Transcript The Greeks at War!

The Greeks at War!
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THE Peloponnesian War
431 B.C. – 404 B.C.
Greek against Greek
Many Greeks resented Athenian domination.
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Athens had become very wealthy guarding the
treasury of the Delian League.
Remember: Purpose of the Delian League was to
protect the Greek city-states against the Persians.
Money collected would be used to make weapons,
build ships, and train men.
The Greek world split into rival camps.
A 27 year war broke out in 431 B.C. engulfing all of
Greece
Athens strategy
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Naval power
Surround Sparta by sea
Prevent food and
supplies from reaching
Peloponnesian League
Sparta Strategy
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Sparta had a
strong army
Surround
Athens and
prevent it from
raising food
around the city
Did not have a
navy until the end
of the War
Pericles’ Funeral Oration
During the winter of the first year of the war, Athens held a
public funeral.
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Pericles spoke to the crowd:
1.Part of community
2.Agreed to obey rules in their constitution
3.Certain duties – taxes and defending the city
4.Rights – vote and run for office
Pericles’ speech reminded the Athenians of the power of
democracy and gave them courage to keep fighting.
Stalemate
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For much of the war, neither side could gain the upper
hand over the other.
Pericles allowed people from the countryside to move
inside the city to protect them from Sparta.
In Athens a deadly disease spread throughout the
overcrowded city, this killed a third of the people
including Pericles.
Internal struggles undermined the Democratic
government of Athens.
Peloponnesian War
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Finally, the Spartans even allied with Persia, their
old enemy, against the Delian League.
In 405 B.C., with the help of Persia navy, the
Spartans captured the Athenian fleet.
The war ends
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The Spartans finally conquered Athens in 404
Athens had to give up its navy and empire
Athens had to follow Spartan foreign policy
The Aftermath of War
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The Peloponnesian war disrupted the Greek world.
People died and farms were destroyed.
Sparta tried to rule all of Greece, but within 30 years the
Greek city-states rebelled.
Fighting amongst themselves, the Greeks failed to notice
that a kingdom to the north was growing in power.
MACEDONIA