History Summarized: Ancient Greece

Summary

This script provides an engaging overview of Athenian history, focusing on how hubris shaped its rise and fall. It highlights key moments like Athens' surprising victory over Persia at Marathon, the formation of the Delian League, and the subsequent imperial overreach. Athens' growing arrogance, misuse of the league's resources, and tensions with Sparta eventually led to the Peloponnesian War. Despite early victories, Athens' pride and expansionist policies triggered its downfall. The video touches on major battles, political shifts, and Athens' lasting cultural legacy, with a humorous, critical tone throughout.

Takeaways

• 🏛️ Greek myths often emphasize the dangers of hubris, and Athenian history is a prime example of how overconfidence can lead to both success and downfall.
• 📜 Early Greek civilization experienced a 400-year period without writing after the collapse of the Bronze Age, but oral stories like the Trojan War were preserved and later written down.
• 🏙️ Greek city-states, or polis, were autonomous societies centered around cities and farmland, with government systems more oligarchic than democratic until Athens later introduced democracy.
• ⚔️ Athens initially played a small role in Greece, overshadowed by powers like Sparta, Argos, Corinth, and Thebes, but its involvement in the Persian wars elevated its status.
• 🛡️ Athens' naval power, spurred by silver mines and the strategic foresight of Themistocles, was crucial in defeating Persia during the Battle of Marathon and later at Salamis.
• 💰 Athens formed the Delian League, a coalition of Greek states for defense against Persia, but over time became increasingly imperialistic, using league funds for its own projects, including the Parthenon.
• 💥 The Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta was sparked by Athens' growing empire and interference in Spartan affairs, leading to a long, grueling conflict.
• 🚢 The war highlighted Athens’ dominance at sea and Sparta’s supremacy on land, with significant battles like Pylos where Athens captured Spartan soldiers, shifting the war’s balance.
• 📉 After a series of conflicts and failed peace treaties, Athens’ disastrous Sicilian Expedition weakened it further, and with Persian financial support, Sparta ultimately won the war.
• 🏛️ Although Athens remained a cultural and academic hub after the war, its political and military power never recovered, a lesson in how hubris contributed to its fall from glory.

Q & A

What role did hubris play in Athenian history according to the script?

Hubris was a key factor in Athens' rise and fall. Their success led them to overestimate their power, which resulted in harsh treatment of allies, imperialistic expansion, and ultimately contributed to their downfall.

What is a polis and how did it function in ancient Greece?

A polis was an autonomous city-state in ancient Greece, consisting of a central city and its surrounding farmland. Its government was controlled by rich adult male landowners, making it more oligarchic or aristocratic than democratic in its early stages.

Did Athens invent democracy early in its history?

No, Athens did not invent democracy until about 200 years after the formation of city-states. Initially, Athenian governance was more oligarchic, with only wealthy landowners participating in decision-making.

What was the Delian League, and how did Athens use it to their advantage?

The Delian League was a coalition of Greek city-states led by Athens to protect against future Persian invasions. Athens used its leadership position to dominate other states, forcing them to pay tributes, taking control of their land, and even moving the league’s treasury to Athens for their own purposes.

How did the Battle of Marathon impact Athenian prestige?

The Athenian victory at the Battle of Marathon, where they defeated a much larger Persian force, significantly boosted their prestige. It showed that even a relatively small city-state like Athens could defeat a major empire like Persia.

What was the significance of the Battle of Thermopylae and Salamis in the Persian Wars?

Thermopylae showed Greek resistance against overwhelming Persian numbers, though it ended in Spartan defeat. Salamis, a naval battle, was crucial because the Athenians' victory there secured a decisive advantage over the Persians and led to their retreat from Greece.

What was the relationship between Athens and Sparta before the Peloponnesian War?

Initially, Athens and Sparta cooperated against Persia. However, tensions grew over time due to Athens’ imperialistic actions and alliances, particularly with Argos, a long-time enemy of Sparta. This led to a cold war and eventually to the Peloponnesian War.

How did the Athenians plan for the Persian return after Marathon?

Athens used silver from its mines to build a powerful navy, under the guidance of Themistocles, in anticipation of a Persian return. This foresight proved crucial during future battles, such as the Battle of Salamis.

Why was Athens' relationship with Persia contradictory towards the end of their empire?

After aggressively preparing for Persian invasions and leading the Delian League, Athens eventually made a quiet deal with Persia to avoid conflict, which undermined the very purpose of the league they had established.

How did the Peloponnesian War contribute to the downfall of Athens?

