The Peloponnesian War was a major conflict in Greek history, involving Athens and its allies against Sparta and its allied forces. The war lasted approximately 30 years and had a major impact on Greece's political and social structure. On the other hand, Rome was one of history's most powerful ancient cultures, and its great victories were crucial to its ascent to power. The Romans eventually dominated Greek civilization, and Rome's influence remained to affect Western civilization even after its decline (Morey, 1901).
I will discuss the similarities and distinctions between Sparta's aims in the Peloponnesian War and Rome's goals against Italian city-states and the city of Carthage.
Sparta's major goal in the Peloponnesian war was to maintain
…show more content…
The desire to increase its domain and establish its supremacy over the region drove Rome's wars against Italian city-states. Rome considered itself the true leader of Italy and claimed that it was its duty to unite the entire country under its control. To achieve this purpose, Rome launched multiple battles against surrounding city-states such as the Samnites, Etruscans, and Gauls (Cartwright, 2016).
Sparta conducted many military expeditions against Athens as the Romans did later with neighboring city-states. Sparta attacked Attica, the Athenian heartland, and destroyed Athenian farms and infrastructure. Sparta also dispatched troops to Sicily to help its allies beat Athens, resulting in disastrous destruction for the Athenians. Both Spart and Rome civilizations were recognized for their military strength and possessed well-trained armies that were vital for their achievement (Cole, 2021).
Rome similar to Sparta possessed a well-trained, well-equipped, and well-organized army, which provided it a significant advantage in battle. Rome also used its great engineering abilities to construct highways and defenses, allowing its forces to maneuver rapidly and efficiently across
called Peloponnese. Sparta grew slowly to a city-state. Sparta was the dominant city- state on the Peloponnese by 500 BCE.Sparta also had to fight to survive like other Greek settlements.
Although Pericles’ words strived to inspire and encourage the Athenian people to fight valiantly against Sparta and its allies, they are not enough to embolden the Athenian people onto victory in the Peloponnesian War. His words do motivate Athenians to make tremendous effort in extending their power and defeating Sparta and its allies, but in the end, may have lead to Athenians’ demise. Fostering pride and determination throughout the war, Athens makes several attempts to expand its naval power, but fails in its plan to overtake Syracuse on the coast of Sicily, weakening its efforts against Sparta and its allied city-states. Finally, in the naval battle at Aegospotami, the Spartans have a decisive victory over Athens, and the Athenians eventually surrender, ending the Peloponnesian War.
One important reason on why their military was strong, was its battle formation. The battle formation was called the phalanx. It was a tight group of soldiers where each held a shield, but the shields were interlocked with one another. This technique took a lot of time. In the end it allowed the Spartan soldiers to move in unison.
As we had read in the assignment titled ‘Boundless World History’, “Democracy in Athens was overthrown in 411 BCE because of its poor handling of the Peloponnesian War.” Athens and Sparta had engaged in the Peloponnesian War that was between 404 and 431 BCE. In ancient Greece, Athens and Sparta were two of the most important city-states. According to most historians, the Peloponnesian War battle, which was supposed to have almost consumed the entire Greek world, was the most important battle of its time. Since Sparta won and Athens ultimately lost the Peloponnesian War, it can be stated that Athens was unable to accomplish the Peloponnesian War successfully.
The first goal that led to the Peloponnesian War was Beautification. Pericles wanted Athens to be the most beautiful city in the world. So Pericles stole the money from the Delian League, which had formed in case Persia attacked again. This made Sparta and the other city-states feel threatened. Pericles built the Parthenon and other famous buildings, making Athens beautiful again.
Rome aimed to expand its authority and control over surrounding areas, such as Italy and North Africa. Rome's conquest of these areas was motivated by a desire for territorial growth as well as by economic and strategic considerations. The goals of Sparta and Rome, however, shared some similarities. Both wanted to retain their positions of dominance in their respective regions, and both were prepared to use military force to do so.
The Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE) between Athens and Sparta was a substantial conflict that affected the ancient Greek world. This war had far-reaching outcomes for Athens, both militarily and politically. I will examine whether Athens efficiently held the Peloponnesian War and whether democracy was overthrown as a consequence. The Athenian democracy encountered several challenges during the Peloponnesian War.
The historian Thucydides described himself as a wealthy Athenian general whose exile to the Peloponnese allowed him to personally observe, from both the sides of the conflict, a comprehensive account of the Peloponnesian War. Book 1 in Thucydides’ “History of the Peloponnesian War” is dedicated to explaining over fifty years of the events and proceedings that led to the abandonment of the Thirty Year’s Peace and subsequent war. In Book 1 he identifies four main incidents, which I shall refer to as ‘grievances’, regarding the conduct of Athens towards both their Delian members and the Peloponnesian allies. Yet he also mentions what he deems to be a more ‘real’ truth than these four grievances that led to Sparta and the Peloponnese going to
Rome used legions to subjugate nearby Italian city-states and Carthage, but Sparta used its powerful hoplite army to overcome Athens (UNRV
Athens and Sparta, located between the Aegean and the Ionian Sea, allied with each other in the Greco-Persian war. Due to the advanced and powerful navy of Athens incorporation with the well-built army of Sparta, they gained victory over the Persian Empire. After the victory, Athens gained wealth and dominance over the other Greek societies causing tensions between Sparta. They both share similarities towards their cultural background but had different views in creating an ideal society in addition to their state’s place in the world. Moreover, they differ from the concepts of a well trained or educated society and a well built military, but share similarities in their government format.
This contrasts the two cities in their perspective of what they need. Sparta powers their army with the number of Helots within the confines of their territory. Athens sees military as important but has almost as many resident aliens in their city as Sparta has natural citizens(Document 6). Looking at a list of imported goods and exported goods into the two cities, you can see how Sparta imports materials needed for supporting an army like iron, ivory,and copper. On the other hand, Athens import necessities in which the need to survive on such as wheat, skins, and salted fish to eat.
Today, many of the world’s government structures were based on the principle of one of Greece’s city-states. Greece became a country advancing well before its time, strong in both military and brain power. This country was able to produce two city-states that became foundations to advancing the rest of the world. The first city-state, Athens, is thought to be the first to implement a democratic government while Sparta became known for their military power. While Athens and Sparta provide the world with advancements they differ in the ways of government structures, social motivations, and cultural differences.
Factors of Athens's Defeat in the Peloponnesian War Introduction Athens and Sparta, the two most powerful city-states in ancient Greece, fought each other for many years in the Peloponnesian War. Unfortunately, Athens was defeated, and its democratic rule collapsed due to the war, which lasted from 431 to 404 BCE, with a brief truce. In this paper, I will claim that Athens' arrogance, overreliance on the navy, the plague, and poor judgment rendered Athens incapable of winning the Peloponnesian War. Overconfidence Athens could not manage the war effectively because of its overconfidence and arrogance.
In the Peloponnesian War, Sparta used defensive and reserve military tactics to attack, while Rome used offensive and defensive tactics to achieve its goals. It is worth noting that there is a difference in the resources used by Sparta and Rome as well. Sparta achieved its war goals by using strong military power and support from neighboring countries, while Rome achieved its goals in the wars it waged by using its economic and military resources and the support of allies.
Both nations aimed to increase their spheres of influence and seize authority over their respective regions. Sparta's aim was to assert its dominance over Athens and the other Greek city-states (Hansen, 2019). Likewise, Rome aimed to conquer and consolidate the cities in the Italian Peninsula and Carthage (Flower, 2017). Another similarity lies in the consolidation of power. After winning the Peloponnesian War, Sparta sought to establish hegemony over the Greek city-states, effectively becoming the dominant power (Hansen, 2019).