CLA10B Final Study Guide: The Peloponnesian War

Helot Revolt (462 BC)

-462 BC -massive earthquake hits the Peloponnese and destroys Athens infrastructure -Helots take advantage and revolt -Spartans unable to defeat them and ask the Hellenic League for help >Cimon sends 400 hoplites from Athens >Sparta refuses the help of the Athenians and as a result Cimon is ostracized -Ephialtes >passes laws to limit government power >instant turmoil with Cimon gone and Ephialtes leading the populist movement >assassinated in 460 BC -Athens finds itself at the beginning of the first Peloponnesian war >Neither Athens nor Sparta declared war against each other >war that is carried out for 15 years through proxy battle in and out of the Aegean sea

The Delian League

-477 BC -trade and alliance group -group of Greek polis that shared Athenian trade interests and threat interests -all have access to water and some sort of maritime trade -many islands and harbor cities >more diverse, the more challenging for Athens

The Peloponnesian League

-550-366 BC -geographical and defense league -oldest defensive alliance in all of the Greek world -made up of the Greek communities in the Isthmus >Achaeans (north) and Agolis (east) were the strongest >became the Hellenic League during the Persian Invasion

Nicias

-Athenian -negotiated the "Peace of Nicias" at the end of the Archimidian War

Themistocles

-Athenian politician and general. -He was one of a new breed of non-aristocratic politicians who rose to prominence in the early years of the Athenian democracy

The Syracusian Expedition

-Athens have Spartan hostages therefore giving Athens the upper hand -Nikeus able to negotiate peace in 421 BC >did not last very long but it allowed the Athenians to turn attention to other things -415 BC: Alcabiatis >descended a gigantic fleet to help Sicily (Magista) -navy was depleted and men were killed >Athens was in desperate need of regrouping

Five Year's Truce (451 BC)

-Cimon is brought back from ostracism and is negotiated by him as well -signed in 451 BC which negotiated a truce between Sparta and Athens

Amphipolis

-Greek polis in Athens that was a Athenian stronghold -center ground for the battle between Celon and Brasidas in 422 BC

454 BC

-Pericles declares that the Delian League's considerable treasury at Delos is not safe from the -Persian navy and has the treasury transferred to Athens, thus strengthening Athens' power over the League.

The Battle of Aegospotami (405 BC)

-Spartans offered peace on the basis of the status quo, but the Athenians once again declined -Athenian admirals Conon and Philocles stationed their fleet across the channel at Aegospotami -Spartans did a surprise attack on the Athenians and were able to capture 171 ships and infantry -Athenians' carelessness gave rise to rumors of treachery -only a handful of Athenian vessels escaped -Conon took refuge in Cyprus and did not return to Athens until he engineered a victory over the Spartans at Cnidus ten years after the war -cut off Athens from its principle source of grain to make sure there would be no slipups >Lysander also decreed death as penalty for anyone caught bringing grain into Athens -Lysander accepted the surrender of Athens' former allies and replaced their democracies with oligarchic governments beholder to Sparta -many Spartan allies wanted to have Athenian men killed and women and children enslaved, but Spartans declined -negotiated a treated by Theramenes on the Spartan's terms 1) Athens would become Sparta's ally 2) Athens would destroy the Long Walls and would surrender all but a dozen ships 3) Forced Athens to establish an oligarchic state

Potidaea

-The Battle of Potidaea was one of the catalysts for the Peloponnesian War. -It was fought near Potidaea in 432 BC between Athens and a combined army from Corinth and Potidaea, along with their various allies. -Athens gathered a fleet of 30 ships and 1,000 hoplites under the overall command of Archestratus, which was originally meant to fight Perdiccas in Macedonia, but was diverted to Potidaea. -The Potidaeans sent ambassadors to Athens and Sparta, and when negotiations broke down in Athens, Sparta promised to help Potidaea revolt -heavily depleted Athenian treasury

Battle of Tanagra (457 BC)

-The Battle of Tanagra took place in 457 BC between Athens and Sparta during the First Peloponnesian War.

