Greek Historians and The Peloponnesian War

The Father of History Herodotus… Herodotus… of Halicarnassus of Halicarnassus

Halicarnassus is now modern day Bodrum

hg/herodotus/logoi.html hg/herodotus/logoi.html CLICK HERE!!!!! hg/herodotus/logoi.html This site talks about the book Herodotus wrote, The Histories.

Herodotus That Herodotus was able to write tells us that his parents could afford a teacher and were well to do. Herodotus must have been a rich man, possibly a member of the old aristocracy. We may speculate that he fought as a heavy armored infantryman (a hoplite), like all Greek men of his class and age. This would explain why his descriptions of battles are always from a soldier's point of view and sometimes confused. He was a soldier, not a general. hoplite

Don’t ask…

Book written by Thucydides.

You can still purchase his book today. (Wait for the movie)

Thucydides from Athens

Peloponnesian War Thucydides, an Athenian aristocrat, was a young man when the war began. He eventually became a general for Athens. However, after a defeat in battle, Thucydides was exiled from Athens for the rest of the war. Despite being exiled, he had a keen interest in the events happening in Athens. Thucydides continued to follow the war.

History of the Peloponnesian War History of the Peloponnesian War Thucydides authored The History of the Peloponnesian War. He gathered information from many sources. But in the retelling he shaped the information to emphasize his version of the truth. His views are present throughout his work. However he did present events as being caused by the actions and motives of men.

Athens and Sparta and their respective allies.

Causes for the Peloponnesian War After the defeat of the Persians in 480 BC, the Greek city-states formed an alliance. They did this to protect themselves from other invaders. Their goal was also to protect the trade routes in the Aegean Sea. To pay for this protection each city state gave money to the alliance. The funds were kept on the island of Delos, hence they called the alliance the Delian League

Causes of the Peloponnesian War Because the Athenian navy was protecting the islands, Athens became the strongest member of the league. It was felt that the Athenians treated other members of the league unfairly. At the same time the city-states on the Peloponnesian peninsula had their own alliance called the Peloponnesian League It seemed to some that without any fighting the Athenians made the Delian League the Athenian Empire. This concerned the members of the Peloponnesian League

Peloponnesian War Peloponnesian War Lasted from 431 BC until 404 BC.

Athens vs. Sparta Athens was a naval power. Athens controlled the Aegean Sea Corinth was a city-state aligned with Sparta. Corinth believed their food supply from Sicily to be in jeopardy. Corinth appealed to Sparta to take up arms.

Spartan Warriors

The Peloponnesian army lead by Lysander, captured or destroyed almost the entire Athens navy. With the grain supply now cut Lysander could proceed to Athens itself to blockade it from the sea while the Spartan army under King Pausanius held the land side. After six months of starvation and no prospect for relief, Athens surrendered on generous terms offered by Sparta. Corinth and Thebes protested, demanding total destruction, but Sparta did not want to create too great a power vacuum. The city walls and those connecting Athens to Piraeus were torn down and the empire dissolved.

The walls that eventually were removed.

Peloponnesian War The Peloponnesian War began April 4, 431 BC. The Peloponnesian War ended April 25, 404 BC.

The End Or is it?