How did the peloponnesian war begin?

Answer 1

Athens used the power of its empire to intervene in the affairs of the southern Greek cities in the Peloponnesian Peninsula and their colonies. These incursions were principally in Corcyra and Potidaea and finally its trade rival Megara which Athens set out to bankrupt. The Peloponnesian League, led by Sparta, of which Megara was a member, demanded that Athens cease this; Athens refused and war broke out.

Answer 2

After a series of disputes over Corcyra and Potidaia, Athens imposed a trade ban on its neighbour Megara, which would ruin it.

Megara was a member of the Peloponnesian League which was set on limiting Athens' expansionary attitude. The League demanded Athens lift the ban. Athens refused, confident of the strength of its walls and navy.

War broke out.

Answer 3

The Greek city-states were often at war with each other. After the Persian wars, they could get back to fighting each other. Athens had formed an anti-Persain league which it converted to an empire supporting its own power and financial ben efit, and with this strong backing was able to confidently interfere in its neighbours' affaire.

This brought it into collision with the Peloponnesian League which sought to limit Athens' interferences. It came to a head when Athens imposed a crippling penalty on its neighbour Megara, a member of the League. Athens refused to back down when pressured by the League, and war ensued.

Answer 4

Athens had steadily built up its power based on treating its allies in the Delian League against Persia to be more and more subject from whom they continued collecting funds for the ant-Persian league even after peace was made with Persia.

Athens' ambitions extended to cities within the ambit of the Peloponnesian League which had been setup by the cities of the Peloponnesian peninsula to counter Athenian expansionism. These ambitions, culminating in problems over Corcyra, Potidaia and finally Megara (a Peloponnesian League member), brought ongoing confrontations in which Athens refused to make concessions. Pericles was confident in the protection of his city by the long walls connecting it to its port, which gave it the ability to import food under seige, and also the ability to deploy it superior navy to raid the cities of beseigers.

Pericles was fully confident, if not overconfident in this position and pressed matters to the stage whene the Peloponnesian League had the option of accepting Athenian dominance and interferencce or fighting against it. Pericles refused to back down on an edict prohibiting the trade of Megara in its empire, which would effectively ruin it and force it to accept Athenian domination.

There is of course another story contained in a contemporary poem - that Pericles started it to please his girlfriend Aspasia who was unhappy with the kidnap of two girls from her brothel:

Some young Athenians in a drunken frolic

Kidnapped Simaetha, the courtesan, from Megara.

The Megarians were furious, primed themselves with garlic

Just like their fighting-cocks, then came and stole

Two of Aspasia's girls to get their own back

It then goes on to blaming the war on 'that mad bitch Aspasia'. Not Pericles for pandering to her?

Take your pick of reasons for the war. Usually there is no single reason for events other than for people with one track minds..

Answer 5

Athens and its empire were dominating Greece. A league led by Sparta was set up to oppose this.

It came to a head when Athens imposed restrictive trade bans to ruin Megara, amember of the Spartan confederation. Athens refused to rescind th ban, and war ensued. Neither side foresaw the 27-year war which devastated the Greek world.

Answer 6

Tension between the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta and an aggressive Athenian empire brought war after disputes over Corcyra, Potidaia and finally Megara could not be resolved.