greek world para plans

origins of persian war essay

para 1 persian imperialism:
- empire oirignally small, 560-530 cyrus expanded, divided into 20 satrapies, conflict bc too vast and diverse
- behistun inscription tells of instability in satrapies
- persian expansion pushed towards mediterranean and aegean, overlapped with greek interests, athens supported ionians bc darius conquered thrace and affected trade
- herodotus says in 546 bc cyrus invaded ionia and installed tyrants, greeks sold into slavery or forced to be persian mercenaries
- greeks renounced tyrrany by 500 bce

para 2 actions aristagoras and histiaeus:
- in 511 BCE miletus tyrant histiaeus detained at susa bc xerxes suspicious, histiaeus son in law aristagoras de facto tyrant
- herodotus says aristagoras approached by exiled aristocrats of island of naxos wanting to regain power, aristagoras convinced artaphernes naxos was needed for persia, histiaeus sends message on slave head to encourage revolt so hed be sent back
- herodotus prob overemphasised their role, “the arrival of the tattooed slave sent by histiaeus enocouraged him to revolt”
- modern sources more holistic “the enthusiasm with which the greek fleets responded to revolt…much more fundamental reasons than the actions of histiaeus and aristagoras”- fine
- while aristagoras turned failure at naxos into full revolt to prevent demotion from xerxes, war wouldnt have started without existing tensions “it must have been terrifying for the greeks in asia minor to watch the speed at which the achaemenids gobbled up the world”- Hall

para 3 ionian revolt:

-ionian revolt 499-490 BCE

- herodotus says aristagoras renounced tyrrany, feared punishment, sailed to greece for help, fleets land at ephasus, ionians join, multiple states revolt

- incited persian enmity towards states who helped

- excavations of lydian capital sardis shows damage, ash and burned brick architecture, burning of sardis

-darius desire for revenge for burning led to marathon, revege against athens for helping ionia

-persia won and had numbers and resources to invade greece

battle of marathon essay

para 1 role of miltiades-

-battle of marathon 490 BCE

-one of 10 strategoi, knew persian tactics bc originally vassal of darius i who joined ionian revolt

-herodotus said miltiades knew persians placed best troops at centre, so he intentionally weakened centre and deepened flanks
-maybe greek bias, lazenby says he might not have come up with tactics himself, view of hero influenced by cimon son who was also influential in athens
- miltiades urged callimachus to attack first despite no cavalry, convinced athens to come, rushed them back and beat persians to athens

-”heart and soul of campaign”- bury

para 2 tactics and equipment

-herodotus tells us persians weak bc of heavy reliance on volume of arrows and cavalry, time to unload and reload, greek quick match forced hand to hand combat, nullified long range weapons of javelins, bows

-archaeological evidence of bronze athenian armour vs persian loose felt caps and hide and wicker shields, more vulnerable in close combat

-herodotus says 192 greeks died compared to 6400 persians (prob exaggerated)
- unity and discipline of athens army, athens allies post ionian revolt made persians scared sparta would come, lowered morale

para 3 choice of marathon

-ehrenberg tells us greeks won despite of outnumbered bc persian cavalry useless when greeks on elevated ground

-herodotus says they trapped persians in bottleneck between mountains and sea, cavalry couldnt spread out and charge

-greeks ability to use flexible tactics and adapt to terrain

-on own land, athens could march back to city and defend, persians had to sail, athens took 7 of their triremes

interwar period essay

para 1 xerxes became king
-interwar period 480s BCE, 486 xerxes became king
-transition period inspires revolts in egypt and babylon, delayed war prep
-”death cut off darius before he punished egypt”- herdootus
-diverting army to crush revolts gave greeks more prep time
-behistun inscription shows how darius expanded and sought revenge for wrongdoings by the grace of ahura mazda
- precedent for xerxes to try and avenge darius and exceed military legacy, spent 483-480 conscripting all across empire, good for outnumbering greeks but bad bc of needing extra resources

para 2 xerxes bridged hellespont

-in 480 BCE bridged hellespont using anchored ships as pontoons enabling army to march directly from asia to europe bypassing risky sea voyage

-size and dominance of persian forces demoralised smaller greek states, forcing some to surrender

-herodotus says 360 ships used to bridge, greek biases minimises engineering feat, focuses on hubris of whipping hellespont when storm destroyed bridge

-modern historians like maurice debate herodotus inflated accounts of xerxes conscription numbers which aim to make eventual greek victory look more impressive

-near east scholars modern e.g. briquel discuss cultural significance of interwar prep, instead of dismissing whipping hellespont as madness or barbarism, says its rooted in achaemenid cultural motifs

para 3 formation of hellenic league and greek unity

-31 states first met in 480 BCE, envoys sent to unite greek world, spies sent to determine strength of persian forces

