The lecture addresses the 5th century BCE Greek conflicts that heralded the rise and fall of an Athenian Empire in the form of the Delian League and the conflict with Sparta in the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE). The precursor Greek-Persian War (490-479 BCE) starts off the lecture, covering the key events of the Battles of Marathon (490 BCE), Thermopylae (480 BCE), and Salamis (480 BCE). Sea power in the ancient Greek world is also addressed, all leading to the 27-year war with Sparta and the Peloponnesian League that destroyed the Athenian Empire by 404 BCE.

Second lecture - January 6th - email bobertello@skpl.org for the Zoom link