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The underlying cause of the war was the rapid rise of the Athenians. They had grown from just another city-state to an Empire. During and after the Persian Wars, it had transformed itself and became a major trading and maritime power <ref> Cawkwell, George. Thucydides and the Peloponnesian War (London: Routledge, 1997), p 67</ref>. It had developed into the greatest maritime power in the Greek world and had the ability to dominate the trade routes in the eastern Mediterranean. It had emerged as a great Empire in a very quick period of time and this upset the traditional balance of power. For many decades’ Sparta, had been the greatest power in Greece, this was based on its well-disciplined and much-feared army. The Spartan Hoplite were considered the best soldiers in the Greek world <ref>Hanson, Victor Davis. A War Like No Other: How the Athenians and Spartans Fought the Peloponnesian War. (New York: Random House, 2005), p. 56</ref>. The rise of Athens meant that there were two great powers in the Greek world. These powers both had a network of alliances all over the Greek world and beyond. The Greeks became divided into a Spartan and an Athenian camp<ref> Cawkwell, p.115</ref>. Athens and Sparta had different spheres of influences, as outlined in the ‘Thirty Year Peace’ treaty and theoretically this meant that they both could have lived in peaceful co-existence. Athens controlled the coastal areas of Greece and the Greek islands, while Sparta, a land power could control the Peloponnese. Despite this, Sparta grew increasingly fearful of Athens and its main ally Corinth was actively encouraging it to attack Athens<ref> Hanson, p. 117</ref>. In 440 BCE, Corinth urged the Spartans to wage war on Athens when it was suppressing a revolt on the island of Samos. The Spartan Kings always cautious had decided not to become involved in a war with their former allies. However, the Thirty Years Peace was under increasing strain. In the Spartan assembly, there was growing alarm at the growth of Athenian power <ref> Kagan, p. 134</ref>. As Athens seemed to be growing more powerful there was a growing war-party in Sparta. They argued that the Spartans had to attack Athens before it became too powerful. The fear of Athens increasingly led the Spartans to prepare for war, even though there is no evidence that the Athenians had any designs on Sparta or its allies<ref>Kagan, p. 213</ref>. There were those in Athens who believed that a war should be welcomed. There was a strong ‘imperial’ party in the city who believed that it was entitled to a great empire because of its role in the defeat of the Persians.
The belief that Spartan fear of Athens was the ultimate cause of the war was the view of Thucydides. According to, the great Greek historian, Thucydides the growth of the ‘power of Athens, and the alarm which this inspired in Lacedaemon (Sparta), made war inevitable<ref>Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War 1.67–71</ref>. "He believed that the Peloponnesian War was inevitable, because when a rising power confronted another power, they would inevitably wage a war against each other to further or protect their interests<ref>Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War 1.67–71 </ref>. Some later historians have also argued that war was inevitable between the two greatest Greek powers. It is still widely held that in international relations, the growth of a nation-state or empire will inevitably lead to rivalry and war with an established power <ref>Kagan, p. 71 </ref>.
==Sparta and Athens==
The Spartans and the Athenians were very different societies. Athens was a democracy, and it was very individualistic. The population played a very important role in politics and indeed it was a radical democracy. The citizens, (only free males) could directly vote on the affairs of the city. Sparta was almost the opposite of Athens in every way. It was a very stratified and conservative society. It was ostensibly ruled by two kings, from two royal families<ref>Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War 1.67–71 </ref>. The kings shared power with a council of elders (Gerousia). Sparta society depended on a servile population the helots who toiled the lands of Lacodemia for their Spartan masters<ref>Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War 1.67–71 </ref>. Sparta was a highly military society and the need for a strong and well-disciplined army was the main concern of the state. The state took boys from their family and trained them from youth to be soldiers. The role of women was to produce good soldiers and men were expected to be brave warriors. The profound cultural and political differences between the two great Greek powers contributed to the war. They had real difficulties understanding each other and this lead to mutual suspicions. Because of their different political systems and cultures they were often ideologically opposed. Sparta favored the many oligarchies and distrusted the role of the common people in government. In contrast, Athens encouraged democracy and believed that it was the best form of government <ref>Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War 1.67–71 </ref>. This ideological rivalry between Sparta and Athens did much to increase tensions in the run up to the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War and was a contributing factor.
