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 League
Representatives 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
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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
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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