Classical Athens: The Spartan and Peloponnesian War

CRITICAL REVIEW OF SPARTAN VICTORY IN THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR
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The Peloponnesian War was a series of armed conflicts between Athens and Sparta, the two great Greek city-states. These conflicts continued for a long time as they began in 431 BC and ended in 404 BC, and involved multiple warring factions as both Athens and Sparta had leagues involving minor powers of the region. Most of the historical accounts of the war came from Thucydides, the renowned Athenian commander who was later ostracized; in his history book "The History of the Peloponnesian War," he gave a detailed account of the events of the war the victories of the warring sides. However, despite the presence of clear records of the events of this Great War, scholars are not unanimous about the Spartan's victory as the outcome of the war based on various political and military realities of that time. Therefore, the following paragraphs deal with a close and critical examination of the events of the war to provide sufficient circumstantial evidence that despite several defeats, the Spartans did eventually win this war in 404 BC.["The Peloponnesian Wars." Penfield Central School District. Accessed March 30, 2022. /webpages/jgiotto/onlinetextbook.cfm?subpage=1649849.]
One of the strongest factors that validated the fact that the Spartans won this war was the difference between the armies and form of government of the two city-states. According to one source, Sparta and its ally governments were mostly based on oligarchy, as indicated by the discord that Chians, one of the Spartans' allies, had over the imposition of oligarchy over them by Pedaritus. On the other hand, the Athenian government was based on strong democratic values and had a strong and evolving political and social culture. This fundamental difference between the forms of government of these rival city-states played a significant role in determining the course of the war events since, being an oligarchic government, Sparta had been able to take a more adventurous and bold decision than Athens. For instance, their unprovoked Athenian invasion of Attica in 430 BC manifests their aggressive attitude, which is a prerequisite for victory against strong odds.[Thucydides, T. H. U. C. Y. D. I. D. E. S. The history of the Peloponnesian war. BoD–Books on Demand, 2019.] [Anaya. "The Peloponnesian War Summary of Battles and Betrayals - Part One." Classical Wisdom Weekly. Last modified October 22, 2018. https://classicalwisdom.com/politics/wars/the-peloponnesian-war-summary-part-one/.] [Lazenby, John Francis. The Peloponnesian War. Routledge, 2004.]
Another exciting difference between the military power of the two powers was that the Athenians were mostly involved in intellectual activities, and their military might was chiefly their strong navy. On the other hand, Spartans were inborn warriors, and their women were trained for fighting right from birth; therefore, they had a highly authoritative and ruthless army. This distinctive difference turned out to be one of the crucial factors that determined the course of the war in favor of Sparta, and despite having a strong navy, the Athenians faced crushing defeats on multiple fronts. Most particularly, the study of the war events reveals that on account of their strong navy, Athens almost always won sea battles against Sparta but lost all land battles virtually. For instance, Athenians lost the largest land battle of the entire series of wars against Sparta in 418 BC. This battle is called Mantinea, and in this battle, on account of their strong land force, the Spartans defeated Athens, Argos, their rebels, and other Athenian allies.[Tritle, Lawrence A. The Peloponnesian War. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004.] [Martin, Hammond. "The Peloponnesian War, Oxford World’s Classics." (2009).]
Another significant feature that facilitated Spartans to gain an edge over Athenians during the war was the natural catastrophe in the form of the plague. This plague occurred in 429 BC and crippled the Athenian might by killing over 30000 Athenians; as a result of this plague, even Pericles, the Athenian ruler, died, and Spartans, who were about to face a crushing defeat on account of the insurmountable walls of Athenian forts, fled the region. Consequently, the war dragged on, and the Spartans survived, and this event led to their eventual victory in the subsequent battles. Indeed, on account of this force majeure, Spartans got enough time to rebuild their strategy and might, and finally, they won decisive battles against Athenians.["The Peloponnesian Wars." Penfield Central School District. Accessed March 30, 2022. /webpages/jgiotto/onlinetextbook.cfm?subpage=1649849.]
Some crucial strategic mistakes made by the Athenian rulers and their allies also proved detrimental to the Athenian victory over the Spartans by providing a prominent edge to the Spartans over the Athenians. For example, one such crucial mistake was the decision to attack and capture the city-state of Syracuse of Sicily; this decision was made on the advice of an Athenian philosopher Alcibiades, who convinced his leaders that by capturing this city, Athenians would get enough power to defeat Spartans eventually. However, this plan faced many failures and backfired that eventually significantly crippled Athenian military and political power. One of the plan's failures came in the form of the forced return of Alcibiades on charges of violating the sanctity of the statue of Hermes, the Greek god. Consequently, the command was handed over to Nicias, who was reluctant to undertake this plan. Reluctantly, he deliberately slowed down the wall- making it to surround Syracuse while the powerful Athenian navy had reached and surrounded Syracuse by sea. This slow land advance, coupled with the Athenian weaker terrestrial army, led to significant defeat and humiliation of Athenians in this battle.[Taylor, Martha. Thucydides, Pericles, and the idea of Athens in the Peloponnesian War. Cambridge University Press, 2010.] [Hanson, Victor Davis. A war like no other: How the Athenians and Spartans fought the Peloponnesian War. Random House Incorporated, 2005.]
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