The Peloponnesian War weakened Athens through prolonged conflict with Sparta, strained resources, and poor strategic decisions, such as the disastrous Sicilian expedition. With support from Persia, Sparta eventually defeated Athens, leading to its political and military decline.

Outlines

00:00

🦸 The Hubris of Athens and Its Historical Roots

This paragraph explores how hubris, a theme central to ancient Greek myths, parallels the rise and fall of Athens. It traces the early development of Greek civilization from Minoan Crete to Mycenaean Greece and the 400-year Dark Age that followed the Bronze Age collapse. The concept of the 'polis' (city-state) is introduced, explaining the self-governing nature of these communities. Athens, initially a minor polis, had yet to invent democracy and was far overshadowed by more powerful cities like Sparta and Thebes. The paragraph concludes by hinting at the growing importance of Athens, particularly in the context of its emerging democratic experiment and its role in later conflicts.

05:00

⚔️ The Persian Conflict and the Rise of Athenian Power

The narrative shifts to the Persian expansion into Ionia, where ethnic Greeks rebelled against Persian rule, drawing Athens into the conflict. Though their efforts failed militarily, they managed to anger the Persian king, Darius, who retaliated by sending an army to Athens. Despite being outnumbered, Athens achieved a shocking victory at the Battle of Marathon. This triumph propelled Athens into prominence, and the discovery of silver soon allowed Athens to build a fleet, preparing for future Persian invasions. This set the stage for Athens’ role in the wider Greek resistance to Persia, eventually contributing to their dominance in naval power and military strategy.

10:03

🚢 The Decisive Battles of Thermopylae and Salamis

The conflict intensifies as Persia invades Greece once more, and 31 Greek cities unite against the empire. Sparta led the defense at Thermopylae, where they famously held off the Persian forces despite eventually being overwhelmed. Meanwhile, Athens fought a naval battle at Artemisium, where their tactics prevented the Persian navy from aiding the army. This naval standoff was crucial in buying time for the evacuation of Athens. The Athenians’ foresight and naval superiority culminated in a decisive victory at Salamis, ensuring the defeat of the Persian fleet and marking a turning point in the war. The success of these battles underscored Athens’ growing prestige and influence in Greece.

🏛️ The Delian League and the Beginning of Athenian Imperialism

After the Persian Wars, Athens leveraged its newfound naval dominance to form the Delian League, a coalition of Greek states aimed at defending against future Persian invasions. However, Athens began to abuse its leadership, demanding higher tributes from allies and using the collective treasury to fund lavish construction projects, like the Parthenon. Athens also forced its political system onto other states and grew increasingly authoritarian. This abuse of power sowed resentment among other Greek states, setting the stage for future conflicts, particularly with Sparta. Athens’ hubristic behavior, while strengthening its empire, began to alienate its allies and contributed to the tensions leading to the Peloponnesian War.

⚔️ The Cold War Between Athens and Sparta

Tensions between Athens and Sparta escalated into a prolonged conflict after Athens allied with Argos, a long-standing enemy of Sparta. The two cities entered a cold war, with each pursuing different strategies. Sparta aimed to draw Athens into open battle by ravaging its farmland, while Athens remained defensive, relying on its navy and long walls for protection. The fighting primarily involved skirmishes between the allies of each city-state rather than direct confrontations. The siege of Plataea by Thebes, a Spartan ally, stands out as a particularly notable conflict, involving unconventional tactics and strategic maneuvers by both sides. This cold war set the stage for more intense clashes to come.

⚓ Athenian Naval Supremacy and the Turning Point in the War

Athens demonstrated its naval superiority in a series of battles, including the encounters at Pylos and Sphacteria, where Athens captured Spartan soldiers and gained leverage over Sparta. Despite these victories, Athens’ aggressive expansion and refusal to negotiate peace prolonged the conflict. Sparta eventually shifted its focus to attacking Athens' supply lines, particularly in the north, leading to a short-lived peace treaty. However, this peace quickly unraveled, and Athens resumed its imperialist ambitions, notably with the disastrous Sicilian Expedition. The Athenians’ hubris, particularly their overconfidence in their naval power and strategic dominance, ultimately contributed to their downfall.

