Today's Passage
This passage serves as Thucydides' bridge between his archaeological introduction and the immediate causes of the Peloponnesian War.
Crawley Translation (1910)
But at last a time came when the tyrants of Athens and the far older tyrannies of the rest of Hellas were, with the exception of those in Sicily, once and for all put down by Lacedaemon; for this city, though after the settlement of the Dorians, its present inhabitants, it suffered from factions for an unparalleled length of time, still at a very early period obtained good laws, and enjoyed a freedom from tyrants which was unbroken; it has possessed the same form of government for more than four hundred years, reckoning to the end of the late war, and has thus been in a position to arrange the affairs of the other states. Not many years after the deposition of the tyrants, the battle of Marathon was fought between the Medes and the Athenians. Ten years afterwards, the barbarian returned with the armada for the subjugation of Hellas. In the face of this great danger, the command of the confederate Hellenes was assumed by the Lacedaemonians in virtue of their superior power; and the Athenians, having made up their minds to abandon their city, broke up their homes, threw themselves into their ships, and became a naval people. This coalition, after repulsing the barbarian, soon afterwards split into two sections, which included the Hellenes who had revolted from the King, as well as those who had aided him in the war. At the end of the one stood Athens, at the head of the other Lacedaemon, one the first naval, the other the first military power in Hellas. For a short time the league held together, till the Lacedaemonians and Athenians quarrelled and made war upon each other with their allies, a duel into which all the Hellenes sooner or later were drawn, though some might at first remain neutral. So that the whole period from the Median war to this, with some peaceful intervals, was spent by each power in war, either with its rival, or with its own revolted allies, and consequently afforded them constant practice in military matters, and that experience which is learnt in the school of danger.
The policy of Lacedaemon was not to exact tribute from her allies, but merely to secure their subservience to her interests by establishing oligarchies among them; Athens, on the contrary, had by degrees deprived hers of their ships, and imposed instead contributions in money on all except Chios and Lesbos. Both found their resources for this war separately to exceed the sum of their strength when the alliance flourished intact.
Modern Translation
Eventually, however, the time arrived when Sparta permanently overthrew the tyrannies of Athens and the much older tyrannical regimes throughout Greece—except for those in Sicily. Although Sparta experienced an extraordinarily prolonged period of internal strife after the Dorian settlement by its current inhabitants, it nevertheless established sound constitutional arrangements very early on and maintained an uninterrupted freedom from tyranny. For more than four hundred years, counting to the conclusion of the recent war, it has preserved the same political system, which enabled it to regulate the affairs of other Greek states. Not many years following the overthrow of the tyrants, the Athenians fought the Persians at Marathon. A decade later, the Persian forces returned with their vast fleet to conquer Greece. Confronted by this immense threat, the Spartans assumed leadership of the allied Greek states by virtue of their superior strength, while the Athenians resolved to evacuate their city, abandoned their homes, took to their ships, and transformed themselves into a maritime power. After defeating the Persians, this alliance quickly divided into two camps, encompassing both the Greeks who had rebelled against the Persian King and those who had supported him during the conflict. Athens led one faction, Sparta the other—the former commanding the greatest naval forces in Greece, the latter the supreme land power. The alliance remained intact briefly before the Spartans and Athenians began fighting each other alongside their respective allies, a conflict that eventually engulfed all Greeks, though some initially stayed neutral. Thus, the entire era from the Persian Wars to the present, interrupted by occasional peaceful interludes, saw each power engaged in warfare either against its rival or its own rebellious allies, thereby providing them with continuous military training and the expertise that comes only from facing real danger.
Sparta's approach was not to demand tribute from its allies but simply to ensure their compliance with Spartan interests by installing oligarchic governments among them. Athens, conversely, gradually stripped its allies of their naval forces and required monetary payments instead from all except Chios and Lesbos. Each power discovered that its individual resources for the current war exceeded the combined strength they had possessed when their alliance was unified.
Historical Context
This passage serves as Thucydides' bridge between his archaeological introduction and the immediate causes of the Peloponnesian War. He traces the rise of Athenian and Spartan hegemony from the fall of tyrannies through the Persian Wars to the formation of rival power blocs. The historian emphasizes how continuous warfare between these alliances provided military experience while highlighting their contrasting imperial methods: Sparta's indirect control through oligarchies versus Athens' direct exploitation through tribute. This sets up his analysis of how two fundamentally different systems of power came into inevitable conflict, with both sides paradoxically stronger separately than they had been united against Persia.
Key Themes
Annotations & References
Spartan Constitution
The Spartan system, attributed to Lycurgus, featured dual kingship, the Gerousia (council of elders), ephors (overseers), and the assembly. This unique structure provided stability for centuries, making Sparta the Greek exemplar of eunomia (good order) and allowing it to intervene in other states' affairs as a stabilizing force.
Learn more →Battle of Marathon
Fought in 490 BCE, Marathon saw outnumbered Athenian hoplites defeat Persian forces, proving Greek military effectiveness and boosting Athenian confidence. This victory, occurring after tyranny's fall, linked democracy with military success in Athenian consciousness and set the stage for their later naval transformation.
Learn more →Delian League
Formed in 478/7 BCE as an anti-Persian alliance led by Athens, the League gradually transformed into an Athenian empire. Members contributed ships or money (phoros) for collective defense, but Athens increasingly used these resources for its own purposes, converting allies into subjects.
Learn more →Pentekontaetia
The 'fifty years' between the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars (479-431 BCE) witnessed Athens' transformation from allied leader to imperial power. Thucydides provides our main narrative of this period, showing how competition and conflict between Athens and Sparta became inevitable.
Learn more →Parallel Ancient Sources
Herodotus: Histories (Book 5.92)
Herodotus provides the detailed account of how Sparta became the 'liberator' of Greece from tyranny, including their role in expelling the Peisistratids from Athens, which Thucydides summarizes here.
Read passage →Aristotle: Constitution of Athens (Chapters 22-23)
Aristotle describes the transformation of Athens into a naval power and the democratic reforms that accompanied this change, providing constitutional context for Thucydides' narrative of Athenian development.
Read passage →Plutarch: Life of Themistocles (Chapters 10-11)
Plutarch elaborates on Athens' decision to abandon the city and become a naval power, providing personal details about Themistocles' role that complement Thucydides' structural analysis.
Read passage →Xenophon: Constitution of the Lacedaemonians (Chapter 1)
Xenophon analyzes the Spartan system that Thucydides praises for its stability, explaining how their unique institutions enabled them to dominate Greece despite their small population.
Read passage →Discussion Questions
- How does Thucydides' characterization of Spartan stability versus Athenian dynamism reflect broader Greek political thought about the best form of government?
- What are the implications of Thucydides' observation that both powers were stronger separately than when united? What does this suggest about the nature of alliances?
- How does the different treatment of allies by Athens and Sparta reflect their respective political systems and values?
- Is Thucydides suggesting that conflict between Athens and Sparta was inevitable given their different trajectories after the Persian Wars?