An earthquake in Sparta in the year 464 BCE started a series of events which ultimately led to the Peloponnesian War.

Athens and Sparta represented for classical thinkers distinct and opposing regimes. Democratic Athens took pride in its freedom, openness, and accomplishments in the arts and philosophy. Oligarchic ...

New historical research challenges Sparta's founding myth, suggesting the ancient warrior state did not start out through conquest, as experts have long believed.

In 418 BC Sparta defeated its neighbor and oldest rival, Argos, a city theoretically allied to Athens. One again, hostilities began to brew. In Athens, the charismatic aristocrat, Alcibiades, had been ...