Athenian strategy in the Peloponnesian War
Athens' fleet and fortifications made its urban center impregnable to direct attack.
Already by the 450s the Athenians
had encircled the city center with a massive
stone wall and fortified a broad corridor with a wall on both
sides1 leading all the way to the main harbor at
Piraeus2
seven kilometers to the west. The technology of military siege machines in this period
was unequal to the task of broaching such walls. Consequently, no matter what damage
was done to the agricultural production of Attica in the course of the war, the
Athenians could feed themselves by importing food by ship through their fortified
port. They could pay for the food with the huge financial reserves they had
accumulated from the dues of the Delian League and the income from their
silver mines.
3 The Athenians could also retreat safely behind their walls in the case of
attacks by the superior Spartan infantry. From this impregnable position, they could
launch surprise attacks against Spartan territory by sending their ships to land
troops behind enemy lines. Like aircraft in modern warfare before the invention of
radar warning systems, Athenian warships could swoop down unexpectedly on their
enemies before they could prepare to defend themselves. This
two-pronged
strategy, which Pericles devised for Athens,4 was therefore
simple: avoid set battles with the Spartan infantry even if it ravaged Athenian
territory but attack Spartan territory from the sea. In the end, he predicted, the
superior resources of Athens in money and men would enable it to win a war of
attrition.
