Did the Athenians bring the Peloponnesian War to themselves?

Answer 1

The were expansionary and used their military and financial power to interfere in cities outside their empire. At the brink of war over Athens' treatment of the Peloponnesian League city of Megara, they were given the opportunity by the League to back off and refused. War ensued.

Answer 2

Their overconfidence and aggressiveness led them to intervene excessively in the Greek cities outside Athens' empire. Those cities banded together into the Peloponnesian League to resist it.

Further Athenian interventions and an unwillingness to compromise brought on the war.

Answer 3

By turning the anti-Persian league into an empire whose resources Athens progressively diverted to its building programme and bloated public service, Athens benefited greatly, but upset the Peloponnesian city-states. Athens continued to apply pressure and intervene in disputes between the cities, going some steps too far culminating in trying to ruin Megara.

The Peloponnesian cities appealed to their leading city Sparta which asked Athens to stop. Athens, confident of its walls and dominant navy, refused and Sparta reluctantly declared war.

Two interesting tales:

1. When a Spartan delegation made a final appeal to Athens to lift its ban on Megara, the Athenians pointed to the decree of their assembly which required the ban. The Spartans said 'turn it to face the wall' in an effort to resolve the impasse.

2. A contemporary poem laid the cause of the war on Pericles bringing on the war to gratify his girlfriend 'that mad bitch Aspasia' who was angry that some Megarians had kidnapped two of the prostitutes she ran.

Answer 4

Largely so.

Athens first got itself an empire by diverting the anti-Persian league to its own financial benefit and power after peace with Persia.

It then interfered with other cities outside its league/empire, forcing them to form an alliance - the Peloponnesian League - to protect themselves. Against increasing Athenian intransigence, culminating with trying to ruin Megara, a Peloponnesian city, Athens was given an ultimatum to back off. Confident of its own strength, Athens refused and war ensued.