Funeral Oration

-This famous speech was given by the Athenian leader Pericles after the first battles of the Peloponnesian war. -Funerals after such battles were public rituals and Pericles used the occasion to make a classic statement of the value of democracy. -In the same winter the Athenians gave a funeral at the public cost to those who had first fallen in this war.

Thucydidies

-Thucydides was an Athenian historian and general. -His "History of the Peloponnesian War" recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC

Tissaphernes

-Tissaphernes was a Persian soldier and statesman. -He was the grandson of Hydarnes

Xenephon

-Xenophon of Athens was an ancient Greek philosopher, historian, soldier, mercenary, and student of Socrates

Megarian Decree (432 BC)

-a set of economic sanctions levied upon Megara c. 432 BC by the Athenian Empire shortly before the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War. -The inhabitants of Megara, a neighbor city of Athens, had cultivated land that was consecrated to Demeter, had killed an Athenian herald, and were accordingly punished. -Their merchants were excluded from the market of Athens and the ports in its empire, the Delian League. -the Megarian Decree was something like a modern trade embargo.

City Dionysia

-ancient dramatic festival in which tragedy, comedy, and satyric drama originated; -it was held in Athens in March in honor of Dionysus, the god of wine.

Theban League

-anti-democratic league; -Athens had come to control all of Boeotia, except for Thebes which eventually lead to an anti-democratic league.

Lysander

-chief admiral of the Spartan navy -allied with Cyrus, son of the Persian king, to defeat Athens -Athenians lost 22 ships to Lysander in a naval engagement off Notium

Alcibiades

-crucial figure of the Syracusian Expedition -415 BC he descended a gigantic fleet to help Sicily -Wanted to lead an expedition and bring sicily into the Delian league -Up and down engagement across the island and Italy Expedition was a horrific failure for the Athenians -Nicius and the fleet were destroyed in a battle off of the coast of Syracuse Navy was depleted and men killed, in need of regrouping -frequent interlocutor and love interest of Socrates -unpopular in 404 BC when Athens fell to the Spartans

Pericelain Strategy

-developed by Pericles and used by the Athenians -primary goal was the exhaustion of the enemy and maintenance of the status quo

Council of Four Hundred (411 BC)

-established in 411 BC and was a form of oligarchy -first oligarchy to be established and was democratically voted for -supposed to select 5000 of the citizens that would rule as a large body panel -strong divide between the people and the people who are making decisions -navy was no longer at Athens

The Five Thousand

-established in 411-410BC -navy power arises again -lasted the same as the other oligarchies that were established in Athens

Hellenic League

-established in 481 BC -defensive alliance for all those in the Greek world -included Athens -At the end of the Persian Wars, the Athenians naval power figured it was best to develop their own league called the Delian League -resulted in the return of the Peloponnesian League and disintegration of the Hellenic League -dissolved back into the Peloponnesian League and as a result of the rise of the Delian League in 477 BC

Cleon

-first prominent demagogues (leader) -supported the killing of the Mytilenean people

Corcyra

-gained the upper hand and as allies of the demos, the Athenians under admiral Eurymedon made no move to curtail the butchery -some oligarch partisans hanged themselves on tress or fathers killed their sons in order to avoid deathe

Socrates and Trial

-had two students 1) Crudites >responsible for murder without trails >confiscation of property >worst of the worst 2) Alcibiades >led the Syracusian expedition and failed and betrayed Athenians by working with the Spartans -Socrates had a history of having students who were on the wrong side of history -was on trial in 399 BC -many of those who placed Socrates on trial were by the thirty tyrants -two charges: 1) accused of corrupting the young 2) charge of impiety which was not believing in the God's of the city, and introducing new gods and spiritual beliefs -feels the need to convince the Athenians that stereotype Aristophanes presents -did not want to be judged as a stophe (group of people that were paid to teach how to speak eloquentely -states that he should not be judged bu how he speaks, but the substance of his words

