431 – 404 B.C.

•Was the world’s first “total war”

•Battle for supremacy of

Greece

Athens and Sparta had very different strategies in the war: Athens aimed to use its navy to cut off Sparta’s

allies Sparta aimed to use its army to attack Athens

directly

The war was long and bitterly fought, but Athens was eventually defeated for several reasons:•Disastrous plague struck Athens•The total and catastrophic failure of the expedition to Sicily•Athens repeatedly ostracised many of it’s generals who had lost battles

Both Athens and Sparta were weakened by the war, Sparta’s domination would only last for 25 years

Spartan domination was ended in 378 B.C. by the city of Thebes, which revolted against Spartan rule, and itself dominated Greece from 375 – 338 B.C.

Thebes is most famously known today for it’s “sacred band” of warriors, which made up of 150 pairs of men

338 B.C. – at the Battle of Chaeronea, Philip II of Macedon defeats the Thebans, and establishes the League of Corinth to organize the Greek cities for a planned campaign against Persia

Alexander’s Empire was split among his generals at his deathThis situation would remain relatively stable until the rise of Rome and its conquest of Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean in the 1st and 2nd centuries B.C.

Spread of Greek language, art and culture Allowed easier transmission of thought, ideas

Link between East and West Increased trade Artistic, religious, philosophical influence