🏴 Defeat, Collapse, and Athens' Legacy

The final phase of the Peloponnesian War saw Athens’ fortunes decline rapidly. Persia, tired of Athens’ growing influence, allied with Sparta, providing them with the financial resources to build a navy and challenge Athenian supremacy at sea. With Spartan support, Athens was finally defeated, and the once-great city was reduced to a secondary power. However, despite its military and political downfall, Athens continued to thrive culturally and intellectually. Its legacy endured, not only through its contributions to art, philosophy, and democracy but also through historical accounts like Xenophon’s 'Anabasis,' which detailed the exploits of Greek mercenaries. The hubris that once fueled Athens’ rise to power ultimately became the source of its collapse.

Keywords

💡Hubris

Hubris refers to excessive pride or self-confidence, often leading to downfall. In the context of the video, it highlights how Athens' overconfidence after military victories and its imperialistic ambitions ultimately led to its collapse, much like how Greek myths often depict hubristic heroes suffering tragic fates.

💡Polis

A 'polis' is an ancient Greek city-state, a self-governing entity comprising a city and its surrounding territory. The video explains that Athens started as a minor polis but eventually grew into a significant power, illustrating how individual poleis like Athens and Sparta played central roles in Greek history and politics.

💡Delian League

The Delian League was an alliance of Greek city-states, led by Athens, initially formed to defend against future Persian invasions. The video discusses how Athens transformed the league into its own empire by using the collective funds for its own projects, which alienated its allies and contributed to its downfall.

💡Persian Wars

The Persian Wars were a series of conflicts between Greek city-states and the Persian Empire in the 5th century BCE. The video highlights Athens' unexpected victory at Marathon and its critical naval success at Salamis, which boosted its prestige but also set the stage for its eventual hubris and imperial overreach.

💡Thermopylae

Thermopylae is a narrow pass where the famous battle between the Spartans, led by King Leonidas, and the Persian army took place. In the video, Thermopylae represents Sparta’s heroic but ultimately doomed defense against Persia, showcasing Greek military strategy and unity in the face of invasion.

💡Peloponnesian War

The Peloponnesian War was a protracted conflict between Athens and Sparta, along with their respective allies, which ended in the downfall of Athens. The video frames this war as the culmination of Athenian hubris, where Athens' imperial actions antagonized other Greek states, leading to its defeat.

💡Themistocles

Themistocles was an Athenian general and politician who advocated for building a strong navy, which proved decisive during the Persian Wars. His foresight in naval preparation is mentioned in the video as a key factor in Athens’ victory over Persia, marking him as a pivotal figure in Athenian history.

💡Sparta

Sparta was a powerful Greek city-state known for its military prowess and strict society. In the video, Sparta is depicted as Athens' rival, particularly during the Peloponnesian War, and represents a contrasting approach to governance and warfare compared to Athens’ naval-based empire.

💡Alcibiades

Alcibiades was a controversial Athenian statesman and general who played a significant role in the later stages of the Peloponnesian War. The video references him as a 'historical troublemaker,' illustrating how his shifting loyalties and personal ambitions contributed to Athens' misfortunes during the Sicilian Expedition.

💡Sicilian Expedition

The Sicilian Expedition was a disastrous military campaign led by Athens during the Peloponnesian War. The video highlights it as a major turning point in the conflict, where Athens’ overambition and poor leadership under Alcibiades and others led to a catastrophic defeat, severely weakening the city-state.

Highlights

Hubris plays a significant role in Greek mythology and history, as seen with Athens' rise and fall.

After the collapse of the Bronze Age, Greeks forgot how to write for 400 years but kept their culture alive through oral stories.

Athens was originally a minor polis, overshadowed by larger city-states like Sparta, Argos, Corinth, and Thebes.

Democracy in Athens evolved over time, starting as an aristocracy or oligarchy, and only later expanded to include a broader base of citizens.

The Persian invasion prompted Athens to grow in prestige after they surprisingly won the Battle of Marathon.

Athens used newfound wealth from silver mines to build a powerful fleet in preparation for future Persian invasions.

The Battle of Thermopylae and Salamis showcased the Greeks' tactical brilliance in leveraging terrain and naval warfare against the Persian forces.

The Delian League was formed to defend against Persia but quickly turned into an Athenian Empire, exploiting other Greek city-states.

Athens' hubris led them to misuse Delian League funds for grandiose construction projects, including the Parthenon.

Sparta eventually retaliated against Athens' imperial ambitions by entering into a cold war and later a direct conflict, known as the Peloponnesian War.

Thebes' multi-year siege of Plataea, including building a 'ninja ramp,' is a notable example of the creative yet brutal tactics used in the war.

Sparta's naval weaknesses were exposed in several battles, showing that their dominance was largely limited to land warfare.

