Sparta Won the War. So Why Did Persia Set the Peace Terms?

In 404 BC, Sparta and its allies tore down the walls of Athens to flute music. Seventy-six years earlier, the two cities had beaten Persia together. Here is the whole Peloponnesian War in order: the walls, the plague, Melos, Sicily, Persian gold, and who really came out ahead. Chapters 0:00 404 BC: the walls fall 0:48 Two giants 2:38 Behind the walls 3:53 The plague 4:43 Ten years, no winner 6:27 Melos and Sicily 8:11 Persian gold 9:50 The walls come down 10:39 Who won? Sources 1. Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Battle of Aegospotami". https://www.britannica.com/event/Batt... 2. Xenophon, Hellenica, tr. Carleton L. Brownson (Loeb, 1918-1921), Perseus Digital Library. https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/... 3. Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Sparta". https://www.britannica.com/place/Sparta 4. Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, tr. Richard Crawley (1874), Perseus Digital Library. https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/... 5. Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Greco-Persian Wars". https://www.britannica.com/event/Grec... 6. Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Delian League". https://www.britannica.com/topic/Deli... 7. Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Peloponnesian War". https://www.britannica.com/event/Pelo... 8. Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Ancient Greek civilization: The Peloponnesian War". https://www.britannica.com/place/anci... 9. Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Cleon". https://www.britannica.com/biography/... 10. Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Melos". https://www.britannica.com/place/Melos 11. Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Battle of Leuctra". https://www.britannica.com/event/Batt... 12. Encyclopaedia Britannica, "King's Peace". https://www.britannica.com/event/King... 13. Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Thucydides". https://www.britannica.com/biography/... 14. Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Alcibiades". https://www.britannica.com/biography/...