April 3, 2025 • 38 mins
The fragile Peace of Nicias shatters as competing interests and broken promises drive Athens and Sparta back toward conflict. At the heart of this diplomatic unraveling stands Alcibiades, a charismatic young general whose ambition would reshape Greek politics and alliances.
When Corinth, feeling betrayed by peace terms that threatened their colonial claims, encouraged Argos to form a rival power bloc, the seeds of renewed warfare were planted. Sparta's subsequent alliance with Boeotia directly violated their peace agreement with Athens, while the contentious destruction of Panactum's fortifications by Boeotian forces created a perfect opportunity for anti-peace factions in Athens to gain traction.
Alcibiades emerges as the perfect character for this moment of political intrigue. Wealthy, handsome, well-connected to Athens' most prestigious families, and raised in the household of Pericles himself, he possessed all the qualities needed for Athenian leadership. His masterful deception of Spartan delegates—convincing them to deny their negotiating authority before the Athenian assembly, then exposing this "lie" to undermine both Sparta's credibility and his rival Nicias—demonstrates the cunning that would make him one of history's most fascinating figures.
The resulting alliance between Athens and the Peloponnesian democracies of Argos, Elis, and Mantinea represented a dramatic shift in the Greek power balance. Sparta's humiliation continued with their exclusion from religious ceremonies at the 420 BCE Olympics, creating a perception of weakness that emboldened their enemies throughout Greece.
What makes this period so compelling is watching how individual ambition intersects with international relations. City-states maneuvered to protect their interests while ambitious leaders like Alcibiades exploited these tensions to advance their personal agendas. The stage was now set for the Battle of Mantinea, the largest land confrontation of the war thus far, where Sparta would attempt to reassert its dominance on the Peloponnese.
Have you considered how peace agreements can sometimes create more problems than they solve? Join us as we explore one of history's most consequential diplomatic failures and the ambitious individuals who shaped its outcome.
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Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Now that relations between Athens and Sparta had
taken a turn for the worse, theparty in Athens also, which
wanted to put an end to thepeace, began to make itself felt
immediately.
The leader of this group wasAlcibiades Thucydides.
Hello, I'm Mark Selick, andwelcome back to Casting Through
Ancient Greece, episode 93,breaching the Peace.
Last episode, we looked at theimmediate aftermath and
(00:40):
consequences of the peace thathad been established between
Athens and Sparta, this playingout in the early moves towards a
new league being created withGreece.
For a couple of generations now, athens and Sparta had been at
the head of their respectiveleagues, influencing and, as
they had become more powerful,directing policy as they saw fit
.
Many of the Greek city-stateshad come to fall under one of
(01:02):
these leagues, with most lookingto secure themselves in a land
where two powers were coming todominate.
If one were to attempt toremain neutral, they risked
being forced into either,especially if they held economic
or strategic value.
However, now that peace existedbetween the two powers, the
dynamics of the leagues andthose within them were shifting.
Many city-states had voicedtheir displeasure with the terms
(01:26):
that had been arranged betweenSparta and Athens.
Some of Sparta's largest allieshad felt they had been cheated
out of territorial rights thatthey held.
Although these members had beenunder the Peloponnesian League,
with its rules governing howthe league operated, they were
now in a position where theinterests were being threatened.
Those within these leaguesoften put up with the terms and
(01:46):
rules put in place, as therewere trade-offs for being
members, but when theimpositions outweighed the
benefits, the self-interest ofthese city-states came to the
forefront.
On the side of thePeloponnesians, the Corinthians,
who were one of the mostpowerful city-states behind
Sparta, had become extremelydissatisfied with the terms
arranged.
They had been.
The city-states behind Spartahad become extremely
(02:07):
dissatisfied with the termsarranged.
They had been the city-statethat had seen the flash of
hostilities break out withAthens and that would end up
leading to the Peloponnesian War.
Further to this, thesehostilities had centred around
their own territorial claimswith areas that had been
originally colonised by theexpedition sent out by Corinth.
With the terms in place as theywere, corinth would lose all
claim to many of these places,this seeming as though Sparta
(02:28):
was handing over to Athens andits allies what Corinth saw as
rightfully theirs.
Corinth saw this move as beingthe first in a policy where the
smaller city states wouldeffectively become enslaved to
the larger powers of Athens andSparta.
Now that they had technicallyheld an alliance between each
other Previously, one of theleagues held a counter to the
other when it came toterritorial ambitions.
(02:49):
This being a large reason, manysmaller states would become
members of one of these leagues,since it protected their
independence to a degree.
The peace of Nicias in placemeant that there was no longer
an entity powerful enough tochallenge either Athens or
Sparta should they move on thenew territories.
As we saw last episode, corinthwould take action to see if a
(03:10):
new league could be establishedthat could provide a counter to
the power of either.
For this they would looktowards Argos, sparta's
traditional rival on thePeloponnese.
Argos had been spared duringthe fighting of the
Peloponnesian War so far as theyhad technically remained
neutral.
However, over the period oftheir last war with Sparta, a
couple of generations ago, theyhad recovered in manpower and
(03:32):
economically, seeing them becomequite powerful.
They were also on the verge ofthe expiration of a peace treaty
that existed between themselvesand Sparta.
Political maneuverings woulddevelop, seeing Corinth look to
convince Argos of taking on thisleadership role, while also
pushing for smaller city-stateson the Peloponnese to shift
their alliance towards Argos.
More diplomatic involvementwould take place, seeing Sparta
(03:55):
look to discourage Corinth,while Athens would be approached
by the Corinthians throughTheban channels for arranging
some sort of truce.
In the end, the birth of theArgive League would take place,
seeing a new league emerge onthe scene.
However, they were still intheir early stages and Sparta
would turn to force in anattempt to break up the league.
This attempt would, in the end,fail and the league would
(04:16):
remain intact.
This episode will be picking updevelopments now that the Argive
League was established.
This will see us look at theirinfluence and power grow through
the support coming from Athens,while we will also be looking
at the man who would make thispossible, as this would be the
point where the Athenianpolitical figure of Alcibiades
would come into prominence.
So let's now continue our lookat the Peloponnesian War and the
(04:39):
many twists and turns thatwould keep developing as it
continued.
As we saw last episode, therewas a series of confusing
diplomatic meetings taking placebehind the backs of many
parties, this even seeing somewithin the Spartan government
seeking a way to return tohostilities, as they believed
their honour was beingthreatened.
Athens still held control ofPylos, seeing them still within
(05:01):
Spartan territory, though thiswas a contentious issue, as not
all their territories had beenrelinquished as yet.
However, within Sparta, what wehave been calling the Peace
Party that led to the signing ofthe Peace of Nicias would also
see the presence of Atheniantroops within their territory.
Concerning, though holding theinfluence for now, the Peace
Party would look to find a wayto regain Pylos without fighting
(05:22):
.
This would now see Spartaattempt negotiations with
Boeotia in another attempt toregain Pylos from the Athenians.
Within Boeotia was the town ofPanactium, which had been
occupied early in the war by theBoeotian troops.
It was located near the borderof Attica and Boeotia, holding a
strategic road that led toPlataea.
However, the terms of the Peaceof Nicias called for all
(05:45):
territories to return to theirstate that existed before the
war.
So Sparta saw that if theycould convince the Boeotians
hand Panacneum back to theAthenians, then Pylos would be
abandoned by the Athenians.
Here again we see the problemsof the peace, with the allies of
Sparta having to makeconcessions to meet the terms of
the peace.
Spartan delegates travelled toBoeotia where they, as
(06:11):
Thucydides says, begged them toplace Panacteum and the Athenian
prisoners they held underSpartan control.
This was so that the Spartanscould offer them back to Athens
and, in return, gain Pylos.
However, boeotia was not goingto just hand over them without
attempting to gain something totheir benefit.
In the wake of the Peace ofNicias, the diplomatic dynamics
had been shaken up and theBoeotians were looking to regain
(06:32):
their security.
In return for Panactium and theAthenian prisoners, they wanted
a separate alliance with Sparta.
This put Sparta in a positionwhere, in their attempt to
fulfil one clause of the Peaceof Nicias, they would have to
breach another clause within it.
During the agreements, spartaand Athens had agreed that
neither would make war or peacewith any city without the other.
(06:53):
However, the offer from thesenegotiations were taken back to
Sparta, where they would bediscussed.
This now gave the otherfactions within the Spartan
government an attempt toinfluence policy.
They would be for the alliancewith the Boeotians, as they were
interested in gaining controlof Pylos and wanted to see the
breakdown of the Peace of Nicias.
The Peace Party in Sparta seemsto still have the majority here,
(07:16):
so for a vote to go in favourof the Boeotian alliance,
supporters would need to befound from within their ranks.
