Student Question
During the Peloponnesian Wars, which city-states were allies of Athens and Sparta?
Quick answer:
During the Peloponnesian Wars, most city-states on the Peloponnese peninsula, except Argos and Achaea, allied with Sparta, forming the Peloponnesian League. Key allies included Corinth, Thebes, Elis, Tegea, and Mantinea, with Persia joining later. Athens led the Delian League, which included allies such as the Naxians, Catanians, Sicels, and Rhegians. The alliances were complex and varied over time, with many smaller states involved.
There is probably no accurate historical record of all of the allied city-states who fought with Sparta and Athens. Nearly all of the city-states (except for Argos and Achaea) on the peninsula of Peloponnese sided with Sparta and its allied Peloponnesian League during the Peloponnesian Wars. The three most powerful were Sparta, Corinth and Thebes; less powerful city-states included Elis, Tegea and Mantinea. Persia later sided with Sparta during the latter stages of the war. Even greater uncertainty surrounds Athens and its allies of the Delian League; members included the Naxians, Catanians, Sicels, Rhegians.
For a complete list of possible Delian League allies, see the link below.
http://www.enotes.com/topic/Members_of_the_Delian_League
For a comprehensive study of the Peloponnesian League, see the link below.
http://www.duke.edu/web/classics/grbs/FTexts/45/Bolmarc.pdf
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