Archidamian War
The Archidamian War was a significant conflict during the broader Peloponnesian War, occurring from 431 to 421 BCE, primarily between Athens and Sparta. Named after the Spartan king Archidamus II, the war initially started as a defensive campaign for Athens in response to the growing power of the Athenian Empire. The death of the Athenian leader Pericles in 429 BCE marked a turning point, as his strategy of staying within fortified positions and utilizing naval strength was abandoned. Following his death, more aggressive leaders, like Cleon, pushed for offensive military actions, including the capture of a Spartan stronghold at Pylos in 425 BCE. The war saw fluctuating fortunes, with significant events including the capture of 120 Spartans and the eventual Spartan victory at Amphipolis in 422 BCE. This ongoing conflict led to internal divisions within Athenian democracy and fostered a climate of aggressive imperialism. Despite a temporary cessation of hostilities with the Peace of Nicias in 421 BCE, the war set the stage for future challenges and Athens' eventual defeat in subsequent years.
On this Page
Archidamian War
Related civilizations: Athens and Sparta, Classical Greece.
Date: May, 431-March, 421 b.c.e.
Locale: Greece
Background
The growth of Athenian power in the fifty years since the Greco-Persian Wars (499-449 b.c.e.) led to war between the Athenian Empire and Sparta’s Peloponnesian League.
Action
The Archidamian War (ahr-kuh-day-MEE-uhn; named after the Spartan king Archidamus II) began as a defensive war on the part of Athens, but when Pericles died of the plague in 429 b.c.e., his plan for sheltering in the Athenian-Piraeus fortress while conducting naval raids on the Peloponnesians died with him. Led on by hawkish demagogues such as Cleon of Athens, the Athenians soon began conducting offensive operations and in 425 b.c.e. established a base at Pylos in the Peloponnese, capturing 120 Spartans in the process. Buoyed by their success, the Athenians refused a Spartan peace offer, but a year later, Brasidas of Sparta captured the vital city of Amphipolis. In 422 b.c.e., both Cleon and Brasidas, the main obstacles to peace, were killed in a failed Athenian attempt to recapture Amphipolis, and in March, 421 b.c.e., the ultimately ineffective Peace of Nicias was signed, bringing a temporary halt to hostilities.
Consequences
The war produced dangerous divisions in the democracy and a new aggressive imperialism that would ultimately lead to Athens’s defeat in the next two decades.
Bibliography
Kagan, Donald. The Archidamian War. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1974.
Thucydides. “History of the Peloponnesian War.” In The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War, edited by Robert B. Strassler. New York: Free Press, 1996.