This also leads us to anotherquestion would need to be found
from within their ranks.
This also leads us to anotherquestion.
If the Spartans violatedanother term within the peace,
why would Athens still bewilling to hand over Pylos?
We have no insight into thediscussions taking place, but
Donald Kagan provides a possibleanswer.
(07:36):
They could have seen some ofthose within the peace party
prepared to vote for thealliance.
Remember, here both sides wereextremely interested in gaining
back Pylos.
Kagan suggests the onlyplausible explanation is that
the Spartans put their faith inthe apparently limitless
forbearance of the peace factionat Athens and its ongoing
control of Athenian policy.
(07:57):
So, in short, it is suggestedthat some Spartans were banking
on the fact that Athens, withthe peace faction in control,
would accept some breaches tomaintain the overall peace.
So Sparta, in the early stagesof 420 BC, agreed to an alliance
with Boeotia in the hopes ofregaining Pylos and removing the
Athenians from their territory.
(08:17):
However, this agreement sawthat Sparta was guaranteeing the
security of the Boeotiansagainst an Athenian attack.
As we have seen so far, theallies of Sparta had
guaranteeing the security of theBoeotians against an Athenian
attack.
As we have seen so far, theallies of Sparta had been no fan
of the peace made betweenSparta and Athens.
So it is reasonable to concludethat they were looking at how
their alliance could bedisrupted.
It appears Corinth, alreadylooking to find a way to
(08:39):
establish a power block to matchthis new reality, could have
also had the intention to seepeace fall apart.
We also find, after theagreement was made between
Boeotia and Sparta, they hadtaken an action that would
potentially see a rift betweenSparta and Athens.
Boeotia and Athens were stillon hostile terms, so it was in
Boeotia's interest to see Spartaback at war with Athens.
(09:00):
They would have known that theultimatum they gave for handing
over Panactium and the prisonerswas a breach of the peace of
Nicias.
But once the alliance wasarranged between themselves and
Sparta, they had destroyed thewalls of Panactium, so Sparta
would be handing over anindefensible strategic town.
Though, in Boeotian eyes, ifAthens was going to get this
(09:21):
fort back, they wanted to makesure that it could not be used
against them.
No-transcript.
As we saw last episode, argoshad been negotiating with the
Boeotians, with encouragementfrom Corinth.
They were still waiting fortheir ambassadors to sign the
alliance that had been promised.
(09:42):
In theory, however, nodelegation for the purpose would
materialise.
Instead, the government andArgos would descend into panic,
as they would learn of theBoeotian destruction of
Panactium and their alliancewith Sparta, panacteum and their
alliance with Sparta.
They had assumed that they werebetrayed by the Boeotians where
they had concluded Sparta hadconvinced Athens to accept the
(10:03):
destruction for bringing theBoeotians into the
Spartan-Athenian alliance.
If this had been the reality,then Argos, with their
still-growing league, wouldpotentially have to face the
might of these three largestcity-states and territories
within Greece.
This now prompted the Argivegovernment to send off
ambassadors in an attempt to seea peace arranged between
themselves and Sparta.
On the arrival of the Argiveambassadors, negotiations would
(10:28):
commence, with both sidesenthusiastic for an arrangement
that would see peace betweenthem.
Argos, due to the perceiveddanger they were in based off
their assumptions, while we hadseen Sparta had already been
taking steps to see the ArgiveLeague not develop, argos had
been a factor that they did notwant to contend with, especially
if war with Athens was to comeabout again.
(10:49):
Argos first broached thesubject of arbitration over the
disputed territory of Senuria,bordering both Laconia and the
Argyllus, but Sparta wasinitially cold over this point.
They simply wanted the oldtreaty that was soon to expire
to be renewed, this leaving thedisputed territory in Spartan
hands.
The Argyll ambassadors proposedthe treaty to be extended for
(11:12):
another 50 years.
However, they also proposedthat any time in the future a
request for battle in a limitedscope, could be sought over the
question of Saneria.
Initially, the Spartans sawthis last point as ridiculous,
but after some considerationthey accepted all that was
proposed.
Sparta, despite what Argosthought the situation was, were
(11:33):
keen to see them out of thepicture as a threat.
The treaty agreed to in theorywas now taken back to Argos by
the ambassadors to be voted onin the assembly for it to be
binding.
The people approved what hadbeen negotiated, so the
ambassadors were on the verge ofmaking the trip back to Sparta.
However, by this stage it wasnow June 420, and in the delay
(11:55):
taken for Argos to fulfil itsconstitutional duties, when it
came to diplomacy, the situationhad changed and the events were
now to take an alternate course.
With their alliance nowestablished with the Boeotians,
the Spartans set off toofficially take Panactium and
the possession of the prisonersin Boeotian territory.
The Spartans had been unawareof the Boeotian destruction of
(12:17):
the fort.
Although taken aback, they tookpossession of it and the
prisoners in preparation to handthem over to Athens for the
return of Pylos.
The Boeotians had justifiedtheir actions to the Spartans by
citing some supposed ancientoath where the peoples of the
area had agreed that no oneshould build there.
Nevertheless, the Spartans tookwhat they had received from the
(12:38):
Boeotians and travelled toAthens.
They were received by theAthenians, where the prisoners
were handed over.
However, the Athenians wereoutraged at the state of
Panacteum that the Spartans haddescribed.
The Spartans' attempt to arguethat handing over the city in
the state it was was stillequivalent to fulfilling the
terms of the peace, since nohostile power to Athens could
(13:03):
use it against them.
The Athenians did not acceptthe reasoning that the Spartans
gave, but were also incensed atother matters that had revealed
themselves to the Athenians.
Athens learnt of the alliancethat had been made with the
Boeotians outside of the termswithin the peace of Nicias.
This had also led the Atheniansto believe Sparta was acting in
bad faith over the restorationof Panactium, since agreements
had been made with the Boeotiansbehind their backs.
(13:23):
Due to these matters, theAthenians were unwilling to
accept the offers made by theSpartans for the return of Pylos
and they sent them away afterberating them with harsh words.
This latest interaction betweenthe Spartans and Athenians had
placed the two on even morefragile ground since the signing
of the Peace of Nicias.
The exchange also now openedthe way for those within Athens
(13:46):
who had opposed the peace to bemore vocal.
This faction within Athens hadbeen fairly quiet since the
death of Cleon, but there stillhad been some activity amongst
them, seeing them still remainon course with their views on
policy, while figures wouldcontinue to look to gain
influence within the faction.
All that was needed was a riftin relations with Sparta that
could be potentially exploitedto see their policies once again
(14:09):
come to the forefront ofAthenian policy.
Fortunately for them, spartahad provided them with this
opportunity in 420, when a younggeneral named Alcibiades was
emerging as a promising leader.
Alcibiades had only just comeof age to where he was eligible
to be elected general.
It was thought he was around 30to 33 years old when elected to
(14:30):
take up this position.
By many accounts, he heldcertain qualities that would see
him rise to a position ofinfluence within Athens.
He was wealthy, being in aposition to have entered
chariots in the Olympic Gamesextremely handsome to where he
was pursued by many women fromthe noble families and also
sought by a number of men, whilehe also possessed the talent of
(14:51):
effective public speaking,being trained by some of the
best orators within Athens.
He was also celebrated forintellectual abilities, being
associated with some of the bestorators within Athens.
He was also celebrated forintellectual abilities, being
associated with some of the bestthinkers of his day.
These were some of his mostnotable attributes that had
helped him rise to prominence,though he did have flaws, but
curiously these seem to havealso helped in his popularity
(15:12):
rising.
We would hear of him having aslight speech impediment, but
most would find thisimperfection somewhat charming.
He would also be described asspoilt, obnoxious and
unpredictable.
However, he must have had agood level of competence, as
these qualities would just addto his popularity.
The disapproval he experiencedseems to have mostly been
motivated by envy.
(15:32):
However, when it comes toinfluence in public life in
Athens, personal qualitiesnormally only go so far.
Family and one's ancestry wasalso a major factor in reaching
the heights of government.
Alcibiades was no different,with him being connected to the
noble Athenian clan, theSalamonoi, through his father,
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who had also been an associateof Pericles and had died
fighting at the Battle ofCoronea in 447.
His grandfather had been deemedimportant enough in Athenian
politics that he would beostracised.
His great-grandfather foughtduring the Persian War,
commanding a trireme andmaintaining it at his own
expense.
Then there was hisgreat-great-grandfather, who had
(16:14):
been an ally of Cleisthenes,who had liberated Athens and
founded democracy as ameaningful form of government.
Alcibiades would also have aconnection to Sparta, as his own
name was Spartan in origin.
