Peloponnesian Wars

Jack Mulderig

2013SP_HIS_121_N*CTN*CTN2

The Peloponnesian Wars

Where there is power, there is struggle. Such is the tale of every civilization in history that sought to rise above a simple nomadic beginning. Both Athens and Sparta, former allies during the Greco-Persian wars, were in a period of peace. These two city-states had entirely different outlooks on society; from the democratic and civil municipality of Athens, to the militaristic views of the Spartans, these two civilizations are worlds apart, and these two different approaches on life are why they did well together as allies in the Greco-Persian wars. The Spartans could easily provide the muscle while the Athenians shared their knowledge and wealth; but with the end of the Greco-Persian wars, Athens is rising and flourishing, while the strict traditions of the Spartans hold them to their classical grandeur. Yet now the two civilizations grow wary of each other’s presence, and slowly engage in the original battle of brawn versus brain.

In the wake of the Greco-Persian wars, Athens sought to increase its naval strength and furnish a more proper military, yet Sparta, who had been prepared for the first war, keeps its military ever ready; a year round force that seeks only to improve its muscle, yet leave democracy and education in the shadows. Sparta began to view Athens’ increasing militia to be a threat, but did not see them as a match for their oligarchic society of armored farmers, and rightfully so; for Sparta’s men were honed from years of military tradition and were a year-round, expertly trained soldiers, fighting for their fathers, their sons, and their leaders. Athens, despite their wealth and intelligence, did not have much in the way of a military. Instead, Athens had a militia, a group, however large or small, of regular citizens who could pick up a sword and use it with comparable ease as a writing utensil. But the militia was no match for the might of Sparta’s fully trained military....