His betrayal led the Athenians to convict him in absentia, charging him with the death penalty. The Spartans promoted Alcibiades to their military commander, and he helped them succeed against Athens.
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Now prepared against Athenian attacks, Sparta sent troops and General Gylippus to Syracuse to aid them. Athens sent General Demosthenes with additional ships but was outmaneuvered by Sparta's effective use of cavalry to defend the city. After losing a series of fights in Syracuse, Nicias agreed to retreat. After facing delays in their retreat, they were forced into naval battle at the Great Harbor of Syracuse, resulting in Athenian defeat.
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As Nicias and Demosthenes searched for allies, the Syracusans overpowered them, killing or enslaving the remaining cavalry. The leaders separated as Demosthenes and his 6,000 troops were attacked and forced to surrender. Most of Nicias' troops were killed or trampled by the chaos and disorganization. Nicias surrendered to Gylippus, hoping that he would receive a lighter punishment for his role in the previous peace treaty.
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Roughly 7,000 surviving prisoners were held in quarries. Everyone except for the Sicilians, Athenians, and Italians was sold into slavery. The remaining prisoners were abandoned in the quarry to die. However, a few survivors managed to escape to bring news to Athens. After surrendering, Gylippus ordered the execution of Demosthenes and Nicias.
The defeat of the Athenian invasion of Sicily was a devastating blow to Athens, restarting the Peloponnesian War. Shocked and fearful after hearing news of their loss sent widespread panic throughout Athens. Many neutral states allied with the victorious Sparta and allies of the Delian League revolted as they lost faith in Athens' ability to recover. In addition to the loss of soldiers, Athens struggled to strategize as they began to utilize untrained slaves to replace their skilled cavalry. The city-state also struggled financially as the cost of the war caused them to raise taxes on the Athenians.
By 411 BC, the Athenian government transitioned from a democracy to a smaller oligarchy. As Persia and Sparta joined forces, Athens struggled to maintain power eventually becoming occupied by Sparta in 404 BC, ending the Peloponnesian War.
The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) was a series of battles between the two most powerful city-states of the ancient world: Ionian Athens and Dorian Sparta. As both sides began to see losses, they entered into the Peace of Nicias in 421 BC. Meant to bring peace for the next 50 years, the treaty was founded on broken promises and mistrust. It only lasted for a year and a half before Athens and Sparta reignited their fight. After hearing news that their allies in Sicily were being attacked by Syracuse, Athens decided to send their fleet for protection. While General Nicias wanted to help, the aggressive general Alcibiades thought that taking over the city would help Athens financially.
Athens sent their largest fleet in what became known as the Sicilian Expedition in 415 BC. Since Sparta shared ethnic, historical, and cultural ties with Syracuse, they allied with the city and fought to defend it. Blamed for vandalizing sacred statues, Alcibiades fled Athens and aided Sparta in their fight. With their new leverage, the Dorians destroyed Athenian forces, killing and enslaving almost all of their cavalry and executing their leaders. Struggling to recover, Athens lost their democracy and became occupied by Sparta in 404 BC, ending the Peloponnesian War and bringing an end to the Golden Age of Greece.
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Athens' main aggressor, Alcibiades, fled Athens and became a military commander for Sparta. Backed with new strategies and information, Sparta was able to deflect Athenian advances.
The purpose of the Sicilian Expedition was to send Athenian troops to protect the people of Sicily from invading Syracuse. As Ionian allies, Athens wanted to protect Sicily from the Dorian Syracuse and Spartans.
Both Dorian allies, Sparta helped lead Syracuse in the resistance to the Athenian invasion of Sicily. The Sicilian Expedition was meant to protect the Sicilians, but Athens saw economic gain if they could control the city-state.
Backed by Sparta, the Syracusans won the Battle of Syracuse. The Battle of Syracuse ended disastrously for the Ionians as almost all of the Athenian cavalry were killed or enslaved.
After the Dorian Syracuse attacked the Ionian Sicily, the Athenian people decided to protect their allies. Although they originally went to Sicily to help, many saw this as an opportunity to occupy the city for financial gain.
The Sicilian Expedition was a military Expedition led by Athens. It spanned from 415-413 BC and ended with Spartan victory.
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