Although he had no personalconnection to Sparta, his family
in the past had beenrepresentatives for Sparta
inside Athens, and the nameAlcibiades appears to have been
(16:35):
used in the family since the 6thcentury BC.
However, by the time of thePeloponnesian War, this role
that connected the family toSparta had since lapsed.
These wouldn't be the onlyfamily connections that helped
Alcibiades rise in prominence.
On his mother's side, he wasdescended from the leading
Athenian family, the Alcmeonidae.
When Alcibiades' father died,pericles would become the
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guardian of him and his brother,this seeing him being raised in
the household of the leadingstatesman of Athens.
At the time of becomingeligible to serve as a general
in Athens, alcibiades would beable to point to an exceptional
military service.
He had received a prize forvalour under the General Fulmio
and also served with adistinction at Potidaea and
(17:19):
Delium.
At the time of the Spartandisaster at Facteria, alcibiades
had attempted to renew hisfamily relationship with Sparta.
When the Spartan captives weretransferred to Athens, he would
take the role of ensuring theywere looked after.
When the truce was coming intoeffect between the two powers,
closing the first phase of thewar, he would try to position
(17:40):
himself to negotiate so as totake credit for the peace.
However, sparta felt morecomfortable dealing with Nicias,
who, at this stage, was moreexperienced and reliable, while
also holding more influence inAthens.
This rejection in favour ofNicias would see Alcibiades
shift his opinion and see himcease attempting to renew
Spartan friendship.
He would take an about turn andnow attack the alliance made
(18:03):
with Sparta, leading to hiscurrent position on the
direction of Athenian policytowards Sparta.
It isn't clear if this waspurely out of jealousy or if he
believed the peace wasnegotiated in bad faith on
Sparta's part.
However, he would attempt tohighlight the latter as being
the reason for opposing thepeace was negotiated in bad
faith on Sparta's part.
However, he would attempt tohighlight the latter as being
the reason for opposing thepeace.
The biggest issue with thepeace he would raise was that he
(18:24):
thought it was clear Sparta hadonly made peace with Athens so
that they would have a free handto deal with Argos.
He had further argued that onceArgos was dealt with, then
Sparta would once again turn tohostilities against Athens.
As we have seen, this was infact a policy that those in
favour of war in Sparta thoughtto be Sparta's best option
moving forward.
(18:44):
Rather than the alliance withSparta, he argued that an
alliance with Argos would bemuch more at advantage to Athens
.
Alcibiades, for the time being,had been working on establishing
his policy within the Athenianpolitical apparatus, while also
building a following to helpadvance his influence.
However, when Sparta camenegotiating with Athens in 420,
(19:07):
the destruction of the fort atPanactium and the Boeotian
alliance created an opportunityto press his policy forward.
These breaches by Sparta helpedreinforce Alcibiades' position
that Sparta was acting in badfaith.
However, this would only gosome way into shifting some of
those within Athens to his lineof thinking.
To really take advantage of thesituation, alcibiades needed to
(19:29):
attack Nicias himself and howharmful his policies had been
for Athens.
Simple name-calling andpersonal attacks were not going
to cut it.
He would make plausibleaccusations on decisions Nicias
had taken and would argue howthese had placed Athens in a
dangerous position.
Alcibiades accused Nicias ofrefusing to have captured the
(19:49):
Spartans as Fecteria and left itto others to do so.
However, when negotiating thepeace, he had allowed the
release of these prisoners veryquickly for favour with the
Spartans.
He would continue to argue.
While in making these arguments, he further accused Nicias of
failing to persuade the Spartansof steering clear of making
separate alliances with theBoeotians.
(20:09):
He would point to the currentsituation resulting from Nicias'
willingness to carry favourwith the Spartans, giving them
much but not holding themaccountable.
Given the situation that wasdeveloping, alcibiades
recognised that Athens was in aposition where a change in
policy was now much more likely.
He was in the process ofbuilding doubt over the policies
(20:31):
of Nicias.
Given the rift that was nowdeveloping within Sparta,
however, he would take measuresto attempt to further encourage
a more aggressive stance againstthe Spartans.
While laying accusationsagainst Nicias, alcibiades would
secretly send requests forrepresentatives from Argos, elis
and Mantinea to attend Athens'seeking alliance.
The invitation Alcibiades sentoff would arrive in Argos while
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the formalisation of theproposed agreement with Sparta
was still taking place.
This process that the Argiveshad to go through to meet their
constitution would end up savingthem from making an alliance
that would be formed on falseassumptions.
Argos had been willing to forman alliance with Sparta purely
to secure their own position.
They had seen, if Sparta wereallied with the Boeotians and
(21:18):
also now working with Athens,then all those who opposed them
would end up being subjected bythis powerful group of
city-states.
The newly born Argive League,in its current state, would be
nowhere near powerful enough toprovide any resistance.
However, with the news fromAthens, argos was able to
reverse their course.
Now that they saw Athens had nohand in the Boeotian alliance
(21:39):
that had formed with Sparta,they were able to see that, in
fact, athens was on very badterms with Sparta at this stage.
With this realisation, theycompletely abandoned the
negotiations that had beentaking place with the Spartans
and now looked towards Athens.
They would embrace this turn ofevents with Thucydides telling
us thinking that it was a citythat had been friendly to them
(22:00):
in the past, that it was ademocracy like theirs, that it
had a great power on the sea andit would fight on their side if
war should break out.
With the Argives breaking offnegotiations with Sparta, the
Spartans would learn quicklywhat had taken place to change
the Argives' mind so suddenly.
In response, sparta sent out adelegation towards Athens.
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At the same time, delegationsfrom Argos, elis and Mantinea
were heading to the Athenians.
The men that the Spartans hadchosen were all respected by the
Athenians, hoping this wouldgive them the best chance of
negotiating to the Spartans'advantage.
Once arriving in Athens, theywould first address the council
before being able to presenttheir case to the Athenian
(22:42):
assembly.
In the talks with the council,they would attempt to prevent an
alliance with Argos takingplace, while also continuing
their negotiations on receivingback Pylos and also assuring the
Athenians that their alliancewith Boeotia would not threaten
Athens in any way.
The Spartan delegation alsorevealed that they had full
Spartan authority to negotiateon matters at hand, so an
(23:05):
agreement could be settled onquickly.
This last point had worriedAlcibiades, as it meant a
decision could be reached in theheat of the moment of
discussions.
Knowing he did not yet have themajority of influence on policy
, he was afraid the vote couldgo either way.
He would now take matters intohis own hands, where he would
employ a strategy to discreditthe Spartans while also making
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Nicias and those seeking acontinuation of the peace look
foolish.
Alcibiades would arrange tomeet the Spartan delegation
before they were to address theAthenian assembly.
Alcibiades would convince themeet the Spartan delegation
before they were to address theAthenian assembly.
Alcibiades would convince theSpartans they were not to reveal
that they had full powers toenact any negotiations that
should come about.
In return for this, alcibiadesassured them that he would make
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sure Pylos was handed back overto them and would also see that
other issues, such as theiralliance with Boeotia, would not
be cause for concern For theSpartans.
Their whole aim of attendingAthens was to secure these very
things.
So to do as Alcibiades askedseemed a far better option than
putting their case forward tothe Athenian assembly to be
decided upon.
Perhaps they thought thatAlcibiades could be trusted, as
(24:12):
his family had a friendlyrelationship with Sparta in the
past.
However, alcibiades' intentionhere was not to only prevent the
handover of Pylos and ensure analliance be signed with Argos,
but was also to discredit Niciasin front of the entire Athenian
assembly.
So with these agreements made,the Spartans would continue on
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to address the Athenian assemblywith their request they had
brought forward from the Spartangovernment.
However, when asked, presumablyby Alcibiades or one of his
supporters, about theirauthority to any terms arranged,
they, as agreed, said they hadnot come with full authority.
This had the effect Alcibiadeswas banking on, with the
Athenians in the assembly losingall patience with the Spartans.
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This then opened the way forAlcibiades to address the
assembly and attack the Spartans, driving a wedge between them
and Nicias.
He would jump on the fact thatthe Spartans had no sincerity in
their intentions, as many wouldhave known what had been
presented at the council and nowseeing the Spartans say
otherwise in the assembly.
This would also have the effectof making Nicias look weak in
(25:16):
front of the Athenians, since hehad been the architect of the
peace with Sparta.
Capitalising on the situationand the Athenians' annoyance at
the Spartans, arsabites ensuredthat the Argive delegation would
be brought in to also addressthe assembly on the matter of
forming an alliance.
However, before anything couldbe formally agreed on, an
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earthquake would see theassembly have to be abandoned
prematurely.
The following day, anotherassembly was held, but it
appears Sparta had departedafter the tensions of the
previous day.
