Investigating Athens' Treatment of Her Allies

In the early fifth century BC, Greece consisted of many city-states allied in various factions or leagues. The alliances between these cities are difficult to understand. The alliances created a patchwork where

'The Athenians and their Allies' was an organisation led by the Athenians in the 5th century, but is now referred to as the 'Delian League' or the 'Confederacy of Athens.'

Action from necessity is a constantly recurring theme in Thucydides’ The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War. A sentiment used to explain the growth of the Athenian Empire which some Athenians espoused to an assembly at Sparta best quantifies necessity, “. . . we were necessarily compelled at first to advance the hegemony to where it is—especially by fear, and then by honor, and later by benefit.” (Selected Passages 1.75.3). This claim, referred to as the Athenian Thesis, is used to advance the two following implications: all states act with the motivations of fear, honor and interest and no one can condemn a state for doing so. The Athenian Thesis influences the way many of the Athenian elite structure their patterns of reasoning in both noticeable and subtle ways.

The establishments of cleruchies had cause much resentment from other Greek states towards Athens. According to Plutarch, this system had relieve “the city of a large number of idlers and agitators and raise the standards of the poorest classes”, but at the same time it implanted amongst the allies “a healthy fear of rebellion”. It also allowed Athens to gain more numbers of hoplites, as only Athenian men with money can become a hoplite soldier. This had increased the military force in Athens and had strengthened Athensʼ hold on her empire, as they were located at strategic points in the Aegean. The worsening relationship between Athensʼ and her allies in the League is due to Athensʼ selfish self interest in developing her imperial power, and this had allow Athens to gradually grow into an empire. This selfish self interest can be seen after the Peace of Callias. At first the aim of the League was, according to Thucydides, ʻto compensate themselves for their losses by ravaging the territory of the King of Persiaʼ, but in 449 BC Persian lost the battle against Cimon in Cyprus and signed a peace treaty called ʻPeace of Calliasʼ. Although this meant that the Leagueʼs aim had been fulfilled, the Athenians argued that the Persians would strike again if the Greeks appeared weak. This argument from Athens had an underlying aim, that was so the Greeks states would not leave

A reading of Thucydides’, Pericles’ Funeral Oration and The Melian Dialogue uncovers both contrasting and comparable viewpoints on Athenian politics, power, aims of war, and empire. Thucydides presents two differing characteristics of Athens, one as the civilizer in Pericles’ funeral oration and the other as an tyrant in the Melian dialogue. In the funeral oration delivered by Pericles during the first year of the war, the Athenian leader emphasizes the idealized personal image of the Athenians in regard to their constitution and good character. Pericles goes on to praise the Athenian democratic institution of Athens that contributes to their cities greatness; in Pericles’s own words, “The Athenian administration favors the many instead of few… they afford equal justice to all of their differences” (112, 2.37). This quote emphasizes the good character of the Athens’ to coax and encourage the Athenians to preserve and better their great empire into the future. On the other hand, in the Melian dialogue, this notion of justice and equality is irrelevant; one, because Athens compared to Melos, is the stronger of the two and thus, is more powerful. Further, Athens, will continue to acquire absolute power and build its empire by conquering Melos and whomever else stands in its way. Through Pericles’ funeral oration and the Melian dialogue, the following conclusions/themes will demonstrate both the changing and somewhat stable nature of Athenian policy with regards to empire,

Athens was a much more superior polis compared to Sparta because the Athenians invented new ideas and creations that supported the people, such as democracy, the Athenians led the Delian League, and Sparta created the Peloponnesian League after the Athenians created their alliance, and the Athenians changed the ways of their government many times to suit the people, and the Spartans did not.

In 431 B.C., even before the Peloponnesian War, Athens’ strength compared to other Greek polises was evident. Athens had islands, a powerful, a well-trained navy, and one, if not the best, general at the time: Pericles. Pericles says in his speech that, “war is inevitable,” but in fact the war was preventable (72). Even with all of the military strengths and assets that Athenians had afforded to them, they chose to be merciful to the Peloponnesians who were in no shape to go to war. They did not have the experience, money, manpower, or means to participate in a lengthy war and Pericles makes the citizens aware of this (70). Pericles is both modest and humble for choosing to point out these facts which in turn helps the Athenians see the potential

