432
edits
Changes
m
insert middle ad
==Athenian Losses==
[[File: PEP SIX.jpg|thumbnail|300px400px|left|Athenian and Syracuse Ships in a battle]]
According to Thucydides ‘this was the greatest Greek achievement of any in this war, or, in my opinion, in Greek history; at once most glorious to the victors, and most calamitous to the conquered.’ <ref>Thucydides,7-85</ref> The entire Athenian army and navy was destroyed. The expedition that had sought to conquer the island of Sicily was a complete disaster. It is impossible to know the extent of the Athenian losses. It is thought that the Athenians lost some one hundred ships. These were expensive to build and would take the Athenians years to replace them.<ref> Bagnall, Nigel. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312342152/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0312342152&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=29e68e8d1bdf4f43dd5ef23496e2ea1c The Peloponnesian War: Athens, Sparta, And The Struggle For Greece]</i> (New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2006), p. 213</ref> As significant as the loss of the ships were the deaths or capture of the many trained oarsmen. The Athenians navy was reliant on these men to power their triremes and again it took years to replace these men. The entire army was annihilated by the Syracuse and their allies. One again exact figures are impossible to determine but the Athenians certainly lost several thousand soldiers and cavalrymen.<ref>Bagnall, p 289</ref> Per one historian ‘The total number of prisoners taken would be difficult to state exactly, but it could not have been less than 7,000.’ <ref> Thucydides, [7-85] </ref>
<dh-ad/>
This was an utter disaster for the Athenians and they were now practically defenseless before the Spartans and their allies. Plutarch stated that when news of the disaster reached the city, the citizens at first were incredulous and then began to panic. The Spartan’s had once again invaded Attica and were camped within miles of the city. The Syracuse Navy was sent east to help the Spartans to defeat Athens. It seemed that the Athenians were on the verge of defeat.<ref> Kagan, p. 215</ref> News of the Sicilian disaster encouraged many of the cities and islands in the Athenian Empire to revolt. However, by a superhuman effort, the Athenians continued with the war against Sparta. Private citizens donated their wealth to the city and the funds were used to build new ships. The citizens also enlisted in the army. Despite the odds, the city survived. It did this by once again returning to the cautious strategy of Pericles. The Athenians to the amazement of all Greece survived.
==The Oligarchy in Athens==
[[File: PEP SEVEN.jpg|thumbnail|300px|left|A portrait of Alcibiades ]]The great Athenian defeat in Sicily not only weakened the city militarily but also politically. Many of the traditional elite and the aristocracy had of Athens were never been reconciled to the thrilled democracy. They wanted a return to the previous oligarchy, that is the rule which would return control of the fewcity to their hands.<ref> Kallet, p. 234</ref>. They attributed the defeat to the democrats democracy and they believed that if the city was to could only be saved that if Athens had to change changed its form of government. Then there was These elites were angered by the fiscal strain produced caused by Sicilian expedition. In order to defend the City, the defeat outside Syracuse. The Athenian democracy government began to make more and more demands on tax the rich of the city and these were so exorbitant wealthy to such an extent that many wealthy some people were left penniless. This caused great resentment among the old aristocracy.<ref>Kallet, p. 235</ref>. However, the democracy was still supported by the mass pf of citizens, especially the hoplites and the oarsmen. Alcibiades and others became involved in a plot to oust the democracy. During a difficult time for the Athenians, the plotters took their chance and seized power from the democrats. The oligarchy was known as the 400 and it ended the radical democracy in the city. They did continue the war, even though many of them were secretly pro-Spartan. The oligarchy was divided and it was succeeded by a more moderate form of oligarchy government the 5000 .<ref>Kagan, p. 313</ref>. The Athenians all the while continued their war and after a victory at the Battle of Cyzicus took place in 410 BC, when an Athenian fleet destroyed a Spartan navy. This led to a backlash against the oligarchy and it soon fell and was replace, once more by democracy. The disaster in Sicily was to exacerbate political divisions in Athens and led to great political instability. This was to undermine the Athenian efforts in the war. For example, it failed to capitalize on its great victory at Cyzicus.<ref>Kagan, p. 323</ref>. The aftermath of the Sicilian Expedition was that it politically divided Athens between democrats and oligarchs and this undermined that struggled to unite to defeat its effortsenemies. [[File: PEP SEVEN.jpg|thumbnail|200px|A portrait of Alcibiades ]]
==Conclusion==
