City-States at War
An ancient Greek vase depicting a battle scene
It seemed as though the Athenians and Spartans would give permanent stability to Greece. However, as the Greek philosopher Heraclitus contended more than 2,500 years ago, "There is nothing permanent except change." While the Persian Wars united the ancient Greek city-states in a fight against the Persian Empire, which aimed to take over lands in Greece, during and after the Persian Wars, competition grew between Athens and Sparta. This competition became one factor in the start of the Peloponnesian War. In this topic, you will learn about the Persian Wars. Then you will examine how the united Greek city-states fell apart during the Peloponnesian War, which halted Greek advancement and provided the Macedonians with a window to take over the city-states one by one.
Essential Questions
- What impacts did the Persian Wars and Peloponnesian War have on ancient Greece's political and economic development?
- Why was the leadership of Pericles important to the development of Athenian life and Greek culture?
- What led to the rise of the Kingdom of Macedonia?
Warm-Up
In this topic, you will explore two very different types of war. One war was marked by two allied city-states fighting a common enemy, and the other war was defined by two city-states fighting each other. Throughout history, the United States has been involved in similar wars, some in which a specific country was an ally, only to become an enemy less than one hundred years later. Can you think of any real-world examples of this happening during modern-times? Why would countries join together to combat a common enemy, even if they disagree on other major issues?