How Did Sparta's Decline

Inspired by xenophobia, Sparta’s leadership made many incorrect decisions regarding foreign policy, which contributed to their civilization’s decline. Their militaristic identity caused them to interact bluntly with other Greeks no matter if their intentions were peaceful or malicious. According to Patrick Baker, another Greek city-state’s opinion of Sparta depended completely upon “how often they were attacked by the Spartan army.” In other words, they either loved the Spartans or hated them. The cities that Sparta allied itself with enjoyed “security and protection from outside attack,” but the cities that “were subjected to multiple invasions over the course of time” tended, rightfully so, to not look upon the Spartans so favorably (Baker).
After a long endeavor, Sparta arose victorious. Having crushed its rival Athens, Sparta took hegemonic control over most of the other Greek city-states. Rather than rule as an empire, Sparta chose to “exercise considerable influence over the domestic and foreign decisions of these independent states” (Hooker). The other city-states hated this as Sparta tended to uproot a lot of what the other cities had worked so diligently to build. In the case of Athens, Sparta “pulled down the democratic government and established an oligarchy” (Hooker). Not only were they sulking in the shame of their defeat, but they were subjected to what they would have considered a backwards and insulting form of government. Richard Hooker, in his article “The Spartan Hegemony,” says that this oligarchy ruled “with an iron fist, often ordering summary executions of political opponents,” and the local Athenians ended up dubbing them “the thirty tyrants.” This is the most extreme example of their broad mistreatment, but their hegemonic influence caused many of the other city-states to greatly resent them. Inarguably, Sparta’s controversial foreign policy decisions cost them many key allies and made them many