The Peace of Nicias, however, did not remain. In 415, the Athenians led an invasion against the Spartan city of Syracuse. This Silesian Expedition was a failure for the Athenian fleet, as the expedition ended in 413. Retaliation from Sparta continued for many years against Athens. Eventually, in 405, Sparta destroyed the Athenian fleet, and at this time, the Athenians become dominated by Sparta due to the lack of financial power. The battle to preserve the democratic ideals began to superficially and internally crumble.

Source:

Robinson, Eric. “Thucydides and Democratic Peace.” Journal of Military Ethics, vol. 5, no. 4, 2006, pp. 243–53. Crossref, doi:10.1080/15027570601048720.

Image:

Author N/A. Greek Galley. September 2008.  The Perseus Project

WikiMedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Greek_Galleys.jpg. Accessed December 9 2020.

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