The peloponnesian war was a particularly hopeless struggle because:

The Peloponnesian war ran for 27 years between the Athenian empire and the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta 431 to 404 BCE. It was a particularly hopeless struggle because neither Sparta nor Athens had sufficient money to finance military forces and continue war. In the war, Athens lost and was stripped of its empire, and became a second rate power in the Greek world.

the ancient greek people valued the "country's laws" and expected citizens to show "respect" to such laws. however, the people valued divine authority above human authority and expected their leaders to honor the gods through their laws. they believed that those who respected the gods and ruled according to divine authority would obtain "high honors" by the people.

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d: social contract theory