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The Peloponnesian League was an alliance of states in the Peloponnese
Peloponnese

The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus is a large peninsula and Regions of Greece in southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth....
 in the 6th
6th century BC

The 6th century BC started the first day of 600 BC and ended the last day of 501 BC.In India, Panini, sometime during this century, composed a grammar for sanskrit, which is the oldest extant grammar of any language....
 and 5th centuries BC.

By the end of the 6th century, Sparta
Sparta

Sparta was a city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the Eurotas River in the southern part of the Peloponnese. From circa 650 BC it rose to become the dominant military power in the region and as such was recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars....
 had become the most powerful state in the Peloponnese, and was the political and military hegemon over Argos
Argos

Argos is a city in Greece in the Peloponnese near Nafplion, which was its historic harbour, named for Nauplius ....
, the next most powerful state. Sparta acquired two powerful allies, Corinth
Corinth

Corinth, or Korinth Corinth is now the capital of the Prefectures of Greece of Corinthia. The city is surrounded by the coastal townlets of Lechaio, Isthmia, Kechries, and the inland townlets of Examilia and the archaeological site....
 and Elis
Elis

Elis, or Eleia is an ancient district, that corresponds with the modern Elis Prefecture. It is in southern Greece on the Peloponnesos peninsula, bounded on the north by Achaea, east by Arcadia, south by Messenia, and west by the Ionian Sea....
, by ridding Corinth of tyranny, and helping Elis secure control of the Olympic Games
Ancient Olympic Games

The Ancient Olympic Games, originally referred to as simply the Olympic Games were a series of athletic competitions held for representatives of various city-states of Ancient Greece....
.






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The Peloponnesian League was an alliance of states in the Peloponnese
Peloponnese

The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus is a large peninsula and Regions of Greece in southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth....
 in the 6th
6th century BC

The 6th century BC started the first day of 600 BC and ended the last day of 501 BC.In India, Panini, sometime during this century, composed a grammar for sanskrit, which is the oldest extant grammar of any language....
 and 5th centuries BC.

By the end of the 6th century, Sparta
Sparta

Sparta was a city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the Eurotas River in the southern part of the Peloponnese. From circa 650 BC it rose to become the dominant military power in the region and as such was recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars....
 had become the most powerful state in the Peloponnese, and was the political and military hegemon over Argos
Argos

Argos is a city in Greece in the Peloponnese near Nafplion, which was its historic harbour, named for Nauplius ....
, the next most powerful state. Sparta acquired two powerful allies, Corinth
Corinth

Corinth, or Korinth Corinth is now the capital of the Prefectures of Greece of Corinthia. The city is surrounded by the coastal townlets of Lechaio, Isthmia, Kechries, and the inland townlets of Examilia and the archaeological site....
 and Elis
Elis

Elis, or Eleia is an ancient district, that corresponds with the modern Elis Prefecture. It is in southern Greece on the Peloponnesos peninsula, bounded on the north by Achaea, east by Arcadia, south by Messenia, and west by the Ionian Sea....
, by ridding Corinth of tyranny, and helping Elis secure control of the Olympic Games
Ancient Olympic Games

The Ancient Olympic Games, originally referred to as simply the Olympic Games were a series of athletic competitions held for representatives of various city-states of Ancient Greece....
. Sparta continued strategies like this to gain other allies in their league. Sparta defeated Tegea
Tegea

Tegea was a settlement in ancient Greece, and it is also a municipality in modern Arcadia, Greece, with its seat in the village Stadio.Ancient Tegea was an important religious center of ancient Greece, containing the Temple of Athena Alea....
 in a frontier war and offered them a permanent defensive alliance; this was the turning point for Spartan foreign policy
Foreign policy

A state's foreign policy, also called the international relations policy, is a set of goals outlining how the country will interact with other countries economically, politically, socially and militarily, and to a lesser extent, how the country will interact with non-state actors....
.

Many other states in the central and provincial northern Peloponnese joined the league, which eventually included all Peloponnesian states except Argos and Achaea
Achaea

Achaea is an ancient province and a present prefectures of Greece of Greece, on the northern coast of the Peloponnese, stretching from the mountain ranges of Erymanthus and Cyllene on the south to a narrow strip of fertile land on the north, bordering the Gulf of Corinth, into which the mountain Panachaicus projects....
. Spartan superiority was guaranteed when Sparta defeated Argos
Argos

Argos is a city in Greece in the Peloponnese near Nafplion, which was its historic harbour, named for Nauplius ....
 in battle in 546.

The league was organized with Sparta as the hegemon, and was controlled by the council of allies which was composed of two bodies. The first body was the assembly of Spartiates, and the Congress of Allies in which each allied state had one vote regardless of that state's size or geopolitical power. No tribute was paid except in times of war, when one third of the military of a state could be requested. Only Sparta could call a congress of the League. All alliances were made with Sparta only, so the member states had to form their own alliances with each other. And although each state had one vote, Sparta was not compelled to abide by any resolutions the League might come to. Thus the Peloponnesian League was not an "alliance" in the strictest sense of the word (nor was it wholly Peloponnesian for the entirety of its existence).

The league provided protection and security to its members, and most importantly to Sparta. It was a very stable alliance which supported Oligarchies
Oligarchy

Oligarchy is a form of government where political power effectively rests with a small Elitism segment of society distinguished by royalty, wealth, family, military influence or occult spiritual hegemony....
 and opposed tyrannies.

After the Persian Wars the League was expanded into the Hellenic League
Hellenic League

Hellenic League may refer to:*In ancient Greek history:**The association of Greek city states against the Persians during the Greco-Persian Wars of the 5th century B.C....
, including Athens
Athens

Athens , the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the List of cities by time of continuous habitation, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
 and other states. The Hellenic League was led by Pausanias
Pausanias (general)

Pausanias was a Spartan general of the 5th century BC. He was the son of Cleombrotus and nephew of Leonidas I, serving as regent after the latter's death, since Leonidas' son Pleistarchus was still under-age....
, but after he was recalled, it was led by Cimon of Athens. Sparta withdrew and the Peloponnesian League was refounded with Sparta's original allies, while the Hellenic League turned into the Athenian-led Delian League
Delian League

The Delian League was an association of approximately 150 5th-century BC Ancient Greece city-states under the leadership of Classical Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Persian Empire after the Greek victory in the Battle of Plataea at the end of the Greco?Persian Wars....
. This might have been caused by Sparta and its allies' unease over Athenian efforts to spread their rule. The two Leagues eventually came into conflict with each other in the Peloponnesian War
Peloponnesian War

The Peloponnesian War which lasted from 431-404BC was an Ancient Greece military conflict, fought by Athens and its Athenian empire against the Peloponnesian League, led by Sparta....
. Under Spartan leadership, the League defeated Athens and its allies in 404 BC.

In the 370s BC the League went to war against Thebes
Thebes, Greece

Thebes is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, Greece, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain....
 and was ultimately defeated in 371BC at the Battle of Leuktra. Thebes forced Corinth and other city states to separate from the Spartans. A few years later, the Peloponnesian League was disbanded, when Philip II of Macedon
Philip II of Macedon

Philip II of Macedon,...
, father of Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great , also known as Alexander III of Macedon was an ancient Greeks King of Macedon . He was one of the most successful military commanders of all time and is presumed undefeated in battle....
, conquered all of Greece.

External links

  • , by Jona Lendering