In the history of ancient Greece, we are able to find and learn about many important wars that took place. Arguably, one of the most devastating and important wars in Greek history was the Peloponnesian War. The war lasted 27 brutal years, resulting in enormous loss of life and economic turmoil for Sparta, Athens, and their allies. The reason this war was so important was the effect it had on Athens and its political system. Following the Persian Wars, Greece felt the need to form an alliance to defend itself from future attacks. In 478 BC, the Greek city-states all united to form the Delian League, and Athens became the leader of the league. Sparta, however, decided not to join, which led to extreme tension between Athens and Sparta. Due to Athens' arrogance, such as collecting all the wealth and misusing funds for extravagant buildings, the members of the league became unhappy, which led to the collapse of the league and the start of the war. In Thucydides' Melian Dialogue, one of our primary sources, the scenario between the polis Melos and Athens when Melos wanted to withdraw from the league is described. Thucydides' account states: “Athenians: the fact that you are islanders and weaker than the others makes it even more important that you fail to confuse the masters of the sea. Meliani: what is it if not making the enemies you already have bigger, and forcing others to become bigger who otherwise would never have thought of it? In this scenario, the Athenians show their arrogance and power by calling themselves “masters of the sea,” which is accurate because they had the strongest navy. But as the Melians said, the Athenians are gaining more ene...... middle of paper ......ty under the law” and it was essentially Athenian democracy. At the beginning of the war, the Athenians were led by Pericles, who died due to a great plague in 429 BC. His death brought a huge degree of discouragement to Athens and they began to use dangerous strategies instead of Pericles' careful leadership. It is often thought that democracies seek peace, but in Athens this was absolutely not the case. The outcome of the war ends up being a complete disaster for Athens. While it was a disaster, the damage was less than normal for a losing Greek city-state. After the defeat, Athens' democracy was temporarily dissolved. The cultural aspect of Athens managed to remain intact and with the birth of Aristotle, Athens managed to regain its political status. Works Cited Thucydides, Book 5, Chapters 84-116 Plutarch, The Life of Solon, 29-31