Why Do People Fight Wars (Part 2)

Today we began discussing the differences between the famous Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta.

As illustrated by the diagram above, there were similarities as well.  For example, Athenians and Spartans spoke the same language and believed in the same gods and goddesses.  They had even cooperated during the war against Persia!

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We also added to our list of the reasons that people fight wars:

6. Some groups of people start wars because they are ambitious; they want to control other people and spread their ideas about how people should live.

7. Some people start wars because they are angry and/or want revenge.

8. Some wars start because of misunderstandings.

After we finished our list, several students made a very insightful point: Most wars do not start for just a single reason.  Conflict -- especially violent conflict -- is usually more complex than that.  Most wars start for several reasons.  

One goal for many historians is to determine why people fought in the past -- and perhaps provide lessons about how we can avoid fighting in the future.

This is a drawing of the famous battle of Syracuse during the Peloponnesian War.