Why did Athens lose the Peloponnesian War Flashcards
(15 cards)
According to Xenephon what happens to the Athenian generals at Arginusae?
The Athenians executed 6 of the 8 generals that won (destroying 77 enemy ships) the Battle of Arginusae for not rescuing the sailors.
Xenephon’s account continues from Thuc’s which ends in 411
Why did Athenian deomcracy lead to their loss, according to Thuc (2 quotes)
“you are attacking me for having spoken in favour of war and yourselves for having voted for it”
“they turned against the public speakers who had been in favour of the expedition, as though they themselves had not voted for it”
What is the chief reason Athens loses according to Thuc?
The Sicillian Expedition- The entire expeditionary force is killed, imprisoned or made slaves
According to Thuc, what wore Athens down the most?
“What wore them down more than anything else was the fact that they had two wars on their hands at once”
What does the Corinthian complaint say about Athens’ imperialism according to Thuc?
“they are always abroad”
How does Thuc describe the Athenian imperialism?
“just as they won an empire in Hellas, so they are trying to win another one here”
What was the impact of the Sicillian expedition on relations?
“the whole of Hellas, after the great disaster in Sicily, turned immediately against Athens” + neutral states joined Sparta and “the subjects of Athens were all ready to revolt”
Who, had popular support at the start of the war, according to Thuc?
“People’s feelings were generally very much on the side of the Spartans”
What does Thuc tell us about Athens facing revolts?
“The Athenians also feared that their allies would revolt, since Brasidas was […] constantly declaring wherever he went that his mission was the liberation of Hellas”. This and Athens’ defeat at Delium (424) inspired them and they “begging him to march on their territory”
What does Plutarch tell us about the importance of the Persian money?
“he made the ships of his enemies empty” by having Cyrus pay the mercenary sailors 4 obols instead of 3.
What does Xen tell us about the importance of the Persian money?
Cyrus “gave to Lysander all the tribute which came in from his cities and belonged to him personally”
Why was the fort at Declea so damaging to Athens, according to Thuc?
“Every single thing that the city needed had to be imported, so that instead of a city it became a fortress”
According to Thuc, what did Alcibiades tell Sparta to do
“you must fortify Declea”
What was the impact of Declea according to Thuc?
“the occupation of Decelea […] was one of the chief reasons for the decline of Athenian power”
20000 slaves deserted Athens, many from Laurium.
Imports from Euboea now had to travel all around Sunium.
What does Thuc say about the impact of the Plague?
“the plague which did more harm and destroyed more life than almost any other single factor”
