During the Peloponnesian Wars, prisoners were hunted down, tortured, thrown into pits to die of thirst and starvation, and cast into the waters to drown at sea. Thucydides warns us in his histories that the longer wars go, the more violent, and less civilized they become. Prisoners were treated with respect and released. The losers were rarely, if ever, chased down and stabbed in the back. Before the Peloponnesian Wars, wars lasted only a few hours, and the losing side was treated with dignity. The Peloponnesian Wars were ugly, with both sides committing atrocities. From 431 to 404 BC the conflict escalated into what is known as the "Great War." To the Greeks, the "Great War" was a world war, not only involving much of the Greek world, but also the Macedonians, Persians, and Sicilians. Thucydides wrote a book called The History of the Peloponnesian War. Thucydides was ostracized after the Spartans' decisive victory at the Battle of Amphipolis in 422 BC, where Thucydides was one of the Athenian commanders. The Athenian Thucydides is the primary source of the wars, as he fought on the side of Athens. These wars also involved most of the Greek world, because both Athens and Sparta had leagues, or alliances, which brought their allies into the wars as well. The Peloponnesian Wars were a series of conflicts between Athens and Sparta. The Peloponnesian Wars ("The Great War" 431-404 BC)
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