Peloponnesian War Timeline

Peloponnesian League Picture

550 BCE

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Peloponnesian League

Period: 550 BCE to 366 BCE

Peloponnesian League alliance between Sparta, Corinth, Elis and Tegea which establishes Spartan hegemony over the Peloponnese.

Delian League Picture

478 BCE

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Delian League

Period: 478 BCE to 404 BCE

The Delian League, originally created to protect Attica from the Persians, fights the Peloponnesian League in the Peloponnesian War and is eventually disbanded when Athens loses the War.

End of Persian War

449 BCE

Then end of the Persian War resulted in high tensions between Athens and Sparta which eventually led to the Peloponnesian War.

The Thirty Years' Peace of 446 BC

446 BCE

The Spartans were anxious that the Athenians might disregard their agreement to cease fighting and attack Sparta or any of Sparta's allies unexpectedly, eventually resulting in war.

Athens sends naval help to Corcyra

435 BCE

Corcyra and Corinth took different sides of a civil war and Corcyra requested Athens to send naval help for the civil war. After the battle, Athens received an important naval base in Corcyra due to the fact that the presence of the powerful military persuaded the Corinthians to withdraw.

Athens banned the ships of Megara from trading with any Athenian Ally

432 BCE

The Athenians angered Corinth by passing a decree that banned merchant ships from Megara, an ally of Corinth, from trading with any of the Athenians allies. This was seen by Corinth as Athens' breach of the Thirty Years' Peace. This led to Sparta's Ultimatum that asked the Athenians to cancel the Megarian decree and lift the blockade of Potidaea or war.

Athens blockades Potidaea

432 BCE

The Corinthians used a revolt in Potidaea as an excuse to occupy the town and use it as a base so that they could harass Athenian shipping. Pericles reacted and sent Athenians to blockade the city of Potidaea by both land and sea. The Spartan viewed this as an indirect attack on them and their allies.

War Breaks Out

431 BCE

In the summer of 431 BC the Spartans invaded Athens under the rule of their king Archidamus and the people of Athens moved inside of the walls and waited for action. As a result, Pericles became an unpopular political figure among the men who wanted to fight, and since winter eventually forced the Spartans to return to the, Athens had a boost in their moral.

First Peloponnesian War Picture

431 BCE

This is the picture for the First Peloponnesian War because the website will not let me add a picture on the timespan

First Peloponnesian War

Period: 431 BCE to 421 BCE

The first half of the Peloponnesian War

Siege of Plataea

429 BCE

Peloponnesian forces led by Sparta begin the siege of Plataea. Sparta invaded Athens again and the people retreated behind the Long Walls. Due to a shortage of water and overcrowding, there was an outbreak of the plague killing a third of Athenian men capable of fighting and general Pericles. This resulted in low moral and a loss of direction in the Athenian war effort.

Pericles' Death

429 BCE

Pericles was an advocate for democracy, and after his death, demagogues gained control resulting in a loss of war efforts.

Revolt of Mytilene

428 BCE

As a result of the revolt, a debate took place in Athens. Cleon wished to execute all men and enslave all women, and although Diodotos eventually persuaded the assembly to only kill the main leaders, this demonstrated how the Athenians had strayed from democracy and justice since Pericles' death.

Pylos and Sphacteria

425 BCE

Demosthenes, an Athenian commander, accidentally created a small fortress on Peloponnesian territory so the Spartans sent soldiers to Sphacteria in order to cut off Athens reinforcements and then attack the shore. After Cleon complained to Nicias that they should have already won the battle, Nicias left Cleon in control of the army him in control. Cleon ended up taking three hundred Spartan prisoners and get a win for Athens.

Battle of Delium

424 BCE

The Athenians and the Boeotians, allies of Sparta, fought the battle of Delium which ended with the siege of Delium. Athens sent an expedition, containing their full army, into central Greece, and Athens lost around 200 soldiers messing with their war efforts.

Battle of Amphipolis

422 BCE

The Spartan general Brasidas besieged the city of Amphipolis. When the Athenians realized that they were going to lose, they asked for help from Thucydides' troops but by the time he arrived, the battle had already been lost. Thucydides was considered responsible for the fall of Amphipolis because he was unable to arrive in time to save the city. He was later exiled.

Cleon's Death

422 BCE

Cleon is killed in fierce fighting around Amphipolis.

