The Peloponnesian War the Decline of the Polis
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Transcript of The Peloponnesian War the Decline of the Polis
The Peloponnesian War the Decline of the Polis
BCE Greek Hoplites Greek Trireme The Silver Mines at Lavrium
increased Athenian Wealth and Prestige Shortly After the War The
Periclean Building Programs
Named after Pericles (c BCE), the Athenian general/statesman who
championed the building program Parthenon started in 447 BCE with
money from the Delian league Numerous temples built in the
Parthenon complex as well as around Athens The Athenian Acropolis
c. 430BCE The Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens, 448-432 BCE
Concrete replica of the Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee's
Centennial Park Map ofAthens c BCE Acropolis from the Agora
Herodotus & Thucydides Aeschylus, Sophocles & Euripides
Socrates, Plato, Aristotle Gymnasia Spartan Women Spartan Culture
and Architectural Styles Theater of Dionysus Theater at Delphi Is
this play a demonstration of Aristophanes feminist
sympathies?
How does this play reflect Athens situation in the war? Does this
play reflect a right wing agenda? How does the play begin? With
Lysistrata calling a meeting of women to discuss ending the war
With Lysistrata packing her bags and leaving her husband With a
prophecy from the Delphic oracle that the women of Athens will end
the war With Pericles commending the women for supporting the war
How does the play depict the Spartans?
As a bunch of belligerent hotheads; even the women were mean As
fine physical specimens who speak in a rural dialect As the natural
leaders of the Greek world; they had a daunting & commanding
presence As sick and emaciated from the deprivations of war What
were the conditions surrounding the production of Lysistrata?
Athens had won the war Athens and Sparta has just concluded the
Peace of Nikias Athens had just concluded an alliance with Persia
Athens had recently suffered a humiliating defeat at Syracuse Why
did Athens and Sparta go to war?
Cultural Differences Political Rivalry Economic opportunity
Incendiary events Trade embargo enforcement Confiscation of goods
Influence of Demagogues Military Might of Athens and Sparta at the
Beginning of the War c. 330 Course of the War Mediterranean Basin
c. 350 BCE Overview Our Sources for the War Causes of War The
Course of the War
Obstacles to Athenian Empire The Decline of the Polis Sources for
Understanding the War
Thucydides (d. 400 BCE) describes the war as a profound tragedy
blamed Athenian greed and influence of demagogues huge impact on
later historiography Athenian documents Greek theater and
especially Aristophanes Laws archeology The Causes of War Athenian
hubris
expanding empire increased building need for tax revenues Relations
with other city states: Corinth & Megara Rival alliances and
treaties Spartan fears of Athenian domination The Course of the War
Athenian strategy: Athens suffers disasters
avoid pitched battles on land use navy to raid enemy lands &
deplete resources win a war of attrition due to superior resources
Athens suffers disasters plague from Sicily campaign of slave
revolt 413 losses at sea 406-4 Final defeat and the imposition of
tyranny of The Thirty Obstacles to the Athenian Empire
The Peloponnesian League Loyalty of the Delian League The
Peloponnesian War Athenian leaders Impoverishment of the Thetes
Reliance on Mercenaries Confused loyalties Spartan Victory Sparta
not equipped to assume Athens place as leading city-state lack of
diplomatic skills laconic proud lack of governmental institutions
With Spartas failure to assume leadership, Greece experienced a
period of sustained internecine warfare and political fragmentation
Effects of War on Athens
The economy of Athens revives somewhat after the war but never
regains its widespread opulence it loses its empire and the revenue
of empire due to high mortality of men, many widows who never
before worked are forced to seek low paying work vineyards wet
nurses weavers day labor Effects of War on Athens
Militarization of society - holdings of small farmers destroyed;
many families forced to resort to mercenary work for survival
decline of democracy - with a smaller portion of the population
available for the leisure time demanded by Athenian public life,
participatory democracy loses its constituency the formation of a
ruling elite - in the coming decades, Plato and other influential
educators advocate for government controlled by a ruling elite
(e.g. philosopher kings) Search for scapegoats The Death of
Socrates c. 400 BCE
Accused of disbelief in Athenian gods introducing new gods
corruption of the Athenian youth Chose death rather than escape
Became a martyr and symbol of unflinching belief in ethical actions
represented in stories and artwork, particularly since the 18th
century in the West Plato is our most complete source about his
teachings but it is difficult to separate Socrates beliefs from
those of Plato Summary The failure of Athens during the
Peloponnesian War meant the failure of Greece to attain political
unity Although the fourth century was a period of continued
achievement for Athens in philosophy, science, and performing arts,
politically it was a period of fragmentation and war until the
Macedonians unified the Greeks in the 330s