Cartledge writes that information about the Peloponnesian wars is skewed by an Athenian viewpoint seeing as the major source on the wars come from Thucydides, an Athenian man himself, but nonetheless concedes that he is a vital source on the subject. The Peloponnesian wars are an important turning point for Sparta in their struggle to maintain their impressive appearance to the other Greek poleis. Athens was known for its impressive naval power, whilst Sparta dominated in the land based battles. The Archidamian war, the first in many wars involving Sparta, Athens and their allies, appears to have begun due to the Spartans feeling threatened by Athens' increasing power. As a polis now known for its strength and military prowess, Sparta would naturally feel the need to assert their dominance over Athens to uphold their perceived greatness in Greece. The fact that states were willing to ally with Sparta despite Athens’ newfound power attest to Greece’s belief that Sparta was a powerful polis. Moreover, Sparta encouraged allying cities to the political oligarchy in favour of the widespread democratic model of the time. I believe that it is apparent that the Spartans had strong, positive faith in their ways of life, believing with confidence that convincing their alliances to adapt to an oligarchy and thus become more like the Spartans would result in a favourable political outcome for the Peloponnesian
Cartledge writes that information about the Peloponnesian wars is skewed by an Athenian viewpoint seeing as the major source on the wars come from Thucydides, an Athenian man himself, but nonetheless concedes that he is a vital source on the subject. The Peloponnesian wars are an important turning point for Sparta in their struggle to maintain their impressive appearance to the other Greek poleis. Athens was known for its impressive naval power, whilst Sparta dominated in the land based battles. The Archidamian war, the first in many wars involving Sparta, Athens and their allies, appears to have begun due to the Spartans feeling threatened by Athens' increasing power. As a polis now known for its strength and military prowess, Sparta would naturally feel the need to assert their dominance over Athens to uphold their perceived greatness in Greece. The fact that states were willing to ally with Sparta despite Athens’ newfound power attest to Greece’s belief that Sparta was a powerful polis. Moreover, Sparta encouraged allying cities to the political oligarchy in favour of the widespread democratic model of the time. I believe that it is apparent that the Spartans had strong, positive faith in their ways of life, believing with confidence that convincing their alliances to adapt to an oligarchy and thus become more like the Spartans would result in a favourable political outcome for the Peloponnesian