Nicias had lost some face andhad been put on the spot who had
been tricked into not revealingto the assembly they were under
full Spartan authority.
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Nicias would, however, attemptto save his position by putting
forward his proposal thatnegotiations with Argos should
be placed on hold whiledelegates be sent to Sparta to
find out their true intentions.
He continued to argue if Athensconvinced Sparta to remain at
peace, then the Athenians werethe biggest winners in the deal.
Nicias was able to successfullyargue his point on sending
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representatives to Sparta, inwhich he would be one of.
He was given a list ofcomplaints and terms that needed
to be fulfilled.
With it, looking like thefaction Alcibiades was a part of
having some influence on whatwas to be delivered, as what was
to be taken to Sparta wasunlikely to be agreed to.
On what was to be delivered, aswhat was to be taken to Sparta
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was unlikely to be agreed to,nicias would address the
Spartans, basically requestingthey honour the peace terms
already agreed to.
The main points were for theSpartans to hand back over
Panacteum intact, deliverAmphipolis and rescind their
alliance with the Boeotians.
Sparta was not really in aposition to fulfil any of these
terms, which the Alcibiadesprobably knew all too well.
In short, panacteum's defenceshad already been raised by the
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Boeotians, with Sparta eithernot willing to or not having the
resources or time toreconstruct them.
As for Amphipolis, they hadabandoned the city to the
Athenians, but the locals of thecity were unwilling for the
Athenians to occupy it.
Sparta, given their disconnectfrom Thrace, was in no position
to force the city over to theAthenians, while the alliance
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with the Boeotian League hadbeen formed in response to the
unstable diplomatic situationafter the signing of the Peace
of Nicias.
To rescind this would beweakening their position within
Greece, threatening theirsecurity in the face of new
coalitions forming.
Nicias had also been informedthat if the Spartans were to
reject these terms, then he wasto inform them that Athens would
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have no choice but to pursueits alliance with Argos.
These demands and threats hadbasically destroyed any chances
of saving the peace and with itthe end of the wider war,
destroyed any chances of savingthe peace and with it, the end
to the wider war.
However, in an attempt to savesome face with his fellow
Athenians, nicias would ask theSpartans to renew their oaths to
the peace of Nicias.
As Thucydides tells us, niciaswas frightened at the prospect
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of returning home with nothingaccomplished.
These oaths were merely justlip service.
As for the time being.
The Spartans were not keen onresuming hostilities right away.
So they would agree to thisrequest, as it would buy some
time for them to preparethemselves internally and
externally.
On his return to Athens andpresentation to the assembly,
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nicias was still berated, withthe Athenians flying into a rage
over the failure to obtain anymeaningful outcome.
This anger was intensified dueto Nicias being the one who had
drawn up and convinced Athens tomake the peace with Sparta, and
now he was unable to have theSpartans deliver on what had
already been sworn upon by bothsides.
With this failure, athensimmediately formed a treaty with
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Argos, elis and Mantinea, thethree Peloponnesian democracies.
The treaty was to last ahundred years and would see a
non-aggression pact formed aswell as a defensive alliance on
land and sea.
This had now seen Alcibiades'influence grow in Athenian
politics and Athens' policy wasnow shifting away from the terms
of the Peace of Nicias.
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Both sides were now openlydefying the terms within it.
However, both still formallyrecognised the peace, staving
off open hostilities for now.
All of this diplomaticmanoeuvring would also
complicate matters with Corinth.
All of these negotiations thathad been happening over the past
year can make the diplomaticsituation between all the
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city-states seem a little hardto follow.
But, as you may remember,corinth had been instrumental in
helping see the Argive Leagueestablished and had also signed
on in a defensive alliance withthose in the League.
However, with thesedevelopments, corinth would keep
clear of negotiations withAthens.
The Corinthians' intentions hadbeen to create a separate power
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block that would help protecttheir own security and to entice
hostilities between Sparta andAthens.
With the alliance now formedwith Argos, her democratic
allies and Athens, corinth nowlooked back to Sparta with a
friendlier gaze.
However, always looking out fortheir own interests, they would
still keep intact the initialdefensive alliance they had with
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the Argive League, should thestrategic situation change.
The developments that had beentaking place over the year and
Athens' new alliance with Argoscan be seen as marking a point
where a shift in politics inAthens had now taken place.
We had seen that Nicias and hispolicies had been dominating
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Athens, which led to the truceand eventual peace of Nicias.
However, cracks had beenforming early on, and now
Alcibiades, rising in the ranksof Athenian politics, was able
to exploit these and push hispolicies that were more hostile
towards Sparta.
However, these diplomaticmanoeuvrings had not only seen a
shift in Athens take place.
Those who had seen Sparta as anenemy but had been unwilling to
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take any action action wouldnow find themselves emboldened.
The city of Elis, now with thepowerful backing of Athens,
would accuse the Spartans,during the 420 Olympic Games, of
breaching the Olympic truce.
This breach had taken placewhen the Spartans had sent an
army into Leprium that we sawlast episode.
The fine for such a breach, aslaid down in the law, was two
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mina to be paid for each soldierthat had marched.
This would see Ellis looking atenforcing a fine of 2,000 mina
against the Spartans.
Sparta would look to challengethe fine, attempting to argue a
discrepancy in timing of theOlympic truce coming into effect
.
However, ellis would not budge,as the truce had already been
called in Elis before theSpartan invasion and had caught
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the aliens off guard due to themobserving the truce.
With continued negotiationsover the matter being rejected
by Sparta, elis would see to itthat Sparta was now banned from
the temples, therefore unable tomake sacrifices during the
games.
We have seen how the religiouscomponent of the Olympic Games
was just as important as thegames themselves, if not more so
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.
So to enforce this ban wouldhave been quite humiliating for
the Spartans.
Tensions were quite high overthis period, with some of the
cities placing armed men at theready in case a Spartan army
should show.
However, the Spartans wouldallow the Olympic Festival to
pass by quietly.
The Spartans standing idleduring the Olympics would also
feed into the general perceptionthat they had become weak.
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This would see furtherembarrassment when their colony
in Heraclea in Trachis wasattacked and the Spartan
governor killed.
The city would only be saveddue to the Thebans arriving to
prevent its capture, though theThebans would end up taking
control of the city in their ownright, justifying this action
due to the Sparta being toodistracted on the Peloponnese to
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intervene where they thenfeared Athens would capture it
otherwise.
However, as Donald Kagansuggests, it seems likely,
although an ally of Sparta hadalso capitalised on their
inability to act.
For now, with Heraclea being incentral Greece, this fell in an
area where Thebes wasprojecting its sphere of
influence.
It might have been seen as anopportunity to remove Spartan
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influence from their areas whilealso increasing Theban
influence.
This episode would also seerelations between the two become
strained, where, thucydidestells us, the Spartans
nonetheless were angry at them,also showing us that there
doesn't appear to have been anyagreement over assisting in the
initial crisis of the city.
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So in this episode, we have seenthe diplomatic situation in
Greece continue to shift for theinitial formation of the Argive
League.
The League had been formed dueto the inherent issues contained
within the formation of theArgive League.
The League had been formed dueto the inherent issues contained
within the terms of the Peaceof Nicias.
Those who had been connected toeither Athens or Sparta were
seeking ways to protect theirown self-interests.
For some, such as Corinth, thismeant attempting to find ways
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for hostilities between the twoto continue.
Left in a state of peace andfriendship, corinth was going to
lose out, not having the poweror backing to protect their
interests around Greece.
Others, such as Argos, who hadmanaged to remain neutral in the
Peloponnesian War so far, werenow in a position where they
needed to protect their security, with the treaty they had with
Sparta due to expire.
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If Athens were friendly withSparta, this would allow the
Spartans to focus wholly on theArgive threat.
If Athens were friendly withSparta, this would allow the
Spartans to focus wholly on theArgive threat.
The interests of these twocity-states would collide when
Corinth would convince Argos tohead a new league to provide a
counter to Athens and Sparta.
However, the diplomaticsituation would be further
complicated with the continuedfailures around Athens and
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Sparta fulfilling theircommitments under the terms of
the peace.
This would lead to furtherbreaches in the peace, such as
Sparta's alliance with theBoeotians.
This would then continue, withArgos misinterpreting the
interactions of all the majorpowers.
This was also the time that thepolicies of the peace towards
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Sparta were being challenged bythe up-and-coming figure of
Alcibiades.
He would begin to grow ininfluence as the cracks in the
peace of Nicias began to appear.
He would also take measures toexploit these cracks to help see
a shift in Athenian policies.
He would employ tactics todiscredit the Spartans in front
of the Athenian assembly, whilealso showing Nicias to be an
unreliable leader with his peacecrumbling.
