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Classical Greece

Peloponnesian War Practice Questions

20 free Peloponnesian War practice questions for the World History, each with the correct answer and a detailed explanation. Open any question below, or take the full set as an interactive quiz.

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All Peloponnesian War questions

20 questions
  1. Q1. According to the historian Thucydides, what was the underlying 'truest cause' of the Peloponnesian War?
  2. Q2. What was the primary Athenian strategic defense during the early years of the war, as championed by Pericles?
  3. Q3. Which catastrophic event in 430 BCE significantly weakened Athens and led to the death of Pericles?
  4. Q4. The 'Peace of Nicias' (421 BCE) was intended to last fifty years but was compromised largely due to the ambitions of which Athenian politician?
  5. Q5. Which major military campaign (415–413 BCE) resulted in the near-total destruction of the Athenian navy and army?
  6. Q6. What role did the Persian Empire play in the final stages of the Peloponnesian War?
  7. Q7. At the Battle of Arginusae (406 BCE), the Athenians won a naval victory but famously executed their own generals because:
  8. Q8. Which Spartan general was responsible for the final decisive victory at Aegospotami in 405 BCE?
  9. Q9. The 'Thirty Tyrants' were a pro-Spartan oligarchy installed in which city after its surrender?
  10. Q10. Which city-state, a key member of the Peloponnesian League, was a commercial rival to Athens and pushed Sparta toward war?
  11. Q11. What was the significance of the 'Melian Dialogue' in Thucydides' history?
  12. Q12. Which fortification, established by the Athenians on the Peloponnesian coast, encouraged the desertion of Spartan helots?
  13. Q13. In 413 BCE, the Spartans established a permanent base at Decelea within Attica. What was the impact of this move?
  14. Q14. The primary warship of the Peloponnesian War, the trireme, relied on which primary weapon in combat?
  15. Q15. Which historian's work 'Hellenica' picks up the narrative of the war where Thucydides abruptly leaves off?
  16. Q16. The 'Megarian Decree' is often cited as a cause of the war. What did this decree actually do?
  17. Q17. Which city-state saw a brutal civil war (stasis) between democratic and oligarchic factions during the Peloponnesian War?
  18. Q18. In 411 BCE, the Athenian democracy was briefly overthrown and replaced by a council known as:
  19. Q19. What was the eventual fate of the Athenian 'Long Walls' after the city surrendered in 404 BCE?
  20. Q20. Which term best describes the general state of Greece following the conclusion of the Peloponnesian War?