In "Understanding International Conflict: History and Theory", Harvard professor Joseph Nye Jr., who is known for proposing "soft power", re-examined the ancient Greek historian Thucydides' famous book "History of the Peloponnesian War". , he argued that the Athenians and Spartans were in a "prisoner's dilemma" before the Peloponnesian War, and Joseph Nye, Jr. reiterated Thucydides' famous assertion about the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War: The real reason for the inevitability of war was the growth of Athenian power and the resulting fear in Sparta. This is where the "Thucydides Trap" comes from. However, there are different opinions on the reasons for the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War. For example, Donald Kagan, a professor of classics at Yale University, believes in "The Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War": Not the rise of Athens, and the unrest of the Spartans, but the crises that occurred on the eve of the war. We turn to the three debates that preceded the Peloponnesian War, described by Thucydides in His History of the Peloponnesian War, and explore how Athens and Sparta responded to these debates. , in order to learn more about the causes of the Peloponnesian War.
Corcyra vs Collins
After the Hippo War, Greece gradually split into two major groups. One was the Peloponnesian League headed by Sparta, which dominated the land; the other was the Delian League, which was headed by Athens, which dominated the sea.
About 435 BC, there was an internal struggle between the Democratic Party and the Noble Party in Epidano, a colony of Corcyra. After the Noble Party was expelled from the city, it united with the barbarians outside the city and attacked the Democratic Party in the city, but the Democratic Party was defeated. Destroyed and asked for help from the mother state of Corcyra. Corcyra ignored it, and the Democrats in Epidano turned to Corcyra's home state of Corinth for help. Corinth and Corinth have always had grievances, so they were willing to send troops to aid Epidano, but Corcyra defeated the coalition of Epidano and Corinth. Collins held a grudge and actively expanded the navy in order to seek revenge. About 433 BC, Kocyra, who had not joined any alliance at that time, thought that he could not survive, so he sent a representative to Athens for help and asked to join the Delian League. After Corinth learned of this news, he was afraid that the union of Corcyra and Athens would prevent it from seeking revenge against Corcyra, so he also sent representatives to Athens to try to dissuade Athens from forming an alliance with Corcyra. At the Citizens Assembly in Athens, the two sides had a heated debate on why Corcyra had not joined any alliance before, and whether Corinth was a just mother state. Let us analyze the debates closely related to the Peloponnesian War.
Is it appropriate for Corcyra to join the Delian League at this time?
The Corcyrans claimed that their previous policy of neutrality lacked foresight, and they would always be grateful to Athens if they could join the Delian League at a time of extreme crisis facing the annihilation of the state. As a neutral city-state, Corcyra joined the Delian League without breaking the 30-year peace treaty between Athens and Sparta.
The Corinthians believed that it was inappropriate for Corinth to join the Delian League at this time. Corinth should move closer to Athens when they were truly safe, not when they had insulted Corinth and faced a critical moment when the city-state was destroyed by Corinth. The thirty-year peace treaty between Sparta and Athens stipulated that neutral city-states could freely join the alliance of either side, but this clause could not be applied to those neutral city-states that joined the alliance with the purpose of harming other city-states.
Was Corinth an enemy of Athens?
Corinthians insisted that Corinth was the enemy of Athens, and they had the most influence on Athens' rival Sparta. After Corinth destroyed Corinth, they would attack Athens next.
The Corinthians said they were not enemies of Athens because they had no intention of attacking Athens. And before, in an emergency, Corinth had helped Athens twice, once before the invasion of the Persians, when Athens and Equina were short of ships, Corinth provided Athens with 20 ships, so that Athens could conquer Equina; the other Once when the Samos defected from Athens, the Peloponnesians disagreed on whether or not to aid Samos. Corinth not only did not vote against Athens, but also publicly told the Peloponnesians that every city-state should Has the right to punish its allies, thus enabling Athens to punish Samos, so it is time for Athens to repay Corinth.
Is a strong naval alliance good for Athens?
The Khosila said that they were the largest naval power in Greece except Athens, and now they voluntarily join the side of Athens without causing any danger. Athens can become stronger than before without any cost, and in the event of a war , Corcyra was useful to Athens.
The Corinthians warned the Athenians not to be led astray by expecting a strong maritime alliance, and that treating other first-rate powers fairly would be more rewarding than rushing to grab a seemingly advantageous, but actually dangerous cheap one. Safety.
Will war break out between Sparta and Athens
The Corcyrans first stated in the debate that, in fact, Sparta was afraid of Athens and wanted to start a war, before further asserting that a war between Sparta and Athens was imminent, or even imminent.
The Corinthians believed that Corcyra was blackmailing about a war that was about to happen, but it didn't have to happen.
