Peloponnesian Wars Quotes (3.2)

Fears of Growing Athenian Hegemony (Cartwright)

"Sparta seems to have been particularly alarmed at the growing power of Athens."

Monuments as an Expression of Power (Goldsworthy)

"Monuments, above all the Parthenon, were designed to show that Athens was greater than other cities."

Post-Peloponnesian War (Trifkovic)

"Athens grew rich and arrogant in the aftermath of her victory."

Imperial Athens (Trifkovic)

"Imperial Athens was obeyed for several decades - initially out of self-interest, then out of fear rather than respect."

Athens as a Tyrant (Trifkovic)

“tyrant city” and an “enslaver of Greek liberties.”

Delian League by 450 BCE (Trifkovic)

"By 450, the Delian League had essentially become an organization of Athenian colonies."

Athens Justification of Subjugation (Thucydides)

“It has always been the law that the weaker should be subject to the stronger;”

Demands to lead the Delian League (Hamilton)

"Athens could be the leader of the free only if she considered the welfare of others on the same level with her own."

Delian League into Athenian Empire (Hamilton)

"The temptation to acquire still more power proved as always irresistible. Very soon the free confederacy was being turned into the Athenian Empire."

Extension of Athens (Mark)

"more of an extension of Athenian power and politics than a Greek confederacy for mutual defence."

Spartan Declaration of War (Thucydides)

"not so much because they were influenced by the speeches of their allies as because they were afraid of the further growth of Athenian power."

Inevitability of War (Thucydides)

"The growth of the power of Athens, and the alarm which this inspired in Lacedaemon, made war inevitable."

Acknowledging Athenian power (Thucydides)

"made only a few attempts to hinder it…until at last the growth of the Athenian power could no longer be ignored."

Non-binding Peloponnesian League (Cartwright)

"the Peloponnesian League had no single binding agreement."

Lack of unity in the Peloponnesian League (Cartwright)

"the [Peloponnesian] League was no league at all."

Fears of Delian League Influence (Martin)

"The Spartan leaders feared that the Athenians would use their superiority…to destroy Spartan control over the members of the Peloponnesian League."

Spartan Isolation (Goldsworthy)

"Spartans were secretive about their politics and almost every other aspect of their lives."

Rift between Athens and Sparta (Jones)

"Part of the reason for the rift between Athens and Sparta was that they were technically two different cultures."

Language and Political Difference (Jones)

"while language served as the root of their mutual hatred, in the end it was political differences that drove them to war."

Athenian influence on Spartan independence (Jones)

"any growth in Athenian influence could limit Spartan independence, which was simply unacceptable."

Rival city-states as an expression of the Greek World (Goldsworthy)

"The rival city-states were radically different expressions of a wider Classical Greek world."

Rivalry for prestige as a driver for political turmoil (Goldsworthy)

 

"Rivalry for prestige – something natural for Greek cities and individuals – led to tension and ultimately a series of wars."

Sole reason for Athenian-Spartan dispute (Hamilton)

"The Athenians and the Spartans fought for one reason only – because they were powerful and therefore were compelled to seek more power."

Athenian authenticity (Pericles)

"Our constitution does not copy the laws of neighbouring states; we are rather a pattern to others than imitators ourselves."

Significance of the Peloponnesian War (Thucydides)

"The Peloponnesian War was the great civil conflict that divided the ancient Greek world between Athens and Sparta."

Threat of Athenian Naval Strength (Pericles)

"Our enemies have never yet felt our united strength."

Spartan Hoplites (Cole)

"The Spartan hoplite enjoys unquestioned currency as history's greatest fighting man."

Themistocles on Naval Power (Platias)

“[Themistocles] made every effort and employed every means available to steer the agricultural city of Athens to the sea.”

Land Autonomy of Sparta and Corinth (Thucydides)

"Sparta and its allies…were almost exclusively land-based, and able to summon large armies which were nearly unbeatable thanks to the legendary Spartan forces."

First Peloponnesian War Comparison (Trifkovic)

"it was a mere skirmish compared to the war initiated in 431 B.C."

Athens to Persia Pipeline (Trifkovic)

"the Athenians became the sovereign power of much of Hellas, realizing for themselves the dream of the king of Persia."

Necessity of War (Herodotus)

"No one is stupid enough to prefer war to peace. In peace, sons bury their fathers, and in war fathers bury their sons."