It is apparent that the objective of the Iroquois was to socially bond and gradually diffuse their cultures to those in the North American region. However, the Delian League had an isolationist perspective, with the goals of resisting foreign pressures and protecting those admitted into the league. The background leading up the formation of the league composed of political struggles between the Greeks and Persians. The Delian League, founded in 478 BC, was an association of Greek city-states under the leadership of Athens. However, a series of Greek revolutions against Persian rule led to further Persian attacks across the land, most notably Xerxes’ second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC, taking an enormous army and navy to Greece, letting all of Greece except the Peloponnesus thus having fallen into Persian hands. However, Greece defeated the Persian invasion force in the following year, ending the invasion and the threat to Greece, and hence boosting Greek nationalism and hence the desire to create a

Most Greek city states were ruled by a small elite group, also known as an aristocratic oligarchy (cite text book). Pericles explains that the Athens government is a democracy because the administration is in the hands of many and not just a few people. This will cause the government to have equal justices exist for all people. This is confirmed by Pericles stating, “When a citizen is in any way distinguished, he is preferred to the public service, not as a matter of privilege, but as a reward of merit”. This means that a citizen has to earn their privileges, they don’t just get things because of who they are in society. Athens not only takes pride in their government, but is also very proud of their military. Athens considers their military training to be better that their enemies in many ways. The people never try to hide anything from enemies or prevent them from seeing or learning anything that might benefit them. While their enemies are undergoing difficult exercises to make them brave, the people of Athens live the easy life. Although they live the easy life, the people of Athens are equally ready to face the challenges which their enemies face. The people of Athens would rather meet danger with a light heart and not intense training like their neighbors. They also want to do this with courage not enforce by law, but instead gain by habit. When the Lacedaemonians come into Athenian territory they bring their whole confederacy,

After holding back the second Persian invasion during the Greco-Persian war, the Spartan king Pausanias was disgraced, and Sparta withdrew from the war (Thuc.1.95). This allowed Athens to gain leadership in the war, and several years later, establish themselves as leaders within the Delian League (Holland 2005: 362). Throughout the age of the Pentecontaetia (period of fifty years), the League continued its attacks on the Persians. It is during this period that Athens established itself as an empire. As time wore on, the Athenian Empire became more and more powerful, and it is here that they made their first blunder, setting themselves up for a disadvantage in the Peloponnesian War: by extending its power and subjected most of her allies in the Delian

Pericles of Athens has been certain the 30 Years’ Peace would not hold up. So as soon as the Spartans left the land surrounding Athens, thy started building a wall from Athens to Piraeus. This way the Athens wouldn’t have to meet the Spartans on land. It didn’t matter if the Spartans stole and burned their fields because Athens had an entire empire to import food from. As long as the Athenians Navy remained supreme and the Athens doesn’t expand it can keep the city

Member states swore a solemn oath never to desert the coalition. The members were predominantly located in northern Greece, on the islands of the Aegean Sea, and along the western coast of Anatolia-that is, in the areas most exposed to Persian attack. Most of the independent city-states of the Peloponnese, on the other hand, remained in their long-standing alliance with the Spartans, which had been in existence since well before the Persian Wars” [1]. This would be the formed of the Peloponnesian League which consisted of the Persians and Athens. However there would be a caught in just how the Peloponnesian would in fact operate.

Athens true colours begin to emerge in the following years and in my opinion their intent to become an Empire is exposed which leads to the fall of The Delean League. We have to go back to when the league was founded, originally poleis could sign up voluntarily, which means they should also be able to pull out of their own free will. 10 years later Naxos tried to do just that, and the Athenian’s literally forced them to stay in the league (Buttler, 2007, p. 6). This brutish behaviour would carry on and grow with time, causing upset among the other poleis. What were they still paying for? Persia was defeated and the Athenian Navy was well funded at that stage. They were funding Athenian projects and democracy, all made possible thanks to the League contributions, and when Pericles came along in 460BCE he knew just how to spend it. The Parthenon is a great example, funded by the League’s treasury, as well as restoring the city of Athens (Buttler, 2007,

The primary goal was to free the Greek poleis under Persian rule and to keep the Persians from attempting anymore invasions. Athens was chosen because they had the largest navy, eventually it was decided that the smaller poleis would pay Athens, who would maintain the fleet and supply laborers, to not just maintain the fleet, but to also staff the fleet.

The Peloponnesian War was the turning point in Athenian hegemony in Ancient Greece. It was fought in 431 B.C. between the Delian League, led by Athens, and the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta. According to Thucydides, Athens’ imposing hegemonic status and its overwhelming quest for more power made the Peloponnesian War and Athens’s eventual fall from power inevitable. Despite the Athenians having a far more superior navy and being considerably wealthier, they were defeated and made subjects of Sparta. In this paper, I will discuss Thucydides’ and Socrates’ reasons for why