After two meetings of citizens, the Athenians decided to establish an alliance with the Corcyra, which they considered to be a defensive alliance, not an offensive alliance, and Corcyra had a convenient position on the coast to Italy and Sicily, More importantly, the Athenians did not want Corcyra's powerful navy to fall into the hands of Corinth. If war really broke out, Athens would be stronger than Corinth and other maritime powers.
In this debate, the Corinthians showed rigor, believing that the least erroneous policy under consideration was usually the best policy, admonishing the Athenians not to set a precedent for one city-state to accept defectors from another into its alliance, and It is very rare to think that a war between Sparta and Athens will not necessarily happen, in a situation where there is widespread suspicion between Sparta and Athens.
The Corcyra, on the other hand, behaved aggressively. They believed that those who made concessions to the enemy tended to regret it. The less concessions, the safer they were, so their policy was to preemptively strengthen their own strength and make the enemy think carefully before launching an attack. The strength of one's own side, the inevitable war between the two powers in the "Thucydides Trap", may be due to this preemptive strategy and the action of expanding armaments to prepare for war.
However, the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War depends not only on Athens' decision, but also on the reaction of the other of the two heroes, Sparta.
Corinth vs Athens
After Athens decided to form an alliance with Corcyra, they sent 10 warships to support Corcyra. They were ordered to avoid war with the Corinthians unless the Corinthians landed at Corinth. However, the battle between Corcyra and Corinth was still Dragging Athens into the quagmire of war, Corinth and Athens and Corcyra have their own winners and losers. The subsequent siege of Corinthian colony Potidia by Athens was also one of the reasons for the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War. However, until this time, only a city-state of Corinth was acting alone in the Peloponnesian League. The truce between Da and Athens remains in force, and the war has not been publicly declared. Now the Corinthians openly raised the question of Athens' invasion of the whole of Greece, sent a delegation to Sparta, and violently attacked the Athenians at the Spartan Citizens' Assembly. At that time, representatives of Athens happened to be in Sparta to handle other affairs appointed by the city-state. In the face of the city-states' complaints against Athens, the representatives of Athens asked for a chance to speak. Therefore, after the Corinthians spoke, the Athenians refuted.
The Corinthians criticized the Spartans for their indecision and over-prudence in their speeches, compared the differences between the Spartans and the Athenians, and emphasized that the Athenians were always innovators, quick to make up their minds and quick to realize them, Urge the Spartans to make up their minds and act.
In their speeches, the Athenians recounted their achievements in the Hippo War, called on the Spartans not to be hostile to the Athenian Empire, pointed out that when a person was involved in great danger, no one could blame him, saying that he You should not only look out for your own interests. For their own safety, leading city-states can be tough on their allies. Now, for the sake of safety, honor, and self-interest, Athens cannot give up the Athenian Empire that it has already acquired, and repeats the universal law that the weak should submit to the strong, and calls on the Spartans to spend more time and carefully consider whether to vote to wage war against Athens. resolution. The Athenians justified their actions with their own interests at the core.
Faced with this important issue of war with Athens, the Spartans needed to further debate and make a decision.
Archidamas vs Stinella Raida
Immediately after the speech of the Athenians, at the Sparta Citizens Assembly, one of the two kings of Sparta, Archidamas, spoke. He pointed out: At present, the Athenian navy is strong and well-funded, and it should wait another two or three years. After Sparta's position was further consolidated, it attacked Athens.
One of the inspectors of the year, Stinilaida, made the final speech. He first showed that he did not understand the lengthy speech of the Athenians, and pointed out that although the Athenians praised themselves, they could not deny the allies and Peloponians who invaded Sparta. Facts of Nissa. Although the Athenians acted well against the Persians in the past, they are now acting badly against Sparta, and the Athenians should be doubled for being bad now. Although Athens had a lot of money, ships and horses, Sparta had brave allies. Sparta should no longer delay, and should help the invaded allies as soon as possible.
Finally the Sparta Citizens Assembly and the Spartan Allies voted that the thirty-year peace treaty between Sparta and Athens had been broken due to the Athenian invasion, which took place between 432 BC and 431 BC. The reason for this decision was that Sparta found that most of Greece was under the control of Athens, and they feared that Athens would become more powerful.
So far, everything seems to have confirmed Thucydides' famous assertion: Athens, considering its own interests, allied with the sea power Corcyra, which caused fear in Sparta, and a war between the two powers was inevitable. However, the "History of the Peloponnesian War" also revealed that the Athenians and Spartans had very different national characters: the Athenians were fast, the Spartans were slow; the Athenians were adventurous, and the Spartans lacked creativity . Perhaps we can understand Thucydides from the dimension of national character: both privately and politically, the Spartans and the Athenians were "perpetually hostile to each other"; "Io The Nians were always the enemies of the Dorians".
This is also an important factor in causing this war.
.jpg)