Tensions in the Thirty Years Peace (Pericles)

"It is laid down in the treaty that differences between us should be settled by arbitration, and that, pending arbitration, each side should keep what it has."

Corcyra’s Temptation in the Thirty Years Peace (Thucydides)

"It is not a breach of your treaty with Sparta if you receive us into your alliance."

Athenian Long Walls (Wilkes)

"miles of fortifications connecting the city to the harbour of Piraeus—so as to offer a link to the sea even at times of siege, making it yet more powerful."

Rousing suspicion of the Long Walls (Evans)

"[building the Long Walls] made the Spartans suspicious."

Sparta against fortification (Thucydides)

"Sparta did not like the idea of Athens or any other city being fortified."

Corinth vs. Athens (Thucydides)

"The Corinthians...were the most active in the outcry against Athens, for they felt that their interests were being ignored."

Corinth’s impact on the Peloponnesian War (Rhine)

"Corinthian actions were instrumental in bringing Sparta into the Peloponnesian War."

Corinth against Athens and Corcyra (Thucydides)

"The Corinthians remind Athens of the rule they all stated at Sparta, that each state should punish its own allies."

Reason for Athens’ alliance with Corcyra (Stadter)

"This decision...is more pragmatic, indeed Machiavellian, than regularly supposed."

Corinth in the active campaign against Athens (Thucydides)

"Corinth were searching for means to retaliate against Athens, and Athens had no illusions about the hatred felt for her by Corinth."

Athens fear of revolt (Thucydides)

"Athens feared that, under the influence of the Corinthians, Potidaea might be induced to revolt and might draw into the revolt the other allied cities in the Thracian area."

Pericles’ affirmation of the Megarian Decree (Diodorus of Sicily)

"persuaded the Athenians not to rescind the action, saying that for them to accede to the demands of the Spartans…would be the first step toward slavery."

Consequence of the Megarian Decree (Thucydides)

"Violent disputes broke out concerning Athenian economic sanctions against the city-state of Megara, an ally of Sparta."

Growing hostilities from the Megarian Decree (Martin)

"The disputes over Athenian action against Megara and Potidaea reflected the larger issues of power motivating the hostility between Athens and Sparta."

The Megarian Decree (Thucydides)

 

"[Athens] excluded the Megarians from all the ports of the Athenian Empire."

Archidamus II’s warning against the Archidamian War (Archidamus II)

"I fear rather that we shall leave it as a legacy to our children."

Cause of the Archidamian War (Thucydides)

"So bitter was the general feeling against Athens, whether from those who wished to escape from her rule or from those who feared that they would come under it."

Thebans in the siege of Plataea (Seehase)

"the Thebans were behind this ruthless and cruel approach; they had long been rivals of the Plataeans and still had a score to settle."

Cleon’s leadership during Amphipolis (Rickard)

"Cleon wasn't a popular commander, and he didn't have the full support of his troops. He was unable to convince them of the wisdom of waiting for reinforcements..."

Sparta during the Battle of Sphacteria (Lendering)

"Sparta had lost the moral high ground."

Athenian War Strategy (Thucydides)

"Pericles' strategy was to avoid open battle with the more numerous and better trained Spartan hoplites, and to instead rely on Athens’ superior naval fleet."

Spartan War Strategy (Mclaughlin)

"The Spartan strategy was simple: invade the Athenian territory of Attica, destroy farmland, and threaten Athens itself."

Strategies of Athens and Sparta (Kagan)

"In the crisis both Sparta and Athens chose strategies that inadvertently helped foster the war."

Doubts caused by the Plague (Thucydides)

"The Athenians, who were suffering severely from the plague and from the war...reflected that it was a serious matter to bring upon themselves a second war."

Plague’s toll on Athens (Thucydides)

"worn out."

Impact of the Plague (Thucydides)

"There was the plague which did more harm and destroyed more life than almost any other single factor."

Cleon and Brasidas (Thucydides)

"Cleon, the most prominent and influential leader at Athens...and Brasidas, the first Spartan who obtained this distinction in the war."

Cleon in the Mytilenean Debate (Cleon)

"A democracy is incapable of empire."

Brasidas’s character (Thucydides)

"The gallantry... and the wisdom."

Brasidas’s reputation (Thucydides)

"Excellent reputation."

Cleon’s impact on the course of the war (Aristophanes)

"Greece was on its way to desolation. And the man who did this was the tanner."

Impact of the Peace of Nicias (Planeaux)

"a settlement that settled nothing."

