The Peloponnesian War involved the two most important city-states of Greece, Athens and Sparta, between 431 and 404 BC. Athens and Sparta entered into numerous alliances, which engulfed almost the entire ancient Greek world in war. The Peloponnesian War was perhaps one of the most important wars of its time and is meticulously documented in the contemporary account of the historian Thucydides. Thucydides said that the most important cause of the war was Sparta's unease with the rapid growth of Athens' power and capital. Other events caused friction between the city-states, including Athens intervening in a dispute between the Spartans' ally Corinth and its colony Corcyra over the city of Epidaurus. Potidaea's revolt against Athens and the interference of the Peloponnesian Leagues in the event caused undeniable tension in the Greek world. It was perhaps Athens' hostile decrees against Sparta's ally Megara that made war inevitable. Thucydides' Histories were the most cited source for the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War. Thucydides' History is a primary source for the Peloponnesian War for the period 479 to 411 BC. a major concern in both empires. Corcyra was a neutral colony of Spartan ally Corinth, but Athens, determined to seize the city's rapidly expanding fleet, intervened when problems with Epidamnus arose. Corcyra had established its own colony at Epidamnus, it was there that a civil war broke out between monarchs and oligarchs. State Democrats turned to Corcyra for help but were turned away, leading them to seek...... middle of paper ...... by A. Donaldson and J .Reid. For Alexander Donaldson, and sold in his stores in London and Edinburgh.) It is evident through Plutarch that the hostile decrees against Megara may well have been provoked by Athens' lingering resentment of Megara aiding Corinth in the battle of Sybota. We also see that Pericles and by extension the Athenians had the impression that Megara was cultivating sacred land. One of the decrees that Pericles declared against Megara was that all merchants from Megara were barred from entering ports belonging to the Athenian Empire. This was yet another way for the Athenians to aggravate and cause difficulty for the Peloponnesian League without technically violating the terms of the Thirty Years' Peace. This inability to access Athenian ports greatly devastated Megara's economy, forcing Sparta to step in and help..