Sophocles

-in 480 BC was chose to lead the paean which is a victory ode that celebrated the Athenian victory at the Battle of Salamis -in 468 BC he won his first prize in the City Dionysia (Plutarch) -443/442 BC: served as one of Hellenotamiai (treasures) of Athens -441 BC: elected strategos (army leader) -wrote the story of Ajax

Aeschylus

-known as the father of Greek tragedies

Demagogos

-leading of the people in a popular movement of the sort -former nobility was not really affected by -new politicians rose up because of the way they articulated themselves

The "Long Walls"

-made the Athenians unconquerable because there is no way to access the city -built in response to the Athenian victory against the Corinthian invasion -describes the first Peloponnesian war -able to sail in resources through the harbor and able to sail away if the wall became attacked by the enemy -uneven advantage for Athens should be able to finish the walls

The Battle of Arginusae (406 BC)

-naval battle occurred in 406 BC -Athenians offered freedom to slaves who would join the navy that was set for the area of Lesbos -able to successfully sink 75 Peloponnesian ships resulting in the deaths of 20,000 Greeks -Athenian victory was short lived after an attempted rescue mission of admiral Conon and his fleet who were blockaded at Mytilene -Athenian strategoi set sail to Mytilene to rescue Conon's force >a storm arose and made the rescue impossible and resulted in many casualties

The First Peloponnesian War (460-445 BC)

-occurred from 460 BC to 445 BC -about money and power over the Greek polis -Pegae (Pi-guy): closest place for the Athenians to access the Corinthian gulf -around the time of Ephialtes death, Megara decided to leave the Peloponnesian league -Corinth: >was in a trade war with Athens >alarmed at the possibility of Athens possessing the Megaran part of Pegae which would provide direct access to the Corinthian Gulf >459 BC Corinth and Aegina combined powers to fight against Athens >Athens not only repelled the Corinthian invasion, but also built the Long Walls in response -457 BC Sparta entered the war fighting the Athenians in Boeotia -Athens was also fighting Persia >sent fleets to both Cyprus and Egypt in hopes of expanding their maritime empire, but neither campaign was successful especially the Egyptian campaign >454 BC: Athens transfers the treasure of the Delian League from the island of Delos to the Acropolis >Athens success against the spartans could not compensate for its failure against the Persians >Athens made peaces in Persia in 450 BC >Megara and Euboea revolt causing a turmoil with the Athenian land empire that lead to Nicias negotiating the Thirty Years Peace Results: 1) 456 BC Athens had come to control all of Boeotia except for Thebes, which created an anti-democratic Thebian League 2) Athens had even gained two states on the Peloponnese Troezen and Achaea 3) Ends in a series of truces and treaties >included the Five year treaty and 30 years peace

Athenian Trial of the Strategoi

-occurred in 406 BC -Trial taking place after a fleet of ships is forced by a storm to abandon rescuing the bodies of their fellow soldiers at sea, 6 of 10 generals are executed against the advice of Socrates. Bad for the war bc you need generals to fight in a war they are like the top dogs, the big league boys.

The Decelean or Ionian War (413-404 BC)

-occurred in 413-404 BC and is the third/final phase of the Peloponnesian War -Sparta allies itself with Persia and encourages Athenian tributary allies to revolt -Athens begins to recover through consistent small military victories under Alcibiades -Sparta enjoys major naval victory at Aegospotami -Alcabiatis would leave Athens and went to help Sparta 1)Convinced Sparta to take charge of a town called Decaya 2) 20,000 slaves defected to town and joined spartans, which caused concern for Athenians -Athenians reengaged in the war with Sparta 1) Difference at this point was that Persia had taken interest in who would win this war 2) Did not care if it was Athens or Sparta, but that it wanted to be alive with the victor -Lysistrada is put on stage at the same time when Athens became -Alcabiatis tried to convince Athens that he would negotiate with Spartan to hold off 1) 411 BC: Alcibiades convinced Athens to ditch their democratic state and become an oligarchy 2) Persia in the end decided to ally with Athens -405 BC Athens lost access to resources -404 BC Athens capitulated (lost): 1) Lost not in their ideal way and worst way possible 2) Sparta established the tyranny in Athens that would kill lots of citizens (thousands). Resulted in establishing the thirty tyrants 3) Athens no longer a democracy, but now ruled under a pro-spartan oligarchy 4) Navy force was destroyed -Lost at Aegospotami was a defeat for Athens

