Once the rest of Greece learned of the defeat in Sicily, other poleis, including Sparta, rose up against the city of Athens. Many Athenians feared being treated with the same cruelty shown to other Greeks they had conquered. "Sparta did not destroy Athens, but simply tore down the long walls between Athens and Piraeus that had secured Athenian access to the sea and took away all but twelve of the Athenian navy's triremes." Although democracy is not blamed by name, Thucydides blamed it for being a failure