Peace of Nicias

421 BCE

Nicias found an opportunity to make peace with the Spartans. He negotiated a fifty-year non-aggression act with the Spartans, a return of all prisoners, and restoration of captured territories. Corinth and Megara refused to sign, resulting in their withdrawal from the Peloponnesian Alliance. Spartans realized they lost their powerful allies, but they signed the treaty.

Second Peloponnesian War Picture

421 BCE

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The 2nd Peloponnesian War

Period: 421 BCE to 404 BCE

The 2nd Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta (the Delian League and the Peloponnesian League) which involved all of Greece.

Alcibiades is Elected as General

420 BCE

The young aristocrat Alcibiades, was elected as general. He was spirited, resourceful, bold, and also a persuasive public speaker who was able to sway the opinions of the public.

Battle at Mantinea

418 BCE

Athens and Argos fought the Spartans and their allies. The Athenians were defeated and faced the truth that Pericles had been right when he warned them that they could not win any battles fought on land. They also realized that all of Sparta's alliances were at peace, they had regained the military esteem that had been lost after Sphacteria, and they had successfully stopped the Athenians' plans for mainland expansion.

Melian Debate

416 BCE

Athens now wished to capture Melos so the Athenians sent an expedition to threaten the island if it did not join the Delian League. The Athenians listened to the Melians' appeals for fair treatment during the Melian Debate, but neither side was able to compromise and the negotiations failed. This showed how the Athenians were no longer able to listen to their allies and had strayed even further from democracy.

Sicilian Expedition Picture

415 BCE

This is the picture for the Sicilian Expedition timespan

Sicilian Expedition

Period: 415 BCE to 413 BCE

At the end of the Sicilian expedition, the Athenians lost over 200 of their naval ships, most of their soldiers, and Nicias and Demosthenes died in a Spartan attack. This was a major turning point in the war because Athens realized that they would never recover from losses that great.

Execution of Nicias and Demosthenes

413 BCE

The Athenian expedition in Sicily ends in disastrous defeat and the Athenian generals Nicias and Demosthenes are executed. Their deaths represented a major turning point for Athens when they lost their naval strength, generals, and soldiers.

Persia Allies With Sparta

412 BCE

Alcibiades tries to get Persia to side with Athens, but the discussion does not go well. Persia allies with Sparta, giving the Spartans more resources and soldiers and a powerful ally.

Oligarchy is briefly established

411 BCE

The Athenians gained interest in disbanding democracy, and some member of the upper and middle classes got rid of the boule and started an oligarchy for a short amount of time, showing that the war had persuaded the citizens opinions of democracy, and it was no longer highly valued.

Athens re-establishes control over the Hellespont

410 BCE

A democratic fleet of ships along with Alcibiades re-established Athenian control of the Hellespont, leaving them valuable military land.

Alcibiades is invited back to Athens and becomes general

407 BCE

After he helped re-establish Athenian control of the Hellespont, he sent back money and resources to Athens generated by his local campaigns. He also restored order along rebellious allies, was invited to return to the city, and the citizens elected him as general.

Athenian Fleet wins a naval battle against Sparta

406 BCE

Of the coast of Lesbos at Arginusae the Athenian fleet won a full scale naval battle against Sparta, but 5,000 Athenian sailors still died. Five generals were then accused of taking enemy bribes and killing their own men on purpose, and were executed, demonstrating how in crisis the assembly often made irrational decisions.

Lysander opposed an Athenian fleet in Aegospotami

405 BCE

Spartan and Persian ships under the command of Lysander attacked an Athenian fleet at the narrowest place in the Hellespont. After Athens attempted to break, Lysander surprised the army. In the end, only eight ships were left, Alcibiades was executed, and the sailors died.

Athens surrenders to Sparta

405 BCE

Lysander rounded up Athenian garrisons posted in the Aegean Sea, and sent them as prisoners to Athens, increasing the overcrowding of the city. The Spartan general's fleet then blockaded Peiraeus and the Spartan army camped against the Athenian fortifications. Athens surrendered towards the end of 405 BC and the Peloponnesian League was then in control.

War Ends

404 BCE

End of the Peloponnesian war, Athens defeated by Sparta at Aegospotamoi.

King Philip II conquers Greece

338 BCE

King Philip of Macedonia was the father of Alexander who captured several of Athens allied city states gaining control of the Thracian gold mines. He wished to form a league of all the Greek city states and defeat Persia. He eventually won over each state of Greece and his victory resulted in peace terms, the Theban and Athenian alliances were disbanded, and neither city was to be harmed. Everyone then accepted King Philip as the leader of a new league.