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What caused the Peloponnesian War and what were its results?

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The Peloponnesian War was primarily caused by the growth of Athenian power and the fear it instilled in Sparta, the previously dominant power in the region. Ideological differences, with Athens moving towards a democracy and Sparta maintaining a monarchy mixed with an oligarchy, also played a role. The war resulted in a Spartan victory, making it the dominant power, but it left all Greek states impoverished and transformed the nature of their relations, replacing limited warfare with total war aimed at utter destruction.

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The main cause of the Peloponnesian War, according to Thucydides, was the growth of Athenian power. After the end of the Persian wars, Athens became the rival of Sparta, the former great power in the region. As Athens's power grew greater and greater, it came to dominate the city-states it had been in alliance with and turned them into client states that had to pay Athens tribute. This was considered Athens's golden age, the period when wealth poured into the city, and the arts and philosophy flourished. It was the age of Socrates and Plato.

Sparta, used to being the dominant power in the region, became increasingly worried about Athens's growing strength. Although Sparta had previously tried to sidestep war, a war party grew increasingly dominant and was encouraged by Sparta's allies, such as Corinth. Eventually, in 432 BC, Sparta did declare war on Athens, fearing that if it did...

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not strike soon, Athenian strength would soon grow too great to challenge and Sparta and it allies would find themselves under Athens's thumb.

The outcome of the war was a victory for Sparta. It became the dominant power in the region, and Athens became its subject state. However, the Peloponnesian War in reality benefitted nobody. It was extremely expensive and left all the Greek states impoverished. The war also changed the nature of the relations between the various Greek states, with total war bent on the utter destruction of rivals replacing the limited warfare the Greek had waged earlier.

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What caused the Peloponnesian War?

The Peloponnesian Wars were really about power.  They were fundamentally a contest to decide which power (Athens or Sparta) would be the preeminent power in Greece and the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

The war was due partly to ideological differences between the two powers.  Sparta was a monarchy mixed with an oligarchy while Athens was moving towards more of a democracy.   The Athenians were generally more interested in culture and individualism.

However, the major cause of the war was power.  The Athenians had controlled the eastern Mediterranean because they had a much larger navy.  This allowed the military superiority and gave them an advantage in commerce.  Sparta (as well as other poleis that were under Athenian domination) wanted to end this and the wars were a result of this desire.

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