Thucydides lists three events as bringing on the immediate outbreak of the war, although he gives these factors no weight in actually causing the war. These events are the Athenian involvement in the Corinthian-Corcyran dispute, the struggle of Potidaea and the Megarian Decree.
The Athenian navy intervened in a dispute between Corinth and Corcyra (a Corinthian colony), preventing Corinth from invading Corcyra at the Battle of Sybota. This secured an alliance between the Athenians and Corcyra. This made Corinth, who was one of Sparta’s allies angry towards the Athenians. According to Thucydides, Corinth and its colonies were formidable naval powers. Corcyra was an important safe harbour on the Western trade route. If Athens could access the port as a naval base, this would have been a direct threat to Corinthian trade and safety. Athens also wanted possession of the ships of the Corcyrian navy, which was the third largest in Greece.
Athens and Corinth clashed again over the Corinthian colony of Potidaea in 432BC. Potidaea had ties with Corinth but it had been an ally of Athens. The clash occurred because Corinth had tried to use Potidaea to begin a revolt against Athens in the northern Aegean. Therefore, Potidaea was in rebellion. In response, Athens made demands that Potidaea pull down its city walls and refuse any more Corinthian magistrates. Potidaea would not accept these conditions and Athens besieged the city which lasted until 430BC.
The Athenian Empire also levied economic sanctions against Megara, an ally of Sparta. These sanctions are known as the Megarian decree. The Athenians had forbidden the Megarians from trading in all the harbours of the Athenian empire, a severe blow for Megara, which derived much income from trade. The Athenians had imposed the sanctions in retaliation for alleged Megarian encroachment on sacred land along the border between the territory of Megara and Athens. Evidence suggests that The Megarian Decree of 432BC was probably a strategy to bring Megara and its colonies into an Athenian alliance. The Megarian decree was largely ignored by Thucydides, but modern economic historians have noted that forbidding Megara to trade with the prosperous Athenian empire would have been disastrous for the Megarans so Megara would have had to consider an Athenian alliance as an option.
The outbreak of the war came when the Spartans issued ultimatums to Athens. The Spartan ultimatums promised attack unless Athens lifted its economic sanctions against the city-state of Megara, stopped its military blockage of Potidaea and that Pericles (leader of Athens) be exiled. The men of the Athenian assembly rejected these demands at the urging of Pericles. Athens now expected war to follow. Early the following year, 431BC, Thebes (a Spartan ally) attacked Plataea to help it maintain its independence against Athens and the two sides were at war.
Thucydides proposes that Sparta’s jealousy and fear of the Athenian empire were the real causes of the war. He blames Corinth for starting the war as they, along with Megara, were putting the pressure on Sparta to take retribution against Athens. Thucydides quotes “Wars spring from unseen and generally insignificant causes, the first outbreak being often but an explosion of anger.” He takes an essentially long term view. There are weaknesses with this view. The Athenian empire and Sparta co-existed for 15 years before the war broke out. Thucydides also does not give any weight to the Megarian Decree or the other short term issues. It is argued that this view is too simplistic. Thucydides maintains that Corinth was the main instigator of war. Corinth was vulnerable as a result of the Corcyran alliance with Athens and the Potidaean siege. This could be seen as Athens being the main instigator of war.
There are many other views including other primary sources such as Aristophanes, Plutarch and Pericles himself.
Aristophanes and Plutarch each agree that the Megarian Decree was an important cause of war. A resolution made with Megara could have avoided war, if one of the other vital issues such as Corcyra or Potidaea, had been decided peacefully. The problem with this is that evidence for this point of view is lacking. Historians also argue that in any case, Corinth would have to be satisfied to avoid war. Aristophanes also believes that Pericles manoeuvred Athens into the war for his own political survival. The problems historians face with this view is that Thucydides assures us that at the beginning of the war Pericles was as popular as ever.
Pericles saw that war was inevitable and decided for war while he was still available to direct it. This view is a strong argument as there is evidence to support this. Athens had recovered from war (457BC to 447BC) and was ready to meet hostilities if necessary so it was possible for Athens to go to war and Pericles was still able to lead Athens. Greece probably would not be able to remain divided between Athens and Sparta, a democracy and an oligarchy (a political system governed by a few people) respectively. The breaking point, like Pericles suggests, was bound to come sooner or later.
It is also suggested that the war was generated by conflicts between different races and cultures, Ionians versus Dorians, and commercial and economic rivalry between Athens and particularly Corinth. It is argued that these are merely rivalries and not really causes of the war.
In conclusion, there are many views of the origins of the Peloponnesian War from different sources. There is probably more than one cause for the war but it is generally accepted by historians that the main cause for the war was the fear of the growth of the Athenian empire which was recorded by Thucydides, who is our most reliable source of the events of that period in time.
Bibliography
Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War
Plutarch, Lives
G.E.M de Ste.Croix, The Origins of The Peloponnesian War
J.B. Burry and Russell Meiggs, A History of Greece
Peter Roberts, Excel HSC Ancient History
V. Stevens, W. Merchant, M. Hampson and G. Bradshaw, Macquarie HSC Ancient History
http://www.portergaud.edu/cmcarver/pelo.html
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peloponnesian_War
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Peloponnesian_War
http://www.laconia.org/
![Compare the [causes and reasons of] suffering the protagonists cause to their family and their people in Aeschylus’ Agamemnon and Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex.](https://mbt-essays-prod-public.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/12297/listing/12297_1.jpg)
