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In late 432 BC, the first embassy from Sparta arrived in Athens. It was of a religious nature, seems to just have angered the Athenians. If successful it would have involved the banishment of Pericles, not likely to happen. The second embassy was quite serious. Athens was ordered to abandon the siege of Potidaea, revoke the Megarian decree, and recognize the independence of Aegina. Athens refused these conditions point blank. Next Sparta sent Athens an ultimatum:
But the envoys from Sparta went back home. It was clear that only war could decide this dispute. In the annals of history it is known collectively as the Peloponnesian War. It was a long war that lasted 27 years. Many events of war and peace occured within that time. The first section of 10 years are named for the king of Sparta, Archidamos, The Archidamian War. The war began in the beginning of spring when Pythodorus was Archon in Athens, Aenesias was Ephor in Sparta, and Gaius Julius and Lucius Verginius were consuls in Rome in the first year of the eighty seventh olympiad. This was 431 BC. The event was the attack of the Athenian ally Plataea by the city of Thebes. The date of this on the modern calendar was in late March or early April. Thucidides says it was in the last month but 2 of the Athenian year. This corresponds to around March 8 to April 7 if the lunar calendar was on track. Thucidides also says the moon was dark in its last quarter. This fits in with a popular date given as April 4. Another date given is March 3. In any event this event was the spark that ignited the fire of Greek civil war.
On the night of the dicussed day, 300+ Thebans entered the city of Plataea. They were allowed in by an opposition party to the one in power. The city came to terms not realizing that the force was small. When they did find out, they atacked the invaders. It was raining and the Thebans were quite unprepared for this. The remaining force from Thebes was to make the 8 mile march by sunrise. But the enemy in the city was soon overcome by the Plataeans and in the chaos many were killed and some escaped. 180 others found themselves trapped in a building. When morning came and the other Thebans arrived, learning that their countrymen were dead or captured, tried to make a deal. It seems that the Plataeans wouldn't and the Thebans retreated. The prisoners were put to death.
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