The Battle of Syracuse (413 BC)

-occurred in 415-413 BC and is the second phase of the Peloponnesian War -Athenians invade Syracuse -Sicilian Expedition is a disastrous defeat for Athens and the entire force is destroyed

The Battle of Sphacteria (425 BC)

-occurred in 425 BC -The Battle of Sphacteria was a land battle of the Peloponnesian War, fought between Athens and Sparta. -Following the Battle of Pylos and subsequent peace negotiations, which failed, a number of Spartans were stranded on the island of Sphacteria. -Athenian victory

Mytileneln Debate (427 BC)

-occurred in 427 BC -debate on whether to kill all male citizens of the Mytilene and sell all women and children to slavery -1st vote was voted yes -2nd vote was done out of guilt >Athenians listened to the demagogos Diodotus >Athens did not kill the citizens of Mytilene -Athens was already divided with what to do with one city or one person if they differed from Athens which played a heavy influence on Socrates trial

The Archidamian War (431-421 BC)

-occurred in 431-421 BC and was the first phase of the Peloponnesian War -occurred with the intent of not lasting very long -At the insistence of Corinth and with the support of the Peloponnesian League, Sparta declares war on Athens in 432 BC -Athens violated the 30 years Peace and should be punished as a result >King Archidamas II of Sparta launches repeated invasions of Attica -Pericles who would also eventually be blamed for the start of the war, devised a strategy called the Periclean Strategy which gathered city dwellers inside the Long Walls that linked Athens to Piraeus >Pericles dies -power of demagogos was on full display e.g the Mytileneln Debate -results in the "Peace of Nicias"

Plague

-occurred in the second year of the Peloponnesian War -origin is unknown but DNA testing reveals that it was an earlier form of modern typhoid fever -spread with deadly speed -unsanitary environment of a city pack to capacity -third of populace died -symptoms of oral bleeding, bad breath, painful vomiting, burning skin, insomnia, and memory loss -Athenians tried to open negotiations for peace with Spartans, ignoring Pericles's warnings -Pericles was voted out of government, but after realizing the ineffectiveness of other leaders in Athens, Pericles returned to office >later caught the plague and died

Oligarchy

-people in power as Athens begins losing the Peloponnesian War -three types of oligarchies established from 411 BC to the turn of the century -if an oligarchy was considered too small, that it was considered as unable to be representative -three types included 1) Thirty Tyrants 2) Five Thousand 3) Council of 400

Brasidas

-persuaded the towns of Acanthus, Stagirus, and Argilus to revolt from Athens in 242-422 BC -primary goal was to gain possession of the Amphipolis -423 BC the Athenians and Spartans signed a year's armistice, but expired in 422 BC >fought with Celon at the battle at Amphipolis in which both generals were killed

Ostracism

-political device introduced by Cleisthenes as part of his reforms -a person receiving at least a plurality of 6000 votes cast was required to go into exile for a period of 10 years -Themistocles and Cimon were ostracized -Cimon was the most strategic soldiers who was voted off >ended up being a mistake >extremely dangerous to have a strategic experienced soldier to be ostracized during the Peloponnesian War

