alternatehistory.com

The Peloponnesian was really a war of the underdog Sparta against the much more powerful Athens. Indeed, the reason why Sparta fought was because it felt that Athens was already more powerful than itself and that it was still growing in terms of population, economics and influence. It was a "fight now or fight later under worse circumstance" against an imperial democratic republic.

In the end Sparta won by building a navy with Persian subsidies, but the victory was fleeting and Athens came back fairly quickly, Spartan hegemony over Greece collapsed and was replaced by a Theban and later Macedonian one in quick order.

What if Athens had won the war outright?

Let's say Athens do what they did otl at Sphacteria and Pylos earlier and on a larger scale: which is to build a fort near Sparta for Helots to escape to, and then force the Spartans into a battle under unfavorable circumstances and force a large number of them to surrender. In otl the capture of a few hundred was enough to get Sparta to make peace. Let's say ttl out of the 5,000 or so total Spartan citizens the Athenians capture maybe 1,500 in a stroke of luck and the Spartans surrender.

The Athenians imposes on Sparta what the Thebens later did, it creates free fortified city of Helots that permanently undermines Spartan society, and rings Sparta with democratic states which has a natural interest in keeping Sparta down.

Let's suppose the Athenians gets lucky some more and the otl failed attempt to help Egyptians revolt against Persia succeeds. The Athenian population and economy keeps expanding through control over commerce in the eastern Mediterranean.

How does imperial Athens with Greek hegemony assured handle Macedon, does it go on to start its own pan-hellenic crusade against a weakened Persian empire? Could a strong Athenian Empire hold the eastern half of the Mediterranean against a rising Rome? What kind of society emerges from a renewed golden age of Athens? Does a democratic Athens spread democracy at spearpoint all around the Mediterranean?
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