| The Peloponnesian War was of an unprecedented degree of cruelty and scope in the Greek world.It lasted for twenty-seven years.Greatly stimulated by casualties in the war,the Greeks made a series of useful explorations against the war and the restoration of peace during this period,including the peace activities of governments and citizens.Envoys’ diplomacy is the basic way of peaceful activities among the government of cities.The ambassadors from each city-state were allowed to travel freely regardless of whether it was in war.The ambassadors from different cities made equal speeches and completed the complicated diplomatic tasks such as consultation,negotiation and signing of peace treaty or alliance treaty.During the Peloponnesian War,Sparta and Athens as representatives of their allies signed several peace agreements,stopped the war and restored the peace.Through the peace treaty,it can be seen that the ancient Greeks explored ways to solve the conflict and began to resist the excessive use of force.The government had the consciousness of preventing the escalation of the conflict.Influenced by the Pan Hellenic tradition and common religion of the Amphictyony,there is a certain degree of tolerance between the allies,restricting each other and restricting their own allies,so that agreements can be signed and take effect.And the city-state governments observed the principle of "Olympic Truce" during the Peloponnesian War,which ensured the holding of the Pan Hellenic Games,suspended and alleviated the heat of the war to some extent.Behind the political actions taken by the government are the efforts of individuals citizens and groups.In the Peloponnesian War,the doves of Athens and Sparta argued with the hawks in the citizens’ Congress,made great efforts to turn the situation in the fever of the war and tried to turn the idea of peace into the will of the city.In addition,normal citizens also worked to restore the peace during the war.Dramas were still performed and were supported by the doves.Peace and war were the important themes of the drama in this period,and the representative figures were Aristophanes and Euripides.Peace performances have won many awards,and the connotation of the drama has been resonated and recognized by the audience.The peace movement formed public opinion,especially in the upper class,and then had an impact on the whole society.And it encouraged later generations to strive for peace in a peaceful way.During the Peloponnesian war,though peace was established and collapsed later several times,however,the influence of the peaceful activities of the government and citizens can not be ignored.After the war,there established the "Common Peace" among all the Greeks.The pursuit of peace has become a more common behavior and social cognition.All of these benefited from the Greeks’ pursuit of peace and their quest to set up a peaceful order during the Peloponnesian War. |