Athens’ strategic victory at Pylos led to the capture of Spartan soldiers, giving Athens a brief advantage in the war.

Despite a peace treaty, the conflict between Athens and Sparta resumed after just three years, primarily due to Athens allying with Argos.

Persia ultimately aided Sparta in defeating Athens by providing funding and ships, which led to Athens' final defeat in the Peloponnesian War.

Transcripts

You know how a bunch of ancient Greek. Myths make a really big deal out of Hubris?

When some ancient hero gets too full of himself thinking

He's invincible and only realizes that he's not invincible when he's already been impaled and/or disintegrated?

Well, Athenian history is a grade-a example of how hubris can make and break you so let's get into it

Greek culture in its earliest forms has been around for a good long while

Between Minoan crete and later Mycenaean Greece.

In the 400 Years after the Bronze age came crashing down, people had forgotten

what writing was so the Greeks kept themselves busy by telling each other stories out loud about how awesome the Trojan war was when they finally remembered

What writing was in the seven or eight hundreds they decided to write it all down

Around the same time, they also remembered how to build big shiny societies and a bunch of different

villages and towns built themselves up and each became what's called a polis.

A polis, or a city-state, is an autonomous society organized around a city and its neighbouring Farmland

and has its own government and this government works by having all the rich adult male landowners get together to go in and decide on stuff.

"Aha!" You may say "this is because Athens invented Democracy, right?"

to that, I say no for two reasons: one, Athens had not invented democracy yet,

but also two, they are a complete nobody at this point in history

They're, like, barely a tier two polis on the coolest polis list the big boys at this point in time are places like

Sparta, Argos, Corinth, and Thebes. Not Athens.

but while every polis did have public voting, those systems looks much more like an aristocracy or an oligarchy than a democracy

Democracy didn't come around until about 200 years later when, yes, Athens invented it and in a Greek

Context this means that Athens drastically lowered the property qualifications for citizenship

so a much larger share of the population could vote but even most athenians were put off by having so many people involved in the

Decision-making process and they expressed it because athens was notoriously

Self-Critical especially in the time around the peloponnesian war almost all of the famous athenian playwrights and especially the popular satirist Playwright aristophanes

reveled in critiquing Athenian Society and addressing important social issues in dramatic and comedic ways

but remember back to history at the turn of the fifth century athens is still pretty much irrelevant at this point things would change as

A result of Persian expansion from, well, Persia into western Anatolia were a lot of ethnic Greeks lived and much like an excellent

assortment of Ice cream there are a bunch of different flavors of Greek but you might be familiar with two

Ionian & Dorian, like the Columns. Dorian Greeks mainly lived in the Peloponnese and considered Sparta their quasi mother city

Ionian Greeks lived in, well uh, Ionia (aka Western Anatolia) and they viewed Athens as their quasi mother city

So when Persia did what all empires do and expanded Outwards into Anatolia, the Ionians did what subjects do and revolted.

the Athenians, being the good mother city they were, went to help.

They failed to defeat the Persians, but they succeeded in making them angry.

Which, now that I think about it, is probably worse. As a result the Persian King Darius decided "alright screw those guys

I'm going to sail right over to Athens and deliver a strongly worded letter

Expressing my disapproval" and to make sure he got the point across he also sent along his army which

might be the more relevant factor at play here, so Darius sent

25,000 of his most heavily armed male men to the coast of Marathon where the Athenians meant them for battle by all accounts the persians

Should have easily beaten the Athenians and gone over to take over greece

But the Athenians played the waiting game and when the persian cavalry was away

Probably playing Kola 15 ian's attacked

enveloping the persians in winning the battle this came as a surprise to the rest of greece as next to no one was expecting a

Dinky Little palace like athens to be able to be persia in a fight so a fenian prestige shot up massively

overnight seven years later the Athenian silver mines on the tip of atTica struck it big and the general themistocles said um

Let's use some of that silver money to build a fleet just in case the persians come back

I have a feeling it'll come in handy

And then the Athenians agreed to build a fleet then three short years later the persians marched across the Hellespont

Into thrace and around to central and southern greece now greece had over 200 decent-sized polis and 500 smaller ones

But only 31 allied to fight against the persians

31

That is not a lot

most Greeks were happy to let the persons come on in and conquer greece probably on the basis that it's less exercise than fighting and

Some states like thieves went above and Beyond to get on the person's good side and allied with them

Fun the Spartans who load the resistance against persia because come on

There's sparta used greece's mountainous geography to their advantage and look for a narrow place where the persians superior numbers wouldn't be able to help

