During the Medical Wars, the leading role of the Athenians ensured victory against the immense Persian army. To this end, Athens suggested forming a league of city-states that would have the function of raising funds and war material to face the armies commanded by King Xerxes. The League of Delos was started, which not only managed to defeat the Persians, but also became an institution that would protect Hellas from other foreign invasions.
Controlled by Athens, the wealth accumulated by the League of Delos began to have a different function from the original. The Athenians took advantage of that available wealth to impose their economic interests on others city-states and promote various public works that enhance the beauty and safety of their own City. Over time, the so-called Athenian imperialism instigated other Greek cities to unite against such a situation. Through this alliance, another military force emerged, the Peloponnesian League, then led by the Spartans.
The climate of rivalry between the Greek city-states erupted when the colony of Corcyra decided to turn against the city of Corinthian, belonging to the Peloponnesian League. Taking advantage of the dispute, the Athenians brought Corcyra closer to the League of Delos through the military support given in that first confrontation. In turn, Sparta, a military ally of the Corinthians, decided to act against the Athenians in a major offensive that took over the Attica region.
In the first ten years of the confrontation, between 431 and 421 a. a., there was a visible balance of forces between the troops involved. While the Spartans skillfully led the land armies, the Athenian military forces were virtually unbeatable at sea. Equality of forces marked the signing of the Peace of Nicias, an agreement that would make a fifty-year truce official. However, Athens ended up not complying with the measure when resuming the conflicts in 413 a. Ç..
The resumption of the Peloponnesian War was clearly marked by the sovereignty of the forces led by Sparta. On an expedition to the island of Syracuse, Athens suffered a disgraceful defeat that resulted in the capture of 20,000 men who were turned into slaves. After that, Sparta saw that the time was favorable for a new advance on the Attica region. In the Battle of Egos-Potamos (404 a. a.), the Spartan Admiral Lisandro decreed the downfall of the Athenians.
With the end of the war, the aristocratic political model was reinvigorated within Greece and Sparta began to impose its interests on the other Greek polis. At this stage, the enormous attrition caused by the Peloponnesian War caused the Persians to regain control of some Greek colonies in Asia Minor. After that, new military disputes started a new cycle of wars between city-states. At the end of these painful confrontations, the Macedonians took advantage of the situation to invade Greece.
By Rainer Sousa
Graduated in History
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiag/guerra-peloponeso.htm