What if Athens won the Peloponnesian war

[Athenian Alexandros]

How would Greece have been affected, how would the Athenian empire turned out and how it would shape the modern world.

[NotYetRegistered]

I think Athens would've remained the great power in the Greek world, and unlike Sparta, they were capable of going with their time, however, no doubt another city state would fill the power vacuum Sparta left behind itself. Besides, their Empire would've been under Persian pressure as the Athenians had supported a Lydian rebellion, maybe Fillipos would even get paid to deal with the Athenian Empire, which he would've done.

Just my speculation, not an expert, though.

[Manuel I Komnenos]

As usually the Persians would have given some hundred gold coins to a group of powerful Greek cities (Corinth, Sparta, Thebes etc) and would have turned those cities against Athens.. Then it remains to be seen if Athens would have capable leaders and if her navy would still control the sea (almost sure).. Her role as a protector of the Greek cities of Asia Minor/Aegean Islands would have given her strong allies to help her, and she would probably undertake military expeditions against the Persians..

[conon394]

Hard to say for certain - but I think you have assume the Peace of Nicias demonstrates a couple things:

There was no victory to be found in the Pericles strategy. Sparta could or would not compel Corinth and Thebes to peace. Athenian raids were not likely to affect any of the land powers because Athens did not have a large army alone to hold the field for the time needed to really damage any one. Sparta might have a shift in politics and holding elite prisoners might bring them to the table, but so what Sparta could always go to war a year later when ever Athens had issues or distractions, could still make a deal with Persia and still seems unlikely to to be able to deter Corinth or Thebes from pursuing their own objectives.

So I would say to imagine an Athenian victory you have to imagine an outcome that sees Spartan power fundamentally broken and (or maybe or perhaps) Athenian power significantly increased.

I'll opt for a potentially likely what if - Alcibiades is a bit better had keeping his private life private, and manages to work better with the 'left' (say Hyperbolus) as the peace of Nicias is breaking down. Nicias takes a greater hit to his prestige than in real life and thus before the Athenian alliance with Agos,Ellis and Mantinea - Nicias is the one ostracized and thus Athens acts strongly to support the new Anti-Peloponnese League alliance.

As a result at the Mantinea in 418 Agis found himself facing not 8000 hoplites but an allied army with a Athenian army more in keeping with the effort made a Syracuse so over 12,000. Even though the allied center still collapsed the pugnacious Lamachus saved the day with his novel inclusion of a reserve of Athenian hoplites (he had argued strongly with Alcibaiades that there were to many trembling spears in the center). Once the Agive elite reformed the battle was a disaster for Sparta - Agis dead, a crushing defeat of Spartan pride and myth. Tegae was betrayed to the Allies and with the arrival the late Elean force Sparta northern allies prudently failed to show up. Clearly the Allies would likely move to free the helots, and no doubt the Agives would seek to reclaim lost land from Sparta, and recover any free allies of Sparta in the Argolid. That would likely be sufficient in Athenian eyes - a much weaker Sparta was fine but like everyone else (Epaminondas, Phillip) the value of weak Sparta was too obvious to eliminate it altogether - else a too strong Argos...

With Sparta humbled and no naval defeats to weaken the Athenian ability to oppose Persia I would suspect the biggest losers would be Megara and Thebes. In real life the Argives were a surprisingly loyal source of troops after 318 and the Athenians flirted with hiring Pelopensesian mercenaries for Syracuse. In this version I would imagine both types of troops would be available in greater number such that Athens could redress the result of Delium and also have no real issue with securing Megara – a vital position and one Athens could point to history and myth to support. Similarly I’m sure Athens would restore Plataea and no doubt try to minimize the position of Thebes. However given the need to not offend it new Peloponnesian allies too much I suspect Athens would have to tread lightly and focus on just a few key gains Megara, and recovering Amphipolis.

What would happen than well…

I’d guess Athens would likely either be drawn into Italy – either aiding its old friends against Syracuse or later fighting Carthage. Also if Athens was able to step away from the imperialism of Pericles and look back to it older democratic expansion it might well build quit a powerful unitary state out of Megara, Aigina, Euboea and its other possessions. If it could do that it might well have the manpower to take advantage of the 4th century issues in the Persian Empire to see it rolled back and Egypt, Cyprus, and Asia Minor as free actors. With a strong Athens and one that retained Amphipolis there is far less room for a strong Macedonia to rise.

[NotYetRegistered]

Lovely alternate history, +1