Lesson 3: Pericles and the Athenian Empire
The Peloponnesian War
The peace between Athens and Sparta did not last very long.
Both sides continued to regard the other with suspicion.
Matters eventually came to a head in 433 BC, when Athens entered into a dispute with Corinth over a small city-state in north-eastern Greece called Potidaea.
Corinth was an important member state of the Peloponnesian League, and an important ally of the Spartans.
Although the Spartan king Archidamus argued in favour of a peaceful solution, there was so much animosity towards the Athenians among the Spartans that they voted for war by a huge majority.
The ensuing conflict was long and protracted.
Thucydides, the historian who has recorded the events of the first twenty years of the war, characterised it as 'the greatest disturbance in the history of the Greeks'.
In the end, it was only with the aid of the Persian Empire that the Spartans and their allies managed to defeat the Athenians.
In 404 BC, peace was finally made.
Athens lost her 'empire', her defensive walls were pulled down, and her navy was limited to only 12 ships.
Although Athens continued as an important state throughout the 4th century, her period of greatness came to an end with this war.
