William Mitford on the origins of the confrontation between Athens and Sparta

Abstract

William Mitford’s interpretation of the origins of the rivalry between Athens and Sparta was analyzed. W. Mitford considered the clash of Athens and Sparta as inevitable. He gave particular importance in this process to the conditions determined by the political and material situation of that time, rather than to the personal views and aspirations of the political leaders, which was typical for historians of those years. It was concluded that the source of the rivalry in W. Mitford’s interpretation is connected with the course of the Greco-Persian wars, but the strengthening of the rivalry was due to the internal political struggle and the contradictions between the two alliances led by Sparta and Athens. W. Mitford believed that a special role in worsening of the contradictions was played by the political order of Athens established after the reforms of Efialta and the despotic power of the People’s Assembly, which was based on material interests and predetermined the policy of Athens in relation to the allied states. The comparative analysis proved a considerable similarity in the interpretations and general assessment of the politics and state structure of Athens and Sparta by W. Mitford and modern researchers. W. Mitford’s theoretical arguments bring up the issue of the English historical thought originality during the period of Enlightenment, mainly owing to the internal political struggle in England during this period.

Keywords

• english historiography
• antiquity
• enlightenment
• w. mitford
• athens
• sparta
• peloponnesian war