The Peloponnesian War was between Athens and Sparta, two of the major city-states of ancient Greece. This lasted from 431 to 404 BC. The war took hold of a large part of the Greek world and it was Thucydides who judged it. This war was considered one of the greatest works in world history and one of the most significant up to that time. To learn more about the Peloponnesian War, some background on these two major city-states. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Sparta headed an alliance of independent states that included many of the major land powers of the Peloponnese and central Greece and also included the sea power Corinth. The Athenian alliance was an empire that included a good portion of the islands and coastal states around the eastern and northern coasts of the Aegean Sea (82,626 miles'2). The Athenians had the strongest navy and were more stable with money than their enemies and the Spartans had the strongest army. Athens and Sparta had already fought each other before the Peloponnesian War, in what some might consider the First Peloponnesian War, which as a result they agreed to call it a draw and in 445 they called this thing the Thirty Years' Treaty which was sort of like a peacemaker. The Athenians subsequently took steps to break the Thirty Years' Treaty as they now joined Corcyra, a colony of Corinth. From that moment Sparta and its allies accused Athens of aggression and threatened war. Because of Pericles (the most influential leader) Athens refused to back down. Many efforts were made to resolve the disputes but it failed. Around the spring of 431 a Spartan ally named Thebes attacked an Athenian ally named Plataea and the war began as a result. In reality, the years of fighting between Athens and Sparta can be divided into two periods separated by a six-year truce. The first period lasted about 10 years. This began with the Spartans who were under the rule of Archidamus II who was then leading an army in Attica, which is the region around Athens. This is where the Peticles refused to draw out the superior Allied forces, but instead insisted that the Athenians remain in their city and attack enemy coasts and ships. Within a few months Pericles was the victim of a plague. Killing of large numbers of civilians and much of the army. Thucydides survived a bout of plague that left a shocking impact on the confidence of the Athenians. Meanwhile, the Spartans attacked Athenian bases in western Greece but were then driven out. The Spartans also suffered a retreat to the sea. Around 428 they tried to help the island state of Lesbos, which was a tributary of Athens that was planning to rebel. This revolt was later repressed by the Athenians who gained control of the capital Mytilene. Insisted by the demagogue Cleon, the Athenians voted to massacre the men of Mytilene and unfortunately enslave everyone else. But the next day they changed their minds and killed only the leaders of the revolt. Spartan originality during the plague years was unsuccessful, except for the capture of the strategic Plataea in 427. In the following years the Athenians took offense and began to attack the Sicilian city of Syracuse and campaigned in Western Greece and the Peloponnese itself. Around 425 the picture was blank for Sparta and it began to sue for peace. This was led by Brasidas, he was a hero of the Battle of Delium, a Spartan force achieved huge successes at Chalkidiki in 424 pushing and encouraging the Athenian subject states to revolt. In a battle at Amphipolis in 422 both Brasidas died.