The Truest Cause Of The Peloponnesian War
Athenian resources and strategy. Athens based their ability to gather funds from the Delian League as an important part to financing for the war. Naval expeditions could be expensive and Athens would run into problems because they could not afford it. The expedition to Sicily would restrict Athens and their funds and at the battle of Aegospotami with the defeat from Sparta they could no longer afford to rebuild and so the war would come to an end. Athen will use their strong fortification and their navy to import in supplies. This will eventually become too expensive and many will become discontent with the current defensive strategy. “Assumed that Athens had a 3 to 1 superiority in ships but a 1 to 3 inferiority in hoplites and Sparta's was
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Many modern historians have criticized Thucydides and his inconsistencies in his writings. The contradictions that Sparta acted out of fear yet had to be persuaded by Corinth to act against Athens and was slow about this. “Formally, Thucydides grievances are grievances on both sides, but they are in fact presented so as to show how the Peloponnesians came to war with Athens and the truest reason contrasted with the particular grievances is the Peloponnesian truest reason for war.” (Rhodes 161 a) The idea that the truest reason was mostly concealed by yet some of the speeches made against Athens highlighted their expansion. Sparta also placed great stress in their ultimatum against Athens but yet Thucydides spends very little looking at this grievance and instead focuses on first two. One suggestion to why he presented the truest cause and the four grievances as he did was to show Athens in a positive light. He presents Athens as following the rules established by the Thirty Year peace when getting involved in Corcyra and Potidaea. This also explains why he spent so little on the last two as Athens may not have been in the right.
Thucydides also present the war as single concept. This helped him establish a single main cause and works well in both parts of the war with Athens’ expansion and the fear found in Sparta. “Perfect unity is improbable, seeing that he
Many modern historians have criticized Thucydides and his inconsistencies in his writings. The contradictions that Sparta acted out of fear yet had to be persuaded by Corinth to act against Athens and was slow about this. “Formally, Thucydides grievances are grievances on both sides, but they are in fact presented so as to show how the Peloponnesians came to war with Athens and the truest reason contrasted with the particular grievances is the Peloponnesian truest reason for war.” (Rhodes 161 a) The idea that the truest reason was mostly concealed by yet some of the speeches made against Athens highlighted their expansion. Sparta also placed great stress in their ultimatum against Athens but yet Thucydides spends very little looking at this grievance and instead focuses on first two. One suggestion to why he presented the truest cause and the four grievances as he did was to show Athens in a positive light. He presents Athens as following the rules established by the Thirty Year peace when getting involved in Corcyra and Potidaea. This also explains why he spent so little on the last two as Athens may not have been in the right.
Thucydides also present the war as single concept. This helped him establish a single main cause and works well in both parts of the war with Athens’ expansion and the fear found in Sparta. “Perfect unity is improbable, seeing that he