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In a move to create furtherhostilities for Sparta, he had
cleared the air with Argos,extending a hand of friendship
which delighted the Argives, whowere also a democracy and
concerned with their position onthe Peloponnese.
This point would be where theAthens would shift.
The Athenians were now far morehostile towards Sparta due to
the diplomatic interactions overthe year, while they had also
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now agreed to establish analliance with Argos, adding
further breaches to the peace ofNicias.
Although the relationshipbetween Sparta and Athens had
deteriorated to such an extent,open hostilities had not yet
broken out again.
However, as we continue, nextepisode, we will see a further
step to the continuation of thewar take place, as, instead of
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just continuing diplomaticnegotiations, campaigning on the
Peloponnese would start todevelop, to attempt to influence
matters.
This would ultimately lead tothe largest land battle yet
fought in the Peloponnesian Warat Mantinea, and with it help
the Spartans re-establish theirpower and dominance on the
Peloponnese.
Now that relations between Athens and Sparta had
taken a turn for the worse, theparty in Athens also, which
wanted to put an end to thepeace, began to make itself felt
immediately.
The leader of this group wasAlcibiades Thucydides.
Hello, I'm Mark Selick, andwelcome back to Casting Through
Ancient Greece, episode 93,breaching the Peace.
Last episode, we looked at theimmediate aftermath and
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consequences of the peace thathad been established between
Athens and Sparta, this playingout in the early moves towards a
new league being created withGreece.
For a couple of generations now, athens and Sparta had been at
the head of their respectiveleagues, influencing and, as
they had become more powerful,directing policy as they saw fit
.
Many of the Greek city-stateshad come to fall under one of
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these leagues, with most lookingto secure themselves in a land
where two powers were coming todominate.
If one were to attempt toremain neutral, they risked
being forced into either,especially if they held economic
or strategic value.
However, now that peace existedbetween the two powers, the
dynamics of the leagues andthose within them were shifting.
Many city-states had voicedtheir displeasure with the terms
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that had been arranged betweenSparta and Athens.
Some of Sparta's largest allieshad felt they had been cheated
out of territorial rights thatthey held.
Although these members had beenunder the Peloponnesian League,
with its rules governing howthe league operated, they were
now in a position where theinterests were being threatened.
Those within these leaguesoften put up with the terms and
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rules put in place, as therewere trade-offs for being
members, but when theimpositions outweighed the
benefits, the self-interest ofthese city-states came to the
forefront.
On the side of thePeloponnesians, the Corinthians,
who were one of the mostpowerful city-states behind
Sparta, had become extremelydissatisfied with the terms
arranged.
They had been.
The city-states behind Spartahad become extremely
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dissatisfied with the termsarranged.
They had been the city-statethat had seen the flash of
hostilities break out withAthens and that would end up
leading to the Peloponnesian War.
Further to this, thesehostilities had centred around
their own territorial claimswith areas that had been
originally colonised by theexpedition sent out by Corinth.
With the terms in place as theywere, corinth would lose all
claim to many of these places,this seeming as though Sparta
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was handing over to Athens andits allies what Corinth saw as
rightfully theirs.
Corinth saw this move as beingthe first in a policy where the
smaller city states wouldeffectively become enslaved to
the larger powers of Athens andSparta.
Now that they had technicallyheld an alliance between each
other Previously, one of theleagues held a counter to the
other when it came toterritorial ambitions.
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This being a large reason, manysmaller states would become
members of one of these leagues,since it protected their
independence to a degree.
The peace of Nicias in placemeant that there was no longer
an entity powerful enough tochallenge either Athens or
Sparta should they move on thenew territories.
As we saw last episode, corinthwould take action to see if a
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new league could be establishedthat could provide a counter to
the power of either.
For this they would looktowards Argos, sparta's
traditional rival on thePeloponnese.
Argos had been spared duringthe fighting of the
Peloponnesian War so far as theyhad technically remained
neutral.
However, over the period oftheir last war with Sparta, a
couple of generations ago, theyhad recovered in manpower and
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economically, seeing them becomequite powerful.
They were also on the verge ofthe expiration of a peace treaty
that existed between themselvesand Sparta.
Political maneuverings woulddevelop, seeing Corinth look to
convince Argos of taking on thisleadership role, while also
pushing for smaller city-stateson the Peloponnese to shift
their alliance towards Argos.
More diplomatic involvementwould take place, seeing Sparta
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look to discourage Corinth,while Athens would be approached
by the Corinthians throughTheban channels for arranging
some sort of truce.
In the end, the birth of theArgive League would take place,
seeing a new league emerge onthe scene.
However, they were still intheir early stages and Sparta
would turn to force in anattempt to break up the league.
This attempt would, in the end,fail and the league would
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remain intact.
This episode will be picking updevelopments now that the Argive
League was established.
This will see us look at theirinfluence and power grow through
the support coming from Athens,while we will also be looking
at the man who would make thispossible, as this would be the
point where the Athenianpolitical figure of Alcibiades
would come into prominence.
So let's now continue our lookat the Peloponnesian War and the
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many twists and turns thatwould keep developing as it
continued.
As we saw last episode, therewas a series of confusing
diplomatic meetings taking placebehind the backs of many
parties, this even seeing somewithin the Spartan government
seeking a way to return tohostilities, as they believed
their honour was beingthreatened.
Athens still held control ofPylos, seeing them still within
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Spartan territory, though thiswas a contentious issue, as not
all their territories had beenrelinquished as yet.
However, within Sparta, what wehave been calling the Peace
Party that led to the signing ofthe Peace of Nicias would also
see the presence of Atheniantroops within their territory.
Concerning, though holding theinfluence for now, the Peace
Party would look to find a wayto regain Pylos without fighting
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.
This would now see Spartaattempt negotiations with
Boeotia in another attempt toregain Pylos from the Athenians.
Within Boeotia was the town ofPanactium, which had been
occupied early in the war by theBoeotian troops.
It was located near the borderof Attica and Boeotia, holding a
strategic road that led toPlataea.
However, the terms of the Peaceof Nicias called for all
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territories to return to theirstate that existed before the
war.
So Sparta saw that if theycould convince the Boeotians
hand Panacneum back to theAthenians, then Pylos would be
abandoned by the Athenians.
Here again we see the problemsof the peace, with the allies of
Sparta having to makeconcessions to meet the terms of
the peace.
Spartan delegates travelled toBoeotia where they, as
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Thucydides says, begged them toplace Panacteum and the Athenian
prisoners they held underSpartan control.
This was so that the Spartanscould offer them back to Athens
and, in return, gain Pylos.
However, boeotia was not goingto just hand over them without
attempting to gain something totheir benefit.
In the wake of the Peace ofNicias, the diplomatic dynamics
had been shaken up and theBoeotians were looking to regain
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their security.
In return for Panactium and theAthenian prisoners, they wanted
a separate alliance with Sparta.
This put Sparta in a positionwhere, in their attempt to
fulfil one clause of the Peaceof Nicias, they would have to
breach another clause within it.
During the agreements, spartaand Athens had agreed that
neither would make war or peacewith any city without the other.
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However, the offer from thesenegotiations were taken back to
Sparta, where they would bediscussed.
This now gave the otherfactions within the Spartan
government an attempt toinfluence policy.
They would be for the alliancewith the Boeotians, as they were
interested in gaining controlof Pylos and wanted to see the
breakdown of the Peace of Nicias.
The Peace Party in Sparta seemsto still have the majority here,
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so for a vote to go in favourof the Boeotian alliance,
supporters would need to befound from within their ranks.
This also leads us to anotherquestion would need to be found
from within their ranks.
This also leads us to anotherquestion.
If the Spartans violatedanother term within the peace,
why would Athens still bewilling to hand over Pylos?
We have no insight into thediscussions taking place, but
Donald Kagan provides a possibleanswer.
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They could have seen some ofthose within the peace party
prepared to vote for thealliance.
Remember, here both sides wereextremely interested in gaining
back Pylos.
Kagan suggests the onlyplausible explanation is that
the Spartans put their faith inthe apparently limitless
forbearance of the peace factionat Athens and its ongoing
control of Athenian policy.
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So, in short, it is suggestedthat some Spartans were banking
on the fact that Athens, withthe peace faction in control,
would accept some breaches tomaintain the overall peace.
So Sparta, in the early stagesof 420 BC, agreed to an alliance
with Boeotia in the hopes ofregaining Pylos and removing the
Athenians from their territory.
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However, this agreement sawthat Sparta was guaranteeing the
security of the Boeotiansagainst an Athenian attack.
As we have seen so far, theallies of Sparta had
guaranteeing the security of theBoeotians against an Athenian
attack.