Them and that place was thermopylae which literally means the hot gate and with all those spartans in one place

I have to say that's a fair assessment the Spartans fought their hardest, but ultimately lost because of mmM Jax

but while the Spartans were fighting at

Thermopylae Adams and friends were fighting a naval battle against the persians that artemisia just off the coast this is

Important because the greeks needed to stop the persian navy too if the army breaks through that's game over

But if the navy can just sail behind wherever the spartans are hunkered down all the Phalanx is in the world couldn't save them

That's why it was super important to keep the persian Army and Navy

Separated because the ancient trireme ships needed to talk regularly to remain in good fighting

Shape the battle was ultimately a draw, but that was all they needed

It had bought the Athenians enough time to evacuate their city which was promptly sacked

And then all head to the isthmus of Corinth another

Thermopylae type passage the Spartan Army camped out in the past and the Athenians took their ships to the island of Salamis the next battle

was it for the Greeks if either the army or the Navy lost it was all over.

again, the Greeks were saved by a combination of their home turf as well as the Athenians planning years ahead for this exact eventualities

Greeks tactics of the Battle of Salamis

led to a decisive victory on the sea and the entire persian fleet went on what I'll say was a

2,000 year scuba-diving trip to put it gently and the bulk of the persian army

retreated the next summer athens and sparta fought thebes and persia in the battle of plataea just north of Attica and thanks to about a

Third of the persian army just straight up bailing for reasons that completely elude me the greeks were able to win and kick the persians

Out for good and remember this was the work of just

31 cities and even still most of that leg work was done by Athens and sparta

It's after this that athens starts feeling pretty good about themselves and still congratulating themselves on excellent foresight and planning

Decided to create a league of Greek states to fight the Persians in the event that they come back a third time

Recognizing itself as a budding naval power

Athens opted to ride the waves and collect all the various islands in the Aegean under its wing or

Maybe its sail not wanting to do all of the work themselves

Athens asked that everyone pay into a collective defense fund with either ships or money the money was kept on the sacred island of Delos

Hence its name the Delian league this started out all nice and good, but athens started to feel a little too

Good about itself and kept stretching its arms across greece groping in more allies in treating them increasingly harshly

Forcing them to pay higher tributes establishing democracies by Force and confiscating large amounts of allied land

oh, and Did I mention that they used the treasury money to fund the construction of shiny temple buildings

that offered zero strategic benefit in the event of a Persian invasion?

oh and also that they moved the treasury money into those fancy buildings that they spent the treasury money on

Yeah, because they they did that also did I forget that they maybe might have

Quietly struck a deal with persia to get them not to invade anymore invalidating the entire point of the whole empire. I mean alliance

Why did I say that's telling me so yeah, this was pretty great for athens and its athenian Empire

but pretty crap if you were anyone else

Meanwhile Sparta was totally minding its own business

honestly

not caring at all about Athens' imperialistic Shenanigans up until the

Precise moment that athens allied with argos one of Sparta's oldest enemies

What got them a little

bit annoyed and by little I mean very much so Athens and Sparta entered into a

15-year cold war of sorts after which they made a thirty year peace treaty that lasted only fifteen years again this war didn't happen because

Athens was acting like an evil Empire, but they totally worked on Several counts Sparta didn't care about that

it was that Athens was budding into Sparta's sphere of influence by

aggravating Sparta and her allies in several ways. At this point, Athens had gone mad and war was inevitable.

The problem was that, unlike in the Persian War, each city had no intention of directly attacking the other.

Sparta was protected by how far into the Peloponnese it was and Athens, though somewhat exposed, had built long walls to the Piraeus harbor

ensuring its maritime supply chain couldn't possibly be broken so each side pursued a different strategy

Sparta wanted to draw Athens out into an open battle and crush them being the kickass Spartan soldiers that they were

Athens, meanwhile, had no intention of fighting Sparta at all and was content to wait until the Spartans got bored and ended the war the

difficulty for this strategy was that Sparta was really smart

and every summer they went out to Attica and destroyed a bunch of farmland around the coast in plain view of

The city hoping to bait Athens into a fight. Athens, I've got to give it to them, held really strong

They watched farms that their families had worked for decades and generations get completely destroyed

But they still didn't fight instead a lot of fighting took place on the periphery as both sides would poke and prod at each other's allies.

