GOLDEN AGE - ATHENS

Aftermath of Persian Wars– Division of Poleis

States divided generally between eastern coastal & island cities worried about Persian revenge and mainland, western cities dependent on Sparta’s infantry

Peloponnesian League

• Mainland states, mostly in southern Greece turned to Sparta as leader.

477 BC - Delian LeagueRepresentatives from about 150 poleis met on the island of

Delos, holy to Apollo, and forged an agreement. Athens, with the greatest fleet, led the alliance. Aims were twofold:

• Defensive – to protect each other from Persia

• Aggressive – to free Greek poleis still under Persian hegemony

• All member states had an equal vote

Large cities supplied ships and troops for the allied fleet, commanded by Cimon, the Athenian.

Smaller, poorer cities supplied money or in kind tribute to support the effort

Aristides, the Just, was selected as treasurer

• 471 BC – Themistocles, hero of Salamis, ostracized; Cimon, son of Miltiades becomes strategos and leader in Athens

• 464 – Helot revolt in Sparta and, with Cimon’s urging, Athenians went to help

• 463 – northern island of Thasos wishes to leave the Delian League and Cimon is sent to bring them to heel by force—he spends two years in the siege, losing popularity back home

• 461 – Cimon ostracized – Pericles becomes leader in Athens

• Pericles sees Sparta, not Persia, as the greatest danger to Athenian wealth and standing

• Athens made an alliance with Argos, enemy of Sparta

Building Program going on in Athens under Pericles

Acropolis

461-445 1st Peloponnesian War

• Fighting Sparta and allies in west and fighting Persia in east took toll on Athens

• 454 Delian League treasury moved from Delos to Athens

• 449 Pericles made peace with Persia, but League tribute and taxes continued – Athenian economics had come to depend upon it

• 446 Pericles made ’30 Year Peace with Sparta’

• 433 Athens allied with Corcyra, a colony of Corinth which was an ally of Sparta

• Corinth complained to Sparta, Sparta accused Athens of intruding

• Pericles stood firm• Athens supported democratic factions in various

poleis/Sparta supported oligarchic and aristocratic factions

• 431 War again between Sparta & Athens• Long Walls to Piraeus constructed to keep supply

route secure• 430/429 Plague in Athens – Pericles’ famous

funeral oration (See handout).

Long Walls

• Within a year Pericles dies of the plague

• 421 Armistice agreement – ‘Peace of Nicias’

• 418 War is on again

• 416 Athens destroys Melos which wanted to leave alliance

• 415 Sicilian Expedition – Athenians vote to send enormous armada to Sicily to conquer island nation and bring it under Athenian control – Generals are Nicias, Lamachus, and Alcibiades

• 415 Mutilation of the Herms – household religious figures at every doorway broken to scandal of all

• 413 Sicilian Expedition fails – entire enterprise destroyed, men and fleet

• 411 Sparta allies with Persia and Oligarchs in Athens take over

• 410 Democracy restored in Athens

404 BC Athens surrenders

• Long walls from Athens to Piraeus torn down• Athenian navy reduced to 12 ships• Political autonomy of Athens dissolved• 30 Oligarchs (known as ’30 Tyrants’) selected by

Sparta put in charge of Athens – all 30 conservative aristocrats

• Acropolis garrisoned with 200 Spartan troops• Athenian walls destroyed• Within a year the Oligarchs are overthrown, but…

The 30

• Declared they would ‘purify’ the city of ‘unjust men’ and turn citizens toward ‘virtue and justice’

• Seized property, condemned suspect citizens, executed on their say-so

• Attacked and killed wealthy men to gain their property

• Attached and killed respected citizens who might oppose them

• Drew up list of ‘safe’ 3,000 men who were to have full citizenship

Many fled from Athens to Thebes & Megara

• Party of refugees organized and marched south to seize a fortress in northern Attica

• 30 marched out with their 3,000 citizens and tried to get the fortress back – unsuccessfully

• 30 sent out the Spartan force which was defeated

• Rebels marched to Piraeus – 30 withdrew to Eleusis

• Two sides talked and reconciliation occurred—all could return to Athens EXCEPT for the 30 and their nearest cohorts

• A new committee of 20, elected annually, began to rebuild the constitution, which lasted until 322, when Philip of Macedonia imposed a new regime

399 – Socrates

condemned to death