The Relationship Between Athens And Sicily In The Fifth Century B.C

To study the relations between Athens and Sicily in the fifth century B.C, the research contents cover many aspects, such as ethnic makeup, the geo-relation, economic and diplomatic relations. In terms of relations between Athens and Sicily, historical materials pay much attention to the wars, for instance, The Sicilian Expedition is described by Thucydides in two books of "History of the Peloponnesian War" In addition, recently, the most discussed issue in scholastic circles is also wars between these two sides, that is, The Sicilian Expedition in the later fifth century B.C. In order to have comprehensive understanding of the relations, research angles must be various, however wars between these two sides are key points. This dissertation will explore the research of relations between Athens and Sicily in the fifth century B.C from the following aspects:geography, history, ethnic makeup, economic condition, diplomatic relations and the Sicilian expedition. It’s helpful to reinforce the understanding of the decline history of Athenian Empire and the international relations of the Mediterranean World in the fifth century B.C. This dissertation includes three parts:introduction, text and references, among them, the text is divided into the following six parts:Part one:A brief survey of the geography and history of Sicily.Part two:Mainly talk about the ethnic makeup and its origin. And point out the similar ethnic character traits of Athens and Sicily----warlike and venturesome.Part three:The exploration of economic condition of two sides. In the fifth century B.C, the economic might of Sicily is already very great. Athens and Sicily traded with each other from that time, from the view of economic system, both of them are the city-state of slavery economy. Part four: the diplomatic condition. From The Persian Wars to the starting of expedition, there are totally four important and historical recorded events of connections of Athens and Sicily: first, both of Sparta and Athens sent messengers to Syracuse begged for help; second, Themistocles went to Syracuse and asked for protection; third, Athenian troops were quartered in Ruigeang before the expedition; fourth, Soto Ruth arrived at Sicily before the expedition. The latter two events can be bought into covet from Athens to Sicily before the expedition.Part five:Mainly explore wars between Athens and Sicily. The Sicilian Expedition is the most significant event for the relations of these two sides. Causes and effects of expedition are closely bound up with the international relations of Athens, Sicily and the whole Mediterranean areas.Conclusion: In the fifth century B.C, Athens and Sicily had the same geographical and climate features, they were city-state of slavery economy, and they had connections with each other in terms of policy, economy and culture, there were both peace and wars between them. Peace is theme and rhythm, and wars are topics and focuses. Wars between these two sides, for Athens, they were expanded wars, and the cost of wars had beaten Athens to its knees; for Sicily, they were self-defense wars, and not only highlighted the cohesion of Sicilian cities, but also made it much stronger; for the whole Greece, they were wars of attrition, and made the overall strength of Greece were undermined.