The Peloponnesian War, which lasted from 431 to 404 BCE, is one of the most defining conflicts in the history of the ancient Greeks. The war, which saw Athens and Sparta, along with their respective allies, engage in a protracted war, not only redefined the Greek world but did so in ways that went far beyond the physical arena of war. While the war began as a struggle for power, it soon turned into a destructive conflict that destabilised societies, drained the Greek world of power, and led to the weakening of the Greek world as a unified force. The war ended in a Greece that was no longer the force it once was, but one that was fragmented, vulnerable, and susceptible to invasion from the outside world.