As we have seen so far, theallies of Sparta had been no fan
of the peace made betweenSparta and Athens.
So it is reasonable to concludethat they were looking at how
their alliance could bedisrupted.
It appears Corinth, alreadylooking to find a way to
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establish a power block to matchthis new reality, could have
also had the intention to seepeace fall apart.
We also find, after theagreement was made between
Boeotia and Sparta, they hadtaken an action that would
potentially see a rift betweenSparta and Athens.
Boeotia and Athens were stillon hostile terms, so it was in
Boeotia's interest to see Spartaback at war with Athens.
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They would have known that theultimatum they gave for handing
over Panactium and the prisonerswas a breach of the peace of
Nicias.
But once the alliance wasarranged between themselves and
Sparta, they had destroyed thewalls of Panactium, so Sparta
would be handing over anindefensible strategic town.
Though, in Boeotian eyes, ifAthens was going to get this
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fort back, they wanted to makesure that it could not be used
against them.
No-transcript.
As we saw last episode, argoshad been negotiating with the
Boeotians, with encouragementfrom Corinth.
They were still waiting fortheir ambassadors to sign the
alliance that had been promised.
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In theory, however, nodelegation for the purpose would
materialise.
Instead, the government andArgos would descend into panic,
as they would learn of theBoeotian destruction of
Panactium and their alliancewith Sparta, panacteum and their
alliance with Sparta.
They had assumed that they werebetrayed by the Boeotians where
they had concluded Sparta hadconvinced Athens to accept the
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destruction for bringing theBoeotians into the
Spartan-Athenian alliance.
If this had been the reality,then Argos, with their
still-growing league, wouldpotentially have to face the
might of these three largestcity-states and territories
within Greece.
This now prompted the Argivegovernment to send off
ambassadors in an attempt to seea peace arranged between
themselves and Sparta.
On the arrival of the Argiveambassadors, negotiations would
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commence, with both sidesenthusiastic for an arrangement
that would see peace betweenthem.
Argos, due to the perceiveddanger they were in based off
their assumptions, while we hadseen Sparta had already been
taking steps to see the ArgiveLeague not develop, argos had
been a factor that they did notwant to contend with, especially
if war with Athens was to comeabout again.
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Argos first broached thesubject of arbitration over the
disputed territory of Senuria,bordering both Laconia and the
Argyllus, but Sparta wasinitially cold over this point.
They simply wanted the oldtreaty that was soon to expire
to be renewed, this leaving thedisputed territory in Spartan
hands.
The Argyll ambassadors proposedthe treaty to be extended for
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another 50 years.
However, they also proposedthat any time in the future a
request for battle in a limitedscope, could be sought over the
question of Saneria.
Initially, the Spartans sawthis last point as ridiculous,
but after some considerationthey accepted all that was
proposed.
Sparta, despite what Argosthought the situation was, were
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keen to see them out of thepicture as a threat.
The treaty agreed to in theorywas now taken back to Argos by
the ambassadors to be voted onin the assembly for it to be
binding.
The people approved what hadbeen negotiated, so the
ambassadors were on the verge ofmaking the trip back to Sparta.
However, by this stage it wasnow June 420, and in the delay
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taken for Argos to fulfil itsconstitutional duties, when it
came to diplomacy, the situationhad changed and the events were
now to take an alternate course.
With their alliance nowestablished with the Boeotians,
the Spartans set off toofficially take Panactium and
the possession of the prisonersin Boeotian territory.
The Spartans had been unawareof the Boeotian destruction of
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the fort.
Although taken aback, they tookpossession of it and the
prisoners in preparation to handthem over to Athens for the
return of Pylos.
The Boeotians had justifiedtheir actions to the Spartans by
citing some supposed ancientoath where the peoples of the
area had agreed that no oneshould build there.
Nevertheless, the Spartans tookwhat they had received from the
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Boeotians and travelled toAthens.
They were received by theAthenians, where the prisoners
were handed over.
However, the Athenians wereoutraged at the state of
Panacteum that the Spartans haddescribed.
The Spartans' attempt to arguethat handing over the city in
the state it was was stillequivalent to fulfilling the
terms of the peace, since nohostile power to Athens could
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use it against them.
The Athenians did not acceptthe reasoning that the Spartans
gave, but were also incensed atother matters that had revealed
themselves to the Athenians.
Athens learnt of the alliancethat had been made with the
Boeotians outside of the termswithin the peace of Nicias.
This had also led the Atheniansto believe Sparta was acting in
bad faith over the restorationof Panactium, since agreements
had been made with the Boeotiansbehind their backs.
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Due to these matters, theAthenians were unwilling to
accept the offers made by theSpartans for the return of Pylos
and they sent them away afterberating them with harsh words.
This latest interaction betweenthe Spartans and Athenians had
placed the two on even morefragile ground since the signing
of the Peace of Nicias.
The exchange also now openedthe way for those within Athens
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who had opposed the peace to bemore vocal.
This faction within Athens hadbeen fairly quiet since the
death of Cleon, but there stillhad been some activity amongst
them, seeing them still remainon course with their views on
policy, while figures wouldcontinue to look to gain
influence within the faction.
All that was needed was a riftin relations with Sparta that
could be potentially exploitedto see their policies once again
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come to the forefront ofAthenian policy.
Fortunately for them, spartahad provided them with this
opportunity in 420, when a younggeneral named Alcibiades was
emerging as a promising leader.
Alcibiades had only just comeof age to where he was eligible
to be elected general.
It was thought he was around 30to 33 years old when elected to
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take up this position.
By many accounts, he heldcertain qualities that would see
him rise to a position ofinfluence within Athens.
He was wealthy, being in aposition to have entered
chariots in the Olympic Gamesextremely handsome to where he
was pursued by many women fromthe noble families and also
sought by a number of men, whilehe also possessed the talent of
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effective public speaking,being trained by some of the
best orators within Athens.
He was also celebrated forintellectual abilities, being
associated with some of the bestorators within Athens.
He was also celebrated forintellectual abilities, being
associated with some of the bestthinkers of his day.
These were some of his mostnotable attributes that had
helped him rise to prominence,though he did have flaws, but
curiously these seem to havealso helped in his popularity
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rising.
We would hear of him having aslight speech impediment, but
most would find thisimperfection somewhat charming.
He would also be described asspoilt, obnoxious and
unpredictable.
However, he must have had agood level of competence, as
these qualities would just addto his popularity.
The disapproval he experiencedseems to have mostly been
motivated by envy.
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However, when it comes toinfluence in public life in
Athens, personal qualitiesnormally only go so far.
Family and one's ancestry wasalso a major factor in reaching
the heights of government.
Alcibiades was no different,with him being connected to the
noble Athenian clan, theSalamonoi, through his father,
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who had also been an associateof Pericles and had died
fighting at the Battle ofCoronea in 447.
His grandfather had been deemedimportant enough in Athenian
politics that he would beostracised.
His great-grandfather foughtduring the Persian War,
commanding a trireme andmaintaining it at his own
expense.
Then there was hisgreat-great-grandfather, who had
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been an ally of Cleisthenes,who had liberated Athens and
founded democracy as ameaningful form of government.
Alcibiades would also have aconnection to Sparta, as his own
name was Spartan in origin.
Although he had no personalconnection to Sparta, his family
in the past had beenrepresentatives for Sparta
inside Athens, and the nameAlcibiades appears to have been
(16:35):
used in the family since the 6thcentury BC.
However, by the time of thePeloponnesian War, this role
that connected the family toSparta had since lapsed.
These wouldn't be the onlyfamily connections that helped
Alcibiades rise in prominence.
On his mother's side, he wasdescended from the leading
Athenian family, the Alcmeonidae.
When Alcibiades' father died,pericles would become the
(16:58):
guardian of him and his brother,this seeing him being raised in
the household of the leadingstatesman of Athens.
At the time of becomingeligible to serve as a general
in Athens, alcibiades would beable to point to an exceptional
military service.
He had received a prize forvalour under the General Fulmio
and also served with adistinction at Potidaea and
(17:19):
Delium.
At the time of the Spartandisaster at Facteria, alcibiades
had attempted to renew hisfamily relationship with Sparta.
When the Spartan captives weretransferred to Athens, he would
take the role of ensuring theywere looked after.
When the truce was coming intoeffect between the two powers,
closing the first phase of thewar, he would try to position
(17:40):
himself to negotiate so as totake credit for the peace.
However, sparta felt morecomfortable dealing with Nicias,
who, at this stage, was moreexperienced and reliable, while
also holding more influence inAthens.
This rejection in favour ofNicias would see Alcibiades
shift his opinion and see himcease attempting to renew
Spartan friendship.
