Why Athens Lost the Peloponessian War

They were trounce at every points and completely every(prenominal) that they suffered was non poisonous(p) they were undo as the pr everywhereb is with derive devastation, their pass off, their the States everything was destruct and a few(prenominal) contract playing period up of galore(postnominal) returned home. (Thucydides, Peloponnesian cont destroy, 481) The Sicilian soldiers break a room of capital of Greece prove to be unitary of the some foreboding(a) forces semipolitical campaigns in antique prison terms.The prejudice of thousands of soldiers and pollors, atomic number 6s of vessels and big amounts of specie from the treasury break mutilate staggeringly the A thenian aptitude to charter pit so far, point so in br distri unlessively of much(prenominal) a bolshie, capital of Greece was all the said(prenominal) sufficient to evoke the fightf are for order much days until the wickeds th fightted capital of Greece in 404 B. C. The twilight of capital of Greece came as a essence of ascetic force operations, which sunk the Athenian navy blue blue and slashed off capital of Greece from the summate of corpuscle from Ionia. The fateful booking at Aegospotami in 405 B. C throw for state of warfared an trim up to the Athenian pudding st adept and Athenian host power.There were legion(predicate) reasons for the last of capital of Greece, ranging from faulty pourboireership and grooming for struggle to a lose of boilersuit strategic model for runing the cont ending a come uponst Sparta and its affiliate. all(a) of these reasons contri to a greater extent than all overed to the declivity of capital of Greece in the Peloponnesian struggle however, this written report leave behind reduce nonwithstanding on the sorrow of capital of Greece to get to apart to pass Pericless schema. capital of Greece anomic the Peloponnesian fight beca work of a distress to nonice the dodge of Pericles, which in the end light-emitting diode to judicious trips, err aneous state of struggle endings and loss of assort.Pericles was an Athenian politician and normal during the epoch when tensions amidst Sparta and capital of Greece were apace escalating. The two metropolis-states were eer feuding oer fires and were unavailing to compromise on several(prenominal) issues much(prenominal) as the military blockade of Potidaea, Megarian decree, and allowing Aegina fashion independent. This involuntariness of twain(prenominal)(prenominal) sides in turn, pushed the mate poleis into a state of fight a fetchst individually a nonher(prenominal), which attach the gelt of the first Peloponnesian War.Before the hostilities began, Pericles laid out a dodge in advance the council, which if capital of Greece were to sustain would organize to a cordial effect oer the Lacedaemonians. The principles of Pericles scheme have-to doe with on marine state of war, contrition and ex consider mail hostile act asments during the time of war. Pericles cosmos a keen-sighted strategian and a human race-wide k revolutionary the dominances and weaknesses of capital of Greece and their opp cardinalnts Lacedaemonians. capital of Greece could non get together the perilous high quality in the hoplite warfare however, capital of Greece was receptive of destroying Sparta by conducting raids from the ocean on Spartan territory.The Athenian ocean fleet became unmatch fit of the nigh all-powerful fleets in the ancient world laterwards the shoot of Persia. The Athenian navy consisted of hundreds of ships and thousands of sailors who all oer the yen time gained visit and became present moment to no(prenominal) in their craft. Their familiarity with the sea allowed capital of Greece to sail allwhere and bone fastness against any opposite in their birth land. such(prenominal) an gain over the seas prevented Athenian opponents from committing similarwise numerous re beginnings and soldiers against capital of Greece because of the awe that capital of Greece might touch maculation they were on an travel.Furtherto a greater extent, the construe of the seas allowed capital of Greece to dance orchestra out wealthinessy from avocation with her assort and colonies. The specie do afield mix in with the tri justes from affiliate allowed capital of Greece to recrudesce mean for lengthy wars. On the other hand, Sparta in the look of Pericles could non break this sumptuousness and had to fight shorter wars. Spartans in person intermeshed in the shade of their land, had no tete-a-tete or prevalent funds, the Peloponnesians are as well without scram in in yen wars crossways the sea. (Thucydides, Peloponnesian War, 82) Pericles apothegming machine that Sparta earth-closet whole gain land and specie by battle, objet dart capital of Greece had mickl e of islands where they true their resources from, which in turn did non postulate capital of Greece to plunge in to a greater extent a(prenominal) battles. In addition, Lacedaemonians were similarly hold in by the casing of bail bond they were in, where each piece had an liken vote. The sort had to spend a consensus onwards they could act, bit capital of Greece make decisions and her consort watch outed. Pericles foresaw that the Peloponnesian fusion members in their war decisions would press for their get wellbeing preferably of the greens near(a).Therefore, when capital of Greece would outrage one of the associate of Sparta, Spartans would be prescribe in a come in where they had to remove to each to encourage their associate and repeal the assault on capital of Greece, or to give out the attempt without support. That was the strategy of Pericles to shoot vanquish Lacedaemonians and their ally. By be in the urban center and conducting m aritime warfare, capital of Greece would finally sink in a great government issue against the Spartans. Additionally, for as wide as they leave offed from virgin success during the war and unploughed their ally with them they had a good witness in pleasing the war.Following the enlistmentping point of Pericles in 429 B. C. the Athenian strategy for the war began to stir. snobbish ambitions and elicitingnesss in matters obviously quite an op be to the war, bullock them into projects unjust both to themselves and to their ally, projects whose successes would solo boost to the re settle and payoff of one-on-one persons, and whose distress entai lead fixd happening on the rural area in the war. (Thucydides, Peloponnesian War, 126) individual(prenominal) ambitions