Question 1

True or false: The Peloponnesian War was documented by the historian Thucydides.

Accepted Answer

True. Thucydides, an Athenian general, wrote 'History of the Peloponnesian War,' a detailed contemporary account of the conflict.

Question 2

True or false: The Peloponnesian War ended with the defeat of Athens and the rise of Spartan hegemony.

Accepted Answer

True. In 404 BC, Athens surrendered to Sparta, ending the war and establishing Spartan dominance over Greece for a few decades.

Question 3

True or false: The Peloponnesian War lasted for 27 years.

Accepted Answer

True. The Peloponnesian War spanned from 431 BC to 404 BC, including a six-year truce, totaling 27 years of intermittent fighting.

Question 4

True or false: The Peloponnesian War was caused by the Persian invasion of Greece.

Accepted Answer

False. The Persian Wars (490–479 BC) ended decades before the Peloponnesian War. The war's causes included Athenian expansion and Spartan fear of Athenian power.

Question 5

True or false: The Peloponnesian War ended with the complete destruction of the city of Athens.

Accepted Answer

False. Athens surrendered but was not destroyed; its Long Walls were torn down, the empire lost, but the city itself remained inhabited and intact.

Question 6

True or false: The Peloponnesian War was fought between the city-states of Athens and Corinth.

Accepted Answer

False. The war was mainly between Athens and its Delian League versus Sparta and its Peloponnesian League; Corinth was a Spartan ally, not the principal opponent.

Question 7

True or false: The Peloponnesian War included a devastating plague in Athens that killed Pericles.

Accepted Answer

True. A plague struck Athens between 430–426 BC, killing roughly a third of the population, including the Athenian leader Pericles in 429 BC.

Question 8

True or false: The Peloponnesian War was the first war in Greek history to use trireme warships.

Accepted Answer

False. Triremes were used extensively earlier, notably in the Persian Wars (e.g., the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC), well before the Peloponnesian War began.

The Peloponnesian War Trivia Questions