The End of the Peloponnesian War and its Aftermath 419 - 404
Problems with the Peace
Peloponnesians unhappy with clause that allowed Sparta and Athens to adjust the treaty by mutual consent, but without the allies' agreement
allies began to revolt with help from Argos who now believed they could defeat Sparta and rule the Peloponnese
Spartans formed new alliance with Boeotia which went against the agreement with Athens
Athenians were mad at this and Alcibiades turned support toward a four way alliance with themselves, Argos, Mantinea and Elis
Mantinea and Elis ally with Argos
Battle of Mantinea 418
there were attempts made by the four-way alliance to isolate Corinth from the Peloponnese and thus weaken Sparta, that were quashed
In 420, fearful that they would attempt this again, Sparta sent a large army, with allies from Boeotia and Megara, into the northern Peloponnese
An Argive army marched against them with 1000 Athenian hoplites and a Mantinean force who hoped to take the city of Tegea
This led to the battle of Mantinea which was the largest land battle fought within Greece during the Peloponnesian war
The Spartans won a resounding victory and demonstrated their military superiority
Soon, Argos made a fresh fifty-year peace with Sparta, and Mantinea also made a new agreement with them, thus redeeming all of their previous allies, with Argos remaining neutral
The Sicilian Expedition 415 - 413
in 415 a Sicilian community called for Athenian support in a conflict with Syracuse, the major power on the island
The Sicilians offered to pay for their support
Nicias was one of three generals on the mission, and was against it when they were already facing troubles at home. Alcibiades was in favour of it
Nicias was responsible for encouraging the use of more ships, the first departure has 100 ships
Just before they left, the hermae were mutilated by unknown persons and Alcibiades was charged with religious crimes
He left for the expedition without being tried, some say in order to better plot against him
After arriving in Sicily, he was recalled to Athens for trial but instead fled and defected to the Spartans
Nicias was now in charge and prosecuted the war halfheartedly
Over the winter of 415-414, Syracuse requested help from the Peloponnese
in early 414, Nicias seized the heights o Epipolae above Syracuse and began to build fortifications around the city for a siege
Spartan commander Gylippus landed and turned Nicias' attention away from the siege and towards the sea
He sent a letter home requesting more forces and Demosthenes was sent with 60 more ships
Before Demosthenes arrived, Gylippus defeated the Athenian fleet so Demosthenes decided upon immediate action
However, this meant attacking at night, which was inappropriate for the hoplites on the peak of Epipolae, and they were defeated
There was sickness in the Athenians so Demosthenes urged for retreat but Nicias, at first, refused as he feared the Athenian assembly
After they lost two more naval engagements, 40,000 Athenians departed Syracuse on foot and were killed by Syracusan troops at the river Assinarus
7,000 prisoners were put in the quarries and Nicias and Demosthenes killed
Some say it was doomed from the offset, as trying to take Sicily was an example of mad arrogance, others pin the failure on Nicias' incompetence
Decelea 414
The Spartans decided that peace with Athens was impossible and so opted to fortify a strategic position in Decelea, per Alcibiades advice
It was a position north of Athens that blockades a key Athenian supply route and prevented the Athenians accessing many fields
Far more effective that the annual invasions of Attica previously, as this lasted all year rather than a few weeks
Athenians had to continually guard the city walls and send cavalry against the Peloponnesians which made their horses lame. Also the main supply route was interrupted
Ionian War 413-404
final years of the Peloponnesian war
news about Sicily encouraged some of Athens' allies to rebel: Euboea, Lesbos and Chios appealed to the Spartans for help in revolting
Some satraps accompanied them, hoping to re-assert their authority. They were Tissaphernes and Pharnabazus who were both persian
At the start of the war, Archidamus had suggested that the Spartans needed an alliance with Persia to succeed and there is evidence of them trying to secure one
Soon after, there is also evidence of an actual alliance between Athens and Persia
The Chians were the last remaining ship-providing ally of Athens, so the Spartans decided to act in Chios
Alcibiades managed to convince Chios and Miletus to revolt
Now the Spartan commander made a formal alliance with the King of Persia through Tissaphernes which was reviewed twice soon after
the final version said that the Persians were to control the Asiatic Greeks and would pay for the Peloponnesian fleet
However, Tissaphernes aimed to weaken the Greeks as they fought amongst themselves, he was influenced by Alcibiades who had left the Spartans and was now in Tissaphernes' court
Tissaphernes was tardy in paying up for the rowers of the Peloponnesian fleet, and when he did muster up a fleet, he failed to bring it fully into the Aegean and thus prolonged the naval war
The Athenian allies continued to revolt
in 411 there was a democratic revolution at Samos which opposed the earlier oligarchic coup in Athens
Alcibiades was now recalled by the Athenian democrats at Samos and he spoke against immediately sailing against the oligarchic 400 at Athens, as this would leave leave the Aegean to a Peloponnesian and Persian alliance.
The Peloponnesians sent another fleet to Oropos opposite Eretria in Euboea which had been long ripe for revolt
Euboea was Athens' chief food source so the Athenians manned a fleet with inexperienced rowers to intercept the Peloponnesians
Eretria was secretly opposed to Persian a rule so when the rowers arrived here, they were poorly supplied and forced into a battle which they lost
Even worse, when they retreated to Eretria again, they were murdered by the locals
This caused the oligarchy of 400 to change to 5000
The Spartans moved their main operations to the Hellespont which was worrying for the Athenians as grain convoys from the Spartocid Bosparan Kingdom came through here
This resulted in first major sea battle between Athenians and Spartans at Cynossema with an Athenian victory
There was another naval victory at Abydos soon after
The Spartan Mindarus wanted to cut off the Athens' remaining supply chain. Three Athenian commanders - Alcibiades, Thrasybulus and Theramenes - forced him into battle at Cyzicus
Here, the Spartan losses were considerable with around 10,000 dead
Full democracy was restored at Athens
Pharnabazus paid for the rebuilding of the Peloponnesian fleet which required a three year pause in hostilities
in 407 it was announced in Sparta that the Persian king Darius II had decided to act in Sparta's interests and his son, cyrus, would have charge of affairs
The clever Lysander was appointed to command the Spartan forces, when he met with Cyrus there was a mutual admiration
Alcibiades returned to athens but was then re-banished after a defeat at the harbour of Epheseus against Lysander where 15 Athenian ships were lost
His banishment meant that Athens lost an innovative commander when Sparta had Lysander
After a year, Lysander was replaced by Callicratidas in 406. He favoured appeasement with Athens and was not well received by Cyrus
There was a huge sea battle at Arginusae where Athens was victorious and 77 Peloponnesian ships were lost. Callicratidas was killed
However, after the battle the Athenians did not recover many bodies of their men which caused fury back in Athens and the generals were condemned to death.
The Spartans may have asked for peace again here but Cleophon refused
Lysander gained power again and he turned his focus to the Hellespont where the Athenians positioned themselves at Aegospotami
Lysnader attacked the Athenian fleet which was complacent so 170 ships were taken, and the Athenian sailors executed. The Athenians had no resources left