Problems with Nicias’ Treaty (Kagan)

"The territorial provisions in 445 were realistic. The treaty of 421 was not."

The Peace of Nicias (Kagan)

"peace treaty existed in name only."

Sicilian Expedition (Planeaux)

"the most ambitious attempt to expand the Delian League."

Dangers of the Sicilian Expedition (Nicias)

"We must not disguise from ourselves that we go to found a city among strangers and enemies."

Revolt of states post-Sicilian Expedition (Thucydides)

"Athens…faced revolt across its empire as subject states calculated that Athenian power had been permanently broken."

Athens in the lead up to the Sicilian Expedition (Kagan)

"greedy, power-hungry and ill-informed."

Nicias’ defence against the Sicilian Expedition (Nicias)

"The Sicilians...would be even less dangerous than they are now if ruled by the Syracusans."

The Decelean War (Thucydides)

"Sparta, now allied to the Persian Empire, broke the peace in 413 BC and began the final phase of the war."

Alcibiades’ abandon of Athens (Alcibiades)

"Let us show them, then, that we are alive."

Unpredictability of the Peloponnesian War (Thucydides)

"The longer a war lasts, the more things tend to depend on accidents."

Overthrow of Democracy in 411 (Thucydides)

"Democracy in Athens was briefly overthrown in 411 BCE as a result of its poor handling of the Peloponnesian War."

Psychological climate of Athens after 411 (Thucydides)

"The people kept quiet, and were so terror-stricken that anyone who did not speak thought himself lucky to have suffered no violence."

Society post-oligarchic revolution (Thucydides)

"one either found a stranger or someone known who proved untrustworthy."

The impact of the Persian Intervention (Thucydides)

"The intervention of the Persian Empire in support of Sparta...allowed the Spartan coalition to decisively defeat Athens."

Alcibiades’ advice to the Satraps (Thucydides)

"allow the Hellenes to wear each other out, so that the King might find both sides weakened."

The Satraps Justification for the Treaty of Miletus (Thucydides)

"Whatever territory or cities the King possesses or his ancestors possessed, shall belong to the King."

Pericles’ Long Wall Strategy (Cartwright)

"...the city could always be resupplied by sea via the city's port of Piraeus protected by the Long Walls."

Pericles’ Funeral Oration (Mark)

"highlights how Athenian democracy encourages personal freedom & sets the city apart from the rest."

Athens flourish under Pericles (Mark)

"Athens blossomed as a centre of education, art, culture, and democracy."

The Age of Pericles (Mark)

"The Age of Pericles, however, could not last any more than any other in history."

Pericles’ public perception (Thucydides)

"he was strong in both repute and intellect and was conspicuously incorruptible."

Pericles’s rule (Thucydides)

"Whenever he saw that they were arrogant and undeservedly confident, he would speak to strike terror into them; and when he saw them unreasonably afraid he would restore their confidence once more."

Pericles’ Successors (Mark)

"His successors never lived up to Pericles' ideal leadership and Athens suffered accordingly."

Impact of Pericles’ Death (Mark)

"Bereft of his leadership, the Athenians made mistake after mistake in their military decisions."

Pericles’ support from the masses (Plutarch)

"by virtue of his natural superiority and the force of his eloquence."

Pericles’ leadership (Thucydides)

"His leadership was such that he did not so much follow the people as lead them."

Pericles’ Four Part Policy (Kagan)

"Doomed to failure."

Athens under Pericles (Kagan)

"Athens at the time of Pericles was a democracy in name only, but in fact was or was becoming the rule of the first citizen."

Nicias’ goal (Cartwright)

"Nicias' goal was to preserve the Athenian empire while avoiding the risks of further expansion."

Nicias in the First Peloponnesian War (Cartwright)

"During the first part of the war he exhibited both bravery and exceptional diplomatic skill."

Siege of Syracuse (Cartwright)

"The failure of the siege contributed greatly to the ultimate defeat of Athens."

Nicias’ wealth (Plutarch)

"was exceptionally rich and used his wealth to win their favour."

Nicias’ tactics (Thucydides)

“keep out of danger and commit himself as little as possible to fortune.”

Unstable armistic of Nicias’ Treaty (Thucydides)

"unstable armistice did not prevent either party doing the other serious injury."

Nicias’ Behaviour (Plutarch)

"exceeding caution and hesitation."

Nicias as an omen for the Sicilian Expedition (Plutarch)

"It was a bad omen for the Athenians that Nicias…declined at first to head their expedition."