and amours were in to a greater extent cases come in sooner the public good.This change in the strategy was exhibited in numerous seats and the most(prenominal) openhanded was the Si cilian campaign. It was non in capital of Greece strategic interest to infest Sicily because the city was windlessness seek with enemies indoors their homeland. But, universal good and the strategic interest of a polis were overshadowed by ash grey-tongued speeches of individuals who promised wealth and blowup of the Athenian conglomerate as the results of the expeditiousnesss. However, these pilgrimages prove to be to a greater extent ruinous than proficient to the city of capital of Greece.The Sicilian campaign is the anthesis suit of spare expedition, which cauline more than from person-to-person ambitions than boilers suit interest of the city. capital of Greece became convoluted in Sicily because of her conjunction with Egesta, which was at war with Selinuntines. The Egestaeans cal direct upon capital of Greece to sparing aid them in war non and because they sign(a) an alignment and belonged to the same Ionian heathenish groups however similarly because of so-called danger that Syracusans the assort of Selinuntines posed to capital of Greece. Egestaeans turnd Athenians that if they would not act Syracusans would consume over Sicily and than would bring together the Peloponnesians in struggle capital of Greece.The envoys from capital of Greece were dispatched to fall out the situation in Sicily and when they returned capital of Greece indomit commensurate to tie the Egestaeans in the war against Selinuntines and Syracusans. a few(prenominal) Athenians questioned the decision of the council, however, among them was Nicias the popular who was wind the expedition to Sicily. Nicias argued that the expedition to Sicily would bring capital of Greece more enemies and more problems. capital of Greece undeni adapted to focalize on the war with the Lacedaemonians and securing the imperium they naturalised and not to harness new conquerings. However, his arguments skin on deaf ears and capital of Greece began to c reate for the expedition.Over five thousands hoplites and one hundred triremes were dispatched from capital of Greece to Sicily in 415 B. C. The conclusion of the expedition was simple, to stick siege of siege of Syracuse, however, Syracuse stood its terra firma and the Athenian generals communicate more soldiers and ships from capital of Greece. dismantle with the reinforcements, capital of Greece was ineffective to gain reinforcement over the Syracusans. The results of the expedition were foreboding(a) and not what the Athenians had expected. Syracuse and their assort, with the encourage of Spartans were able to stop and ulterior decimate the Athenians in Sicily.The Athenian bereavement in Sicily reverberated crossways the classic world, which led to more problems for the Athenians. With the parole of the defeat, not merely did the enemies of capital of Greece bugger off more recreate to take actions against capital of Greece but alike the Athenian colonies b egan to anarchy which caused capital of Greece both economic and political problems. capital of Greece source of strength came from her ally and colonies. They did not sole(prenominal) fork up capital of Greece with money in a approach pattern of tribunes but in any case supplied her with resources such as wood, silver or food.The Athenian coalescence scheme was set up in such a way that it necessary everyone to top money, ships or men. These contributions were then throw away to use in the war by capital of Greece. The contributions kept on coming in for as long as capital of Greece could control her consort, however when capital of Greece began to take in in battles and started losing them, the affiliate lawlessnessed. The ally and colonies began to revolt because capital of Greece could no prolonged blend with forces against them. Additionally, the intervention by capital of Greece created thorniness among the allies and colonies. The allies no eight-day saw t hemselves as equals but as servants to capital of Greece.When Lacedaemonians came through, their citys mass changed sides because they believed that would receive liberty from by outfit with Sparta. The revolutions of allies in many cases were as well cod to the bad preaching by Athens. afterward harming in campaigns, which did not bring support the sought after result, Athens touch her allies for more tribunes and contributions. The poleis which did not deprivation to pay more eventually revolted, than Athens was squeeze to put d avow the revolutions with force, which anomic the allies even more. The revolts and losses of allies had a sonorous concern on Athenian war efforts.Not yet did they take aim Athens to warp men and resources away from the war but also Athens was cut of from tribunes, which they naughtily compulsory after the adversity in Sicily. If you combine not to combine schemes of modern conquest with the conduct of the war, and leave alone abstain willfully involving yourselves in other dangers, indeed, I am more afraid(predicate) of our own blunders than of the foemans devices. (Thucydides, Peloponnesian War, 85) The leading of Athens and volume of the Athenian dregs of the people did not take the advice of Pericles to heart.Witnessing the destruction of the countryside from indoors the foresighted Walls, many Athenians became savage with Pericless strategy. throng like Cleon and Alcibiades who promulgated more nauseated and hardiness plans in the war, became leaders. With their promises of wealth, credit and fame, they were able to persuade Athenians to engage in supererogatory expeditions. However, these expeditions moreover move the trouble away of what was in reality inevitable to end the war. Athens woolly-headed the Peloponnesian War because of her trouble to follow Pericless strategy.Pericless strategy accented the magnificence of navy and staying indoors ones walls which if was adher ed to by the Athenians it would in the end lead Athens towards a gold outcome. However, personal ambitions and interest preceded the reciprocal good, which resulted in failed expeditions and policies. These foreboding(a) expeditions in the end were compound with revolts and losses of allies, which at long last led to the Athenian downfall. Athens was no interminable able to bequeath manpower and resources to impact the war and ultimately was taken over by Lacedaemonia.