gainst Hannibal, and says that they are "men alike, as in their other virtues and good parts, so especially in their mild and upright temper and demeanor," and further notes that each was "most useful and serviceable to the interests of their countries" (Plutarch 37).
The Peloponnesian War (431 404 BC) was a major event during the reign of Pericles and was a struggle between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies. The war resulted in Athens being defeated and stripped of its empire and in Sparta becoming the acknowledged leader of the Greek world. The war was chronicled by the ancient historian Thucydides, who stated in his great history of the war that the underlying cause was Spartan fear of Athens's expansive power. However, the war was actually triggered by hostility between Athens and Corinth, Sparta's major ally. Athens concluded an alliance with the Corinthian colony Corcyra (the modern Corfu) in 433 even though that city was at war with Corinth. Furthermore, the next year Athens demanded that Potidea, a Corinthian colony
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