Thucydides on the causes of the Peloponnesian War

History Of the Peloponnesian War

Thucydides asserts that the Peloponnesian War was caused by "…the rise of Athenian power and the fear this caused in Sparta." Does this argument place the blame for the start of the war on Athens or on Sparta? That is the thesis question to be approached in this paper. Using quality references -- books and scholarly articles -- this paper will answer the thesis question and provide the necessary research to verify any scholarly assertions. Indeed, the answer to the thesis question is that while Athens put pressure on Sparta's allies -- and hence, Sparta felt the heat of Athenian policies that harmed Sparta's allies -- it was Sparta that actually launched the war. So it can be said that Athens laid the groundwork by irritating and angering Sparta over a long period of time in many instances. But Sparta cast the first stone -- lit the fuse that Athens had put in place -- in the Peloponnesian War.

The Tensions between Athens and Sparta

There had been friction and tension between the two powers for many years, Author Donald Kagan explains in his book On the Origins of War (Kagan, 1995, p. 27). The Spartans were "suspicious and resentful at the growth of Athenian power," Kagan asserts (27). Some leaders in Sparta had been bitterly opposed to the Athenians decision to rebuild their city walls once the Persians had left, but requests by Sparta for Athens to cease rebuilding those walls were rejected, Kagan points out (27). Moreover, the Athenian attack on the island of Thasos (then allies with Sparta) in 465 B.C. further agitated Sparta, which was part of the reason that the association between Sparta and Athens (developed when the two powers were allies against Persia) had ended. As to the outcome of those specific tensions (vis-a-vis the Thasos attack), the Spartans "…were afraid of the boldness and the revolutionary spirit of the Athenians (this is Thucydides' quote presented by Kagan on page 28).

The Athenians went about further angering the Spartans during the battle between two allies of Sparta, Corinth and Megara. While Sparta chose not to become involved in that war (which Megara was losing), Megara announced it would "…secede from the Spartan Alliance and join with Athens" if the Athenians would back up Megara vs. Corinth (Kagan, 30). Much to the chagrin of Sparta, the Athenians accepted Megara into their fold, and a "powerful" sense of loathing was therefore initiated by Corinth towards Athens, Kagan continues (30).

Meanwhile, Athenian general and historian Thucydides points to the dispute over Corcyra (during which the Corinthians were defeated at sea by Corcyra) as another event that led to great tensions and eventually to the Peloponnesian War. In the History of the Peloponnesian War (translated by Rex Warner), Thucydides (1972, p. 54) reports that the Corinthians approached Athens for support and assistance against the Corcyra forces. "If you grant our request," the Corinthians said to Athens, "you will find that in many ways it was a good thing that we made it… [because] you will not be helping aggressors, but people who are the victims of aggression" (Thucydides, 55). The world will "admire you for your generosity" and you will be "stronger than you were before," the Corinthians expressed to the Athenians (Thucydides, 55).

Moreover, the Corinthians asserted that it would not be "…a breach of your treaty with Sparta if you receive us into your alliance" because "we are neutrals" (Thucydides, 56). After a long and involved speech that attempted to justify the Corinthian request to become allies with Athens, the Athenians turned and made an alliance with Corcyra, Thucydides explains (62). This led inevitably to Athens vs. Corinth, and it is an important point in the history of the region because "…it gave Corinth her first cause for war against Athens" because the Athenians had sided with Corcyra even though a peace treaty was supposedly still in force (Thucydides, 67).

A Major reason for the Defeat of Athens

Although this section of the paper does not address who started the Peloponnesian War, it provides "a major reason" that the Athenians lost the war. In the Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine the author points to the "Plague of Athens" that struck Athens not long after the Peloponnesian War had begun in 430 B.C. (Littman, 2009, p. 458). Researchers today are not certain as to the specific disease (whether it was measles, typhoid fever, bubonic plague, anthrax, or perhaps scarlet fever or even toxic shock syndrome), but the political ramifications were "enormous," Littman reveals (458).

Pericles perished because of the disease -- along with an estimated 100,000 Athenians -- but though Thucydides contracted the plague, he survived it and lived to write an account of it, Littman explains (459). Roughly 25% of the population of Athens perished but Sparta was spared, according to Littman (458). In fact the plague was "…economically and socially devastating to Athens, both at the time and in subsequent centuries," Littman continues (458). The Peloponnesian War and the terrible plague "…depopulated Athens and changed Greek history," which, Littman concludes, might have been quite different had Athens defeated Sparta (458).

In conclusion, this paper points to many conditions and prevailing attitudes that contributed tensions to the relationship between Sparta and Athens. It also points out that both parties share blame in this matter. But the bottom line and the answer to the thesis question is that Sparta started the war after Athens had angered and agitated Sparta to the point that Sparta apparently could not resist launching the conflict.