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The Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) was one of the greatest events in the Hellenic world, as it decided the fate of Greek culture. The war pitted Greece’s two most powerful city-states against each other – Athens and Sparta – in a struggle for control over the entire Greek speaking world that would last for nearly three decades, leaving both sides decimated and vulnerable to other enemies. The Athenians had the initial economic and naval advantage, but the Spartans held the edge on land and possessed the intangible of living in austerity, which meant that they could handle the deprivations of war much better than the Athenians. The Spartans and Athenians enticed and sometimes bullied their smaller and militarily weaker neighbors into joining their alliances – the Athenians led the Delian League while the Spartans head the Peloponnesian League – making the conflict one in which no Greek speaking peoples, event the Macedonians, could escape. When it became apparent that the civilization wide war was going to take place, the Athenians, led by Pericles, quickly began planning how they would fund their military. Thanks to a number of extant decrees and the writings of the Athenian general and historian, Thucydides, the details of Athens’ wartime economic planning are known. The primary sources show that the Athenians funded their war effort primarily through the Athena Temple, which acted as an ancient national bank. The economic policies that the Athenians used during the war were quite sound, even by modern methods, but unfortunately for them they only planned for a short war, which ultimately led to their careful economic planning coming undone.

[[File: British_Museum_Perikles.jpg|300px|thumbnail|left|Bust of the Athenian Pericles in the British Museum, London]]

The Peloponnesian War, like all wars, had its origins several decades before the first spear was thrown. After the Hellenic League expelled the Persians from Greece in 479 BC, the Athenians lead the effort to form a new and lasting anti-Persian alliance, which resulted in the Delian League forming in 478 BC. Although Athens was always the most powerful state in the Delian League, it was named for the island state of Delos where the treasury was kept. <ref> Morkot, Robert. <i>The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Greece.</i> (London: Penguin), p. 86</ref> The smaller member city-states enjoyed an equal vote with Athens and were more than willing to go to war against the Corinthian led Peloponnesian League in what historians call the First Peloponnesian War (460-446 BC). The First Peloponnesian War ended in somewhat of a stalemate and left many unresolved issues in Greece: the peace settlement recognized the existence of the Athenian navy, but in turn the Athenians had to relinquish land they conquered on the mainland. <ref> Hornblower, Simon. “Greece: The History of the Classical Period.” In <i>The Oxford History of Greece and the Hellenistic World.</i> Edited by John Boardman, Jasper Griffin, and Oswyn Murray. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), p. 318</ref>

The decision to move the treasure helped to build Athens into one of the premier cities of the ancient world and also bolstered the career of the Athenian general and statesman, Pericles (ca. 495-429 BC). It is believed that Pericles became the leader of Athens sometime after the death of Kimon in 451 BC, <ref> Morkot, p. 86</ref> which meant that he was able to take full advantage of the resources available in the Athena Temple. Thanks to the infusion of 9,700 silver talents from Delos (a “talent” was a measurement of silver used by the Greeks), the Athenians were able to build the Parthenon and to modernize the harbor of Peraeus, as well as fund the initial stage of the war against the Peloponnesian League. <ref> Blamire, Alec. “Athenian Finance, 454-404 BC.” <i>Hesperia: the Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens</i> 70 (2001) p. 99</ref> The strong-arm moves Athens employed against its own allies did not go unnoticed by Sparta and its allies. They too prepared for another conflict with the growing Greek empire, which began once more between Athens and Corinth. <ref> Morkot, p. 95</ref>

War is certainly a very costly endeavor and often ends up being a zero-sum game. Pericles and the Athenians knew that in order to successfully pursue a war against the Peloponnesian League they had to carefully plan everything down to the last talent, which is why there is a fair amount of documentation on the subject. In 431 BC, the first year of the war, the Athenians used 200 ships. It is estimated that it cost about one talent to keep a ship at sea for a month and ships were usually kept at sea for eight months at a time, so the annual cost to support the navy was around 1,600 talents. <ref> Kagan, Donald. <i>The Peloponnesian War.</i> (New York: Penguin, 2003), p. 62</ref>

For the Athenians, most of their military resources were spent on their navy. They basically conceded the land war to the Spartans, opting for a strategy of defense behind city walls. Still, they needed men to guard the walls and to conduct counter-attacks and sorties when necessary. The optimal number of men needed to defend the Athenian polis was 3,500, who were paid one drachma a day and for a retainer each day, which amounted to 7,000 drachmas or one talent and one-sixth. The yearly total for funding the land army was around 420 talents. It is believed that based on these numbers, Pericles expected to spend 6,000 talents total for a three year war. There is debate over why he thought the war would only last three years, but it probably stemmed from the fact that the Spartans and their allies could only afford to launch campaigns of a month at a time. <ref> Kagan, pgs. 61-62</ref> Pericles simply thought that Athens’ large navy and considerable funds would be enough to bring Sparta and her allies to the bargaining table within three years instead of the twenty-seven years the war lasted.

[[File: Acroplis.jpg|300px|thumbnail|left|The Athena Temple of Athens on top the Acropolis]]

[[File: Athéna_Varvakeion.jpg|300px|thumbnail|right|Statue of Athena in the Athens Museum]]

By 428-427 BC, the fourth year of the war, the temple reserve had fallen to less than 1,000 talents. To compensate for the dwindling fund the Athenian government introduced a direct tax on the people, which proved to be very unpopular. <ref> Kagan, p. 104</ref> The desperate financial situation was eased a bit with the Peace of Nikias in 421 BC. Although the peace only lasted two years, it allowed the Athenians to rebuild the reserve of Athena back to 4,000 talents by 415 BC. <ref> Kagan, p. 247</ref> But once more the Athenians were plagued by their own myopia; after depleting the resources of their allies they were forced to rely on their own silver deposits, which were largely depleted by 413 BC. <ref>Blamire, p. 115</ref>

The Peloponnesian War represented one of the true turning points in the history of the Hellenic world. Athens sought to put the entire Greek speaking world under its rule with its large and formidable navy; but the true strength behind Athens’ power was its wealth and financial system. Pericles and the Athenians planned well for the Peloponnesian War economically speaking, but their efforts were too short-sighted. The Spartans eventually outlasted the Athenians to “win” the Peloponnesian War, but the Macedonians were the true winners because they became the major power in the Greek speaking world.

[[Category: Ancient History]] [[Category: Ancient Greek History]] [[Category: Classical Greece]] [[Category: Economic History]]