He would take an about turn andnow attack the alliance made
(18:03):
with Sparta, leading to hiscurrent position on the
direction of Athenian policytowards Sparta.
It isn't clear if this waspurely out of jealousy or if he
believed the peace wasnegotiated in bad faith on
Sparta's part.
However, he would attempt tohighlight the latter as being
the reason for opposing thepeace was negotiated in bad
faith on Sparta's part.
However, he would attempt tohighlight the latter as being
the reason for opposing thepeace.
The biggest issue with thepeace he would raise was that he
(18:24):
thought it was clear Sparta hadonly made peace with Athens so
that they would have a free handto deal with Argos.
He had further argued that onceArgos was dealt with, then
Sparta would once again turn tohostilities against Athens.
As we have seen, this was infact a policy that those in
favour of war in Sparta thoughtto be Sparta's best option
moving forward.
(18:44):
Rather than the alliance withSparta, he argued that an
alliance with Argos would bemuch more at advantage to Athens
.
Alcibiades, for the time being,had been working on establishing
his policy within the Athenianpolitical apparatus, while also
building a following to helpadvance his influence.
However, when Sparta camenegotiating with Athens in 420,
(19:07):
the destruction of the fort atPanactium and the Boeotian
alliance created an opportunityto press his policy forward.
These breaches by Sparta helpedreinforce Alcibiades' position
that Sparta was acting in badfaith.
However, this would only gosome way into shifting some of
those within Athens to his lineof thinking.
To really take advantage of thesituation, alcibiades needed to
(19:29):
attack Nicias himself and howharmful his policies had been
for Athens.
Simple name-calling andpersonal attacks were not going
to cut it.
He would make plausibleaccusations on decisions Nicias
had taken and would argue howthese had placed Athens in a
dangerous position.
Alcibiades accused Nicias ofrefusing to have captured the
(19:49):
Spartans as Fecteria and left itto others to do so.
However, when negotiating thepeace, he had allowed the
release of these prisoners veryquickly for favour with the
Spartans.
He would continue to argue.
While in making these arguments, he further accused Nicias of
failing to persuade the Spartansof steering clear of making
separate alliances with theBoeotians.
(20:09):
He would point to the currentsituation resulting from Nicias'
willingness to carry favourwith the Spartans, giving them
much but not holding themaccountable.
Given the situation that wasdeveloping, alcibiades
recognised that Athens was in aposition where a change in
policy was now much more likely.
He was in the process ofbuilding doubt over the policies
(20:31):
of Nicias.
Given the rift that was nowdeveloping within Sparta,
however, he would take measuresto attempt to further encourage
a more aggressive stance againstthe Spartans.
While laying accusationsagainst Nicias, alcibiades would
secretly send requests forrepresentatives from Argos, elis
and Mantinea to attend Athens'seeking alliance.
The invitation Alcibiades sentoff would arrive in Argos while
(20:56):
the formalisation of theproposed agreement with Sparta
was still taking place.
This process that the Argiveshad to go through to meet their
constitution would end up savingthem from making an alliance
that would be formed on falseassumptions.
Argos had been willing to forman alliance with Sparta purely
to secure their own position.
They had seen, if Sparta wereallied with the Boeotians and
(21:18):
also now working with Athens,then all those who opposed them
would end up being subjected bythis powerful group of
city-states.
The newly born Argive League,in its current state, would be
nowhere near powerful enough toprovide any resistance.
However, with the news fromAthens, argos was able to
reverse their course.
Now that they saw Athens had nohand in the Boeotian alliance
(21:39):
that had formed with Sparta,they were able to see that, in
fact, athens was on very badterms with Sparta at this stage.
With this realisation, theycompletely abandoned the
negotiations that had beentaking place with the Spartans
and now looked towards Athens.
They would embrace this turn ofevents with Thucydides telling
us thinking that it was a citythat had been friendly to them
(22:00):
in the past, that it was ademocracy like theirs, that it
had a great power on the sea andit would fight on their side if
war should break out.
With the Argives breaking offnegotiations with Sparta, the
Spartans would learn quicklywhat had taken place to change
the Argives' mind so suddenly.
In response, sparta sent out adelegation towards Athens.
(22:22):
At the same time, delegationsfrom Argos, elis and Mantinea
were heading to the Athenians.
The men that the Spartans hadchosen were all respected by the
Athenians, hoping this wouldgive them the best chance of
negotiating to the Spartans'advantage.
Once arriving in Athens, theywould first address the council
before being able to presenttheir case to the Athenian
(22:42):
assembly.
In the talks with the council,they would attempt to prevent an
alliance with Argos takingplace, while also continuing
their negotiations on receivingback Pylos and also assuring the
Athenians that their alliancewith Boeotia would not threaten
Athens in any way.
The Spartan delegation alsorevealed that they had full
Spartan authority to negotiateon matters at hand, so an
(23:05):
agreement could be settled onquickly.
This last point had worriedAlcibiades, as it meant a
decision could be reached in theheat of the moment of
discussions.
Knowing he did not yet have themajority of influence on policy
, he was afraid the vote couldgo either way.
He would now take matters intohis own hands, where he would
employ a strategy to discreditthe Spartans while also making
(23:28):
Nicias and those seeking acontinuation of the peace look
foolish.
Alcibiades would arrange tomeet the Spartan delegation
before they were to address theAthenian assembly.
Alcibiades would convince themeet the Spartan delegation
before they were to address theAthenian assembly.
Alcibiades would convince theSpartans they were not to reveal
that they had full powers toenact any negotiations that
should come about.
In return for this, alcibiadesassured them that he would make
(23:49):
sure Pylos was handed back overto them and would also see that
other issues, such as theiralliance with Boeotia, would not
be cause for concern For theSpartans.
Their whole aim of attendingAthens was to secure these very
things.
So to do as Alcibiades askedseemed a far better option than
putting their case forward tothe Athenian assembly to be
decided upon.
Perhaps they thought thatAlcibiades could be trusted, as
(24:12):
his family had a friendlyrelationship with Sparta in the
past.
However, alcibiades' intentionhere was not to only prevent the
handover of Pylos and ensure analliance be signed with Argos,
but was also to discredit Niciasin front of the entire Athenian
assembly.
So with these agreements made,the Spartans would continue on
(24:32):
to address the Athenian assemblywith their request they had
brought forward from the Spartangovernment.
However, when asked, presumablyby Alcibiades or one of his
supporters, about theirauthority to any terms arranged,
they, as agreed, said they hadnot come with full authority.
This had the effect Alcibiadeswas banking on, with the
Athenians in the assembly losingall patience with the Spartans.
(24:54):
This then opened the way forAlcibiades to address the
assembly and attack the Spartans, driving a wedge between them
and Nicias.
He would jump on the fact thatthe Spartans had no sincerity in
their intentions, as many wouldhave known what had been
presented at the council and nowseeing the Spartans say
otherwise in the assembly.
This would also have the effectof making Nicias look weak in
(25:16):
front of the Athenians, since hehad been the architect of the
peace with Sparta.
Capitalising on the situationand the Athenians' annoyance at
the Spartans, arsabites ensuredthat the Argive delegation would
be brought in to also addressthe assembly on the matter of
forming an alliance.
However, before anything couldbe formally agreed on, an
(25:36):
earthquake would see theassembly have to be abandoned
prematurely.
The following day, anotherassembly was held, but it
appears Sparta had departedafter the tensions of the
previous day.
Nicias had lost some face andhad been put on the spot who had
been tricked into not revealingto the assembly they were under
full Spartan authority.
(25:56):
Nicias would, however, attemptto save his position by putting
forward his proposal thatnegotiations with Argos should
be placed on hold whiledelegates be sent to Sparta to
find out their true intentions.
He continued to argue if Athensconvinced Sparta to remain at
peace, then the Athenians werethe biggest winners in the deal.
Nicias was able to successfullyargue his point on sending
(26:19):
representatives to Sparta, inwhich he would be one of.
He was given a list ofcomplaints and terms that needed
to be fulfilled.
With it, looking like thefaction Alcibiades was a part of
having some influence on whatwas to be delivered, as what was
to be taken to Sparta wasunlikely to be agreed to.
On what was to be delivered, aswhat was to be taken to Sparta
(26:41):
was unlikely to be agreed to,nicias would address the
Spartans, basically requestingthey honour the peace terms
already agreed to.
The main points were for theSpartans to hand back over
Panacteum intact, deliverAmphipolis and rescind their
alliance with the Boeotians.
Sparta was not really in aposition to fulfil any of these
terms, which the Alcibiadesprobably knew all too well.
In short, panacteum's defenceshad already been raised by the
(27:03):
Boeotians, with Sparta eithernot willing to or not having the
resources or time toreconstruct them.
