"The main issues discussed in the assembly were war and peace. War was a constant condition for the Greek city-states, which fought one another to preserve or extend their borders, ravage each other's land, or teach each other a lesson. War generated the need for making alliances, while breaking an alliance served as cause for further war. While the Greeks looked to war as a way of settling their irreconcilable differences, they also celebrated their commonalities as Greeks in regularly held athletic and religious festivals. To participate in these events, the warring parties declared a period of truce, came together to celebrate the festivities, parted peacefully and, in due time, resumed hostilities. While the consequences of war varied widely, it was common for the victor to bring members of the conquered population home as slaves. Thus the issue of war was inseparable from issues of liberty and autonomy; what was often at stake in the Athenian assembly was nothing less than the possibility of the city's utter annihilation."

Poulakos/Poulakos, 35 - 36