ConflictEurope

The Peloponnesian War

432 BCE – 405 BCE

Athens against Sparta for twenty-seven years, and Thucydides writes it down

In depth

Thucydides argued the war came because Athens's growth created fear in Sparta — an analysis still cited in foreign policy. He also gives the Melian dialogue, in which the Athenians say plainly that the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must. Athens lost, democracy was briefly abolished, and four years later Socrates was condemned to death.

For children

Athens and Sparta fought for nearly thirty years and destroyed each other. Thucydides, himself a general, wrote an account with no gods and no omens — only people, fear and interests. It is still read in military academies.

Connects to

The Parthenon448 BCE – 433 BCE
Democracy in Athens509 BCE
Socrates condemned to death400 BCE

Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org