Ajax

-presented in the theater of Dionysus -the death o f Achilles leads to a competition over his armor between Odysseus and Ajax >Odysseus wins the armor and Ajax becomes extremely angered to the point that he is willing to kill for it -Athena casts a spell on Ajax to have him believe that he is killing Odysseus and Agamemnon and Mellitus when he is really only slaughtering a cattle of sheep >Athena shows Odysseus the anger and revenge Ajax has for him -Ajax realizes his actions and figures that the only way he can obtain his honor back is by committing suicide >knows that suicide is no way for a Greek hero to be killed -Ajax uses Hector's sword to kill himself in order to make it appear that he was killed by the enemy >wedges the sword into the Earth and falls on top of the sword >became a very popular form of Greek art -argument between Agamemnon and Mellaius

Diodotus

-prominent demagogues alongside Cleon -argued that killing the Mytilene was not effective and risky -argued that people did not have merit in killing people even when they surrendered -Athenians sided with him and decided to execute only the ringleaders of the revolt rather than all of the Mytilenean citizens

Samos and Byzantinium

-revolted in 440 and it took a great effort from Athens to squash rebellion in Samos. -Unknown what exactly happened in Byzantium but they agreed to return to the empire

Thirty Years Peace (445 BC)

-signed in 445 BC as a result of the First Peloponnesian War -negotiated by Pericles -lasts only 14 years before the actual Peloponnesian war breaks out (neither Sparta nor Athens would adhere to the peace) -Athens and Sparta kept everything they had including their leagues, alliances, and city-states -called for no interference by Athens in Spartan allies or city-states -Athens would be in charge of its allies, spears of influence, and leagues -Any hostilities between-the members of the Peloponnesian or Delian League will be taken care of through arbitration -divides the Greek world into two: 1) Athenian sphere of influence 2) Peloponnesian League sphere of influence which included the Peloponnese and west in the mainlands

Euriphides

-tragedian of classical Athens. -Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom a significant number of plays have survived

The Peace of Nicias (421 BC)

-war had left both Athens and Sparta in ruins -Agriculture in Attica was extremely disrupted while trade between city and countryside diminished -many Spartan soldiers had died in captivity in Athens -Peace of Nicias was signed in 421 BC as a result of the Archimidian War -a small victory for Athens because peace was negotiated by Nicias -terms of the peace was to be observed for 50 years -Athens was to keep the empire that it already had -Sparta was to return to Amphipolis -Athens would abandon Pylos and the island of Cythere in order to release all prisoners of war -Thucycides viewed the Peace of Nicias as a false peace

Lenaia

-was an annual Athenian festival with a dramatic competition. -It was one of the lesser festivals of Athens and Ionia in ancient Greece. -The Lenaia took place in Athens in the month of Gamelion, roughly corresponding to January.

Thirty Tyrants (404 BC)

-were a pro-Spartan oligarchy installed in Athens after its defeat in the Peloponnesian War in 404 BC -Upon Lysander's request, the Thirty were elected as a government, not just as a legislative committee. -primarily responsible for placing Socrates on trial -reduced the rights of Athenian citizens in order to institute an oligarchical regime. -The Thirty appointed a council of 500 to serve the judicial functions formerly belonging to all the citizens.

Lysistrata

-written by Aristophanes in 411 BC -follows the story of an Athenian woman named Lysistrata who encourages the Athenian and Spartan women to take a sex strike in order to force the males to take peace -the women at first are reluctant but in the end create an oath surrounding a wine bowl -old women of Athens seize control of the nearby Acropolis, which holds the state treasury, without which the men cannot long continue to fund their war. -The peace talks commence and Lysistrata introduces the Spartan and Athenian delegates to a gorgeous naked young woman called Reconciliation or Peace, whom the delegates cannot take their eyes off

Aristophanes

-wrote the story, Lysistrata in 411 BC -wrote "Peace" in 421 BC

Aristides

Aristides was an ancient Athenian statesman. Nicknamed "the Just", he flourished in the early quarter of Athens' Classical period and is remembered for his generalship in the Persian War.