06-26-2008, 10:27 PM
Quote:How much did the Plague of Athens help with the Athens losing the war against Sparta?Nothing at all. It won the war!
At least, it won the Archidamian War, which ended in 421 (Peace of Nicias); Sparta had to admit that it had been unable to reach its war aims: dismantling the Delian League. Sparta's coalition crumbled: several members sided with Athens (e.g., Mantinea, Elis). It was only in 418, in the Battle of Mantinea, that Sparta recovered its lost prestige.
During the Sicilian Expedition, Athens lost many soldiers, but it still came close to victory. Sparta offered peace twice during the Ionian or Decelean War (415-404). What in the end killed Athens, was the fact that Sparta was supported by Persia, so that Lysander could build a navy. The decisive moment was the support Athens offered to Amorges, which brought the Great King into the war. Supporting Amorges was an incredible blunder.
(See Hornblower, Thucydides, Kagan, The Peloponnesian War, or just Andocides, On the Peace §28-32.)
