), years that saw the gradual rise to eminence in Athenian politics of Pericles’ cousin, Alcibiades, a brilliant, ambitious, dissolute, and unstable youth, who initially succeeded the demagogic Cleon as leader of the lower-class war party against the restrained and unglamorous Nicias. Instead of using the peace to re-build their strength the Athenian popular assembly voted to send an expedition to Sicily, to conquer the island. The Peace of Nicias was doomed to failure from the first. They have pointed out that militant factions rose to power in both Athens and Sparta soon after the peace was concluded, and they have accused these factions of sabo-taging a settlement reached by their more moderate compatriots.6 Lesser Williamson Murray and Jim Lacey (Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2009), pp. 5.31.5).7 At hrst sight this seems to be an appeal to the Peace of Nicias, in which it was agreed, at least informally, that territories conquered by the erstwhile foes should be returned to their original owners.8 But it cannot be such an appeal: Elis refused to ratify the peace (Thuc. Although it was meant to last for fifty years, it was broken after only a year and a half, and the war continued until 404 BC. Around the time of the Peace of Nicias (421 bce), the Erechtheum was begun. In the first 10 years of Hyperbolos tried to bring about the ostracism of one of this pair, but Nicias and Alcibiades combined their influence to induce the people to expel Hyperbolos instead. Despite this, Nicias was appointed to participate in the Athenian invasion of Sicily.The Athenian siege of Syracuse was nearly successful until the arrival of the Spartan general Gylippus, who turned the situation around so that the Athenians were themselves under siege. Why did the Peace of Nicias fail to reconcile Athens and Sparta? In this lesson, we'll explore the Sicilian Expedition, and see how it impacted the political relationships between the cities of ancient Greece. He was in charge of the Athenian forces engaged in the siege of Syracuse, Sicily, and the failure of the siege contributed greatly to the ultimate defeat of Athens. Paul Rahe, "The Peace of Nicias," in The Making of Peace: Rulers, States, and the Aftermath of War, ed. THIS 1 assembly was, it is true, convened to consider the subject of our preparations, namely, in what way we ought to make the expedition to Sicily.