What if Athenians have won the Pelopenesian War and the Sicilian campaign?

[neoptolemos]

Would have been possible for Athens to dominate all Greece and perhaps unify it under it's Hegemony?
Did they have the potential of becoming an empire like Roman?
If yes how this should have been looked?

[neoptolemos]

For me the Athenians after the war they would have confined Corinth's naval power and control of the Ionian sea. Then it would have enhance it's fleet and made efforts for bringing under the Delian league all the Greek coastal cities of Eastern Mediterranean. A democratic Argos ,should have been a crucial partner in keeping order in the Pelopenese probably aided by the recently freed Massenians. Sparta would have suffered a great toll ,and probably would have been diminished .Perioikoi and Helots would have taken land as their own.

[conon394]

Well that’s two different questions.

One at a time:

the Sicilian campaign?

Well a lot depends on how it won.

But let’s say Lamachus carries the day and the Athenians launche an immediate assault on Syracuse. As in OTL the Athenians are victorious but more so against a less organized Syracuse, but while cavalry of Syracuse does just manage to stop the Athenians from getting control of Gate, word come that the Athenians have also landed all along the harbor and are in the city. Panic races through Syracuse, the Athenian have control of the temple treasuries outside the walls, large numbers of hostages and none of the preparations that Syracuse had actually carried out are in place. The Cavalry of Syracuse is torn some racing back into the city and thus the Athenians carry the land walls as well all is lost Syracuse surrenders.

Alternatively Athens still has to pull backbut with a considerable haul of prisoners and wealth and with Lamachus vindicated the Athenian siege in the second year faces much demoralized Syracuse that folds anyway.

Well now what has Athens won, not the war yet certainly.

So First and foremost they will have not lost – that cannot be ignored.

Second and almost as important a victory will have restored Athenian prestige, and erased the damage of Delium and it equivocal support of the Argive, Mantinea, Elis alliance (and Mantinea).

Athens has to settle Syracuse. I doubt the Athenians would look impose imperial rule in Sicily they had already backed away from a large Delian league and the place was a nightmare of sifting interests anyway. My guess is Athens would likely garrison Syracuse only, dig up some kind of pro-Athenian government and mostly cut up the ‘empire’ of Syracuse to the benefit of all friends of Athens - A revived and large Leontini, Free Scicle cities, etc. No doubt Syracuse would face some kind of tribute – most likely grain and some money (perhaps like Rhodes in the Hellenistic era – just the upkeep of Athenian men and ships there). A victory lap around the region to aid Athenian friends in cites no doubt as well (say Thurii –adjusting it to be more pro Athenian and less pan-hellenic...).

Given that the Argives were still Athenian allies at the time – Athens would be in a fairly strong position. With Argive hoplites available and seemingly mercenaries from the other democratic leaning Peloponnesian states, and with two sources of imported grain Athens is more secure than it had been in while. With the Athenian navy still strong it’s not likely the King will risk war and thus no special relationship between Lysander and Cyrus emerges and maybe it Athens that gains from any turmoil in a 10 years or so when the King dies.

My guess is Sparta perhaps looks to reestablish the Peace and turns over Alcibiades (or tries too but he slips away) after the Athenian success. Thebes and Corinth will still be problems but who knows.

The biggest unknown for Athens is now arbitrator of Sicily is what it does in the face of an almost certain Carthy move?

[neoptolemos]

You have a great perspective there Conon.And you come up with the Carthaginian factor as well,i must dig in my textbooks to come up with a realistic scenario about the Western activities of a victorious Athenian potential.