As for Amphipolis, they hadabandoned the city to the
Athenians, but the locals of thecity were unwilling for the
Athenians to occupy it.
Sparta, given their disconnectfrom Thrace, was in no position
to force the city over to theAthenians, while the alliance
(27:25):
with the Boeotian League hadbeen formed in response to the
unstable diplomatic situationafter the signing of the Peace
of Nicias.
To rescind this would beweakening their position within
Greece, threatening theirsecurity in the face of new
coalitions forming.
Nicias had also been informedthat if the Spartans were to
reject these terms, then he wasto inform them that Athens would
(27:46):
have no choice but to pursueits alliance with Argos.
These demands and threats hadbasically destroyed any chances
of saving the peace and with itthe end of the wider war,
destroyed any chances of savingthe peace and with it, the end
to the wider war.
However, in an attempt to savesome face with his fellow
Athenians, nicias would ask theSpartans to renew their oaths to
the peace of Nicias.
As Thucydides tells us, niciaswas frightened at the prospect
(28:08):
of returning home with nothingaccomplished.
These oaths were merely justlip service.
As for the time being.
The Spartans were not keen onresuming hostilities right away.
So they would agree to thisrequest, as it would buy some
time for them to preparethemselves internally and
externally.
On his return to Athens andpresentation to the assembly,
(28:29):
nicias was still berated, withthe Athenians flying into a rage
over the failure to obtain anymeaningful outcome.
This anger was intensified dueto Nicias being the one who had
drawn up and convinced Athens tomake the peace with Sparta, and
now he was unable to have theSpartans deliver on what had
already been sworn upon by bothsides.
With this failure, athensimmediately formed a treaty with
(28:51):
Argos, elis and Mantinea, thethree Peloponnesian democracies.
The treaty was to last ahundred years and would see a
non-aggression pact formed aswell as a defensive alliance on
land and sea.
This had now seen Alcibiades'influence grow in Athenian
politics and Athens' policy wasnow shifting away from the terms
of the Peace of Nicias.
(29:12):
Both sides were now openlydefying the terms within it.
However, both still formallyrecognised the peace, staving
off open hostilities for now.
All of this diplomaticmanoeuvring would also
complicate matters with Corinth.
All of these negotiations thathad been happening over the past
year can make the diplomaticsituation between all the
(29:32):
city-states seem a little hardto follow.
But, as you may remember,corinth had been instrumental in
helping see the Argive Leagueestablished and had also signed
on in a defensive alliance withthose in the League.
However, with thesedevelopments, corinth would keep
clear of negotiations withAthens.
The Corinthians' intentions hadbeen to create a separate power
(29:52):
block that would help protecttheir own security and to entice
hostilities between Sparta andAthens.
With the alliance now formedwith Argos, her democratic
allies and Athens, corinth nowlooked back to Sparta with a
friendlier gaze.
However, always looking out fortheir own interests, they would
still keep intact the initialdefensive alliance they had with
(30:13):
the Argive League, should thestrategic situation change.
The developments that had beentaking place over the year and
Athens' new alliance with Argoscan be seen as marking a point
where a shift in politics inAthens had now taken place.
We had seen that Nicias and hispolicies had been dominating
(30:34):
Athens, which led to the truceand eventual peace of Nicias.
However, cracks had beenforming early on, and now
Alcibiades, rising in the ranksof Athenian politics, was able
to exploit these and push hispolicies that were more hostile
towards Sparta.
However, these diplomaticmanoeuvrings had not only seen a
shift in Athens take place.
Those who had seen Sparta as anenemy but had been unwilling to
(30:55):
take any action action wouldnow find themselves emboldened.
The city of Elis, now with thepowerful backing of Athens,
would accuse the Spartans,during the 420 Olympic Games, of
breaching the Olympic truce.
This breach had taken placewhen the Spartans had sent an
army into Leprium that we sawlast episode.
The fine for such a breach, aslaid down in the law, was two
(31:17):
mina to be paid for each soldierthat had marched.
This would see Ellis looking atenforcing a fine of 2,000 mina
against the Spartans.
Sparta would look to challengethe fine, attempting to argue a
discrepancy in timing of theOlympic truce coming into effect
.
However, ellis would not budge,as the truce had already been
called in Elis before theSpartan invasion and had caught
(31:39):
the aliens off guard due to themobserving the truce.
With continued negotiationsover the matter being rejected
by Sparta, elis would see to itthat Sparta was now banned from
the temples, therefore unable tomake sacrifices during the
games.
We have seen how the religiouscomponent of the Olympic Games
was just as important as thegames themselves, if not more so
(32:00):
.
So to enforce this ban wouldhave been quite humiliating for
the Spartans.
Tensions were quite high overthis period, with some of the
cities placing armed men at theready in case a Spartan army
should show.
However, the Spartans wouldallow the Olympic Festival to
pass by quietly.
The Spartans standing idleduring the Olympics would also
feed into the general perceptionthat they had become weak.
(32:23):
This would see furtherembarrassment when their colony
in Heraclea in Trachis wasattacked and the Spartan
governor killed.
The city would only be saveddue to the Thebans arriving to
prevent its capture, though theThebans would end up taking
control of the city in their ownright, justifying this action
due to the Sparta being toodistracted on the Peloponnese to
(32:43):
intervene where they thenfeared Athens would capture it
otherwise.
However, as Donald Kagansuggests, it seems likely,
although an ally of Sparta hadalso capitalised on their
inability to act.
For now, with Heraclea being incentral Greece, this fell in an
area where Thebes wasprojecting its sphere of
influence.
It might have been seen as anopportunity to remove Spartan
(33:06):
influence from their areas whilealso increasing Theban
influence.
This episode would also seerelations between the two become
strained, where, thucydidestells us, the Spartans
nonetheless were angry at them,also showing us that there
doesn't appear to have been anyagreement over assisting in the
initial crisis of the city.
(33:28):
So in this episode, we have seenthe diplomatic situation in
Greece continue to shift for theinitial formation of the Argive
League.
The League had been formed dueto the inherent issues contained
within the formation of theArgive League.
The League had been formed dueto the inherent issues contained
within the terms of the Peaceof Nicias.
Those who had been connected toeither Athens or Sparta were
seeking ways to protect theirown self-interests.
For some, such as Corinth, thismeant attempting to find ways
(33:49):
for hostilities between the twoto continue.
Left in a state of peace andfriendship, corinth was going to
lose out, not having the poweror backing to protect their
interests around Greece.
Others, such as Argos, who hadmanaged to remain neutral in the
Peloponnesian War so far, werenow in a position where they
needed to protect their security, with the treaty they had with
Sparta due to expire.
(34:11):
If Athens were friendly withSparta, this would allow the
Spartans to focus wholly on theArgive threat.
If Athens were friendly withSparta, this would allow the
Spartans to focus wholly on theArgive threat.
The interests of these twocity-states would collide when
Corinth would convince Argos tohead a new league to provide a
counter to Athens and Sparta.
However, the diplomaticsituation would be further
complicated with the continuedfailures around Athens and
(34:31):
Sparta fulfilling theircommitments under the terms of
the peace.
This would lead to furtherbreaches in the peace, such as
Sparta's alliance with theBoeotians.
This would then continue, withArgos misinterpreting the
interactions of all the majorpowers.
This was also the time that thepolicies of the peace towards
(34:51):
Sparta were being challenged bythe up-and-coming figure of
Alcibiades.
He would begin to grow ininfluence as the cracks in the
peace of Nicias began to appear.
He would also take measures toexploit these cracks to help see
a shift in Athenian policies.
He would employ tactics todiscredit the Spartans in front
of the Athenian assembly, whilealso showing Nicias to be an
unreliable leader with his peacecrumbling.
(35:12):
In a move to create furtherhostilities for Sparta, he had
cleared the air with Argos,extending a hand of friendship
which delighted the Argives, whowere also a democracy and
concerned with their position onthe Peloponnese.
This point would be where theAthens would shift.
The Athenians were now far morehostile towards Sparta due to
the diplomatic interactions overthe year, while they had also
(35:35):
now agreed to establish analliance with Argos, adding
further breaches to the peace ofNicias.
Although the relationshipbetween Sparta and Athens had
deteriorated to such an extent,open hostilities had not yet
broken out again.
However, as we continue, nextepisode, we will see a further
step to the continuation of thewar take place, as, instead of
(35:56):
just continuing diplomaticnegotiations, campaigning on the
Peloponnese would start todevelop, to attempt to influence
matters.
This would ultimately lead tothe largest land battle yet
fought in the Peloponnesian Warat Mantinea, and with it help
the Spartans re-establish theirpower and dominance on the
Peloponnese.
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