There were a lot of small battles in the first phase of the war

but I'll mention three in some detail because they're important as well as being good stories first is the Multi year long Theben siege of

Plataea otherwise known as the Ninja Ramp or so when 431 Thebes decided to go stomp on innocent Little Athenian allied Putea

And the story is a little ridiculous so bear with me first the Theben send in 300 Ninjas

Yes, basically Ninjas into the city after dark tasked with bringing plataea into a Thievin alliance by Force if necessary

the Ninjas were ultimately

Discovered and the entire town errupted into a hilarious melee with those beavin Ninjas killing them all then thieves attempted to Seize the city

Outright and built an earthen mound or a dirt ramp over the walls

So the platoons cut a hole in their wall and dug out the dirt

So the thebans threw on More dirt

And then the platoons dug out the dirt from under the ramp and then the thebans threw one even more dirt and then the platoons

Built a second wall inside the original wall and eventually the theban said alright screw this and brought over

Sparta and the two of them built a moat around the town in an attempt to starve it into submission

Latia ultimately appealed to history arguing that thebes was evil for siding with the persians of the battle of remember

plataea at the end of the second persian war

Sparta's Harsh pragmatism then took over and they asked the platoons well ok but what have you done for us in this war to which

The platoons had no answer and in short order the City was razed to the ground after four long years of fighting

Now that is cold if you thought sparta was a good guy in this war

You are unfortunately mistaken if you also thought that sparta was any good at sailing you are quite

Sorely mistaken there as well the battles have now packed us both illustrate how the Spartans

Despite far Superior numbers are complete crap at Naval warfare in the first battle the Spartans adopted the ridiculous

Formation and the Athenians beat them and in the second battle an athenian ship pulled off what amounts to a trick shot and the Spartan

Rowers all dropped their oars in Shock allowing the Athenians to be the minions - and confusion

Thankfully history makes at least this one easy for us

Spartans are pretty much only good on land and athenians are pretty much only good at sea partially explains

Why the war was so damn long and finally in 425 a series of basically?

Accidents, led to athens winning a strategically important battle on Spartan soil

So some athenians were tooling around on the west coast of peloponnese on their way to do something else and a storm forced them to

Stop the general demosthenes who also later appears in the sicilian expedition insisted on docking in and camping at pilos

Sparta panicking sent soldiers and ships to the bay of pilos and in attempts to kick them out athens won the naval battle

obviously and thus part on land retreated

Except for the poor sods who happens to be stationed on this island over here and had no way of escaping the Athenian shot arrows

Of the Defenseless Spartans and famously took

120 of them as live captives this had a strategic effect on the war - as it gave athens the leverage to stop sparta from

Running up to Attica every year to wreck their Farmland

which was really helpful sparta recognizing their moment of weakness here offered peace athens of course refused on the basis of

No, we want more stuff so much for peace a few years later sparta wised up and attacked athens where it mattered most their navy

They headed up to the Northern city of m syphilis which was athens linked to their supply of timber and silver both of which were?

Essential to shipbuilding athens tried to get it back, but they failed so they reluctantly agreed to a 50 year peace treaty, okay?

Take a guess how many years do you think this?

50-Year Peace deal is going to last

It's so stupid

Three years that's it three not even kidding this was because athens allied with Argos

Again and sparta got real angry about it again

And this time they want a resulting battle so again so much for that peace, huh?

Do us a favor and recognize my desktop then three short years later athens launched its wonderfully disastrous Sicilian expedition

Which I discussed at length in this video about my all-time favorite historical troublemaker

Alcibiades it also covers most of the rest of the war

So I'm going to fast-forward through that for the sake of time in

405 Persia of all people allied with sparta because they were probably getting annoyed and a little

Uncomfortable by how much athens was puffing about so close to persian territory?

So they gave a spartans tons of money and tons of ships which allowed them to seal the deal and end the war in very

short order after the war athens remained a cultural and academic center in Greece

but politically militarily

They never regained their relevance and given they've been coasting out for the parthenon for a good two and a half thousand years

I think they came out of the fifth century all right following the war the brother of the persian King

Led 10,000 Greek Mercenaries and Soldiers into the heartland of Persia

And when that guy died those 10 thousand greeks needed to book it out of persia or die and they escaped

amazingly that story told much better by the Athenian historian Xenophon than it is by

Is called the analysis or the March up country and it's a genuinely unbelievable?

Survival story after the screech history takes a 60-year breather before Alexander the late shows up, but if you want to know, what ridiculous

Shenanigans happens in the mean time and give a look to this video on Thebes for now

That's pretty much Athenian history for you, basically

They were nothing until they were everything and their hubris for all of the shiny temples that gave them with the ultimate source of their

Downfall