-herodotus says first decree of meeting was to “put an end to all their mutual feuds and wars”
- immediate halt to athens aegina war, contrasted with ongoing internal strife in persian empire
- member states pooled financial and material resources, joint espionage missions to spy on xerxes, joint decisions for strategic locations e.g. thermopylae, unity
-plutarch says greeks “repealed the law of ostracism” and brought back xanthippus, aristides, reduced threat of defection

para 4 greek leadership and delegation of responsibilities
-hellenic league created formal command framework to delegate responsibilities, sparta as hegemon over land and sea, eurybiades naval commander, leonidas land
-herodotus says “the athenians amassed a large sum of money from the mines at laurium, themistocles convinced them to spend it on 200 triremes”
-forward thinking greek leadership allowed for effective use of resources, storng forces
-herodotus said “spartans said if they didnt have a spartan leader they would not follow athenian commanders”
-athenian diplomatic sacrifice, concede command to sparta to maintain alliance of conservative peloponnesian states

battles essay

para 1 thermopylae
-480 BCE, hellenic league decided to defend narrow pass of thermopylae, narrower than thessaly, diminished persian cavalry strength, interrupted supply line, forced persians to circumnavigate euboea, losing contact with army
-herodotus says 6-7000 greeks against 2 million persians
-bradford says impossible to accept numbers herodotus gives, more like 21,000 persians
-leonidas took up narrow 1.5km long passage, thought was unreachable, informed of mountain path but ephialtes told xerxes, defectors told leonidas xerxes planned to surround, sent away all but spartan 300, theban hostages and volunteer thespians, thespians died fighting, thebans surrendered, leonidas killed
-”the persian army could not be defeated but it could be held up significantly, causing problems for xerxes feeding his large army”-buckley
-rearguard action delayed invasion of central greece, persian losses more than greek
-”victory at thermopylae was ideological”-fields
-boosted morale and unity, 300 place among military heroes

para 2 artemesium
-chosen by greeks under themistocles and eurybiades, covered channel entrance between euboea and mainland, sheltered line of comms and retreat, restricted persian navy with narrowness, cut off comms between army and navy
-herodotus says 1207 triremes with 200 soldiers each, phocians, egyptians, greeks 271 ships
-”those who realised in time the blow was coming managed to beach their vessels”- herodotus
-importance of local knowledge, persians waited near magnesian coast for army to reach thessaly, too many ships anchored 6 deep, storm destroyed, greeks rode out storm near euboea, 200 persian vessels sent to round euboea, destroyed on rugged coast
-”after some brief ramming action 30 persian vessels were captured”- osprey
-greeks smaller more maneuverable boats, kyklos tactic circle with bows outwards, exploded outwards
-cawkwell argues “artemesium was indeed a persian victory”
-despite indecisive outcome, half athenian fleet damaged, had to retreat, persians saield unimpeded along greek coast, captured euboea, boetia etc

para 3 salamis
-eurybiades wanted to defend isthmus, themistocles convinced him that persians could just sail around, suggested narrow strait of artemesium, persians wouldnt be able to maneuver large boats, Xerxes hubris already set him up for failure, queen artemesia of halicarnassus warned him but he was impatient and set up throne to watch
-themistocles tricked persian commanders, sent slave to tell them greeks were fighting and trying to escape, persians split up, egyptians send to block west exit, kept greeks in and ensured loyalty to themistocles, by the time navies met, persians tired from rowing all night, egyptians not there
-”nullified persian numerical superiority”- fields
-greek tactic boats had bronze plated ram below surface, go alongisde and shear off persian oars
-”fighting in narrow straits favours us while open sea favours the enemy”- herodotus quoting themistocles
-herodotus and aeschylus pro athenian sources exaggerated importance of salamis, said xerxes fled in humiliation but actually he had new years festival
-cawkwell “as far as the persian control of greece was concerned, salamis was of very little importance”
-ended naval threat but persia still in control of central greece

para 4 plataea
-final land battle of this invasion, large Persian army stuck in greece without supply line
-mardonius chose plataea bc good for cavalry, close to thebes which persia cotnrolled, set up 900 acre stockade, sent troops to harass greeks as they emerged from mountains, masistius killed and greeks paraded body, loss of persian morale
-greeks separated 3 divisions in the night, mardonius led infantry across river, spartans took brunt of the attack, athenians couldnt help overwhelmed by persian allies, spartans waited in battle formation and charged, persians fled to fort, mardonius killed
-”in courage they were equal to their opponents but in skill, training and armour they were inferior, they fell upon the spartan line and were cut down”- herodotus
-artabazus other persian commander hadnt played active role, after mardonius deasth took 40,000 troops back to persia, greeks breached persian fort, crowded and chaotic, only 3000 surviving persians
-”mardonius was killed…general panic on persian lines”- de souza
-”the most splendid victory which history records”- herodotus
-end of defensive war for greece

para 5 mycale
-refugees from ionia told spartan commander leotychides that persians could be easily defeated, greek offensive sailed to samas, persians retreated to mainland, beached along shore of mycale, persians in area built stockade, ionians sent to guard inland routes
-leotychides sailed along coast and proclaimed freedom for ionians, convinced them to change sides, athens advanced, sparta came up behind, persian line broke, fled to stockade, guarding ionians switched sides, killed escaping persians
-”persians decided they were no match for the greek fleet, they better not risk engagement”- herodotus
-first offensive battle carried into persian territory, ended threat to mainland
-”victory on enemy territory encouraged wider rebellion amongst ionians”- osprey
-freed ionian greeks, new era of athenian supremacy
-”one suspects the numbers were highly inflated and it was a very minor affair”- cawkwell

greek leadership essay

para 1 themistocles
-in 493 elected leading magistrate of athens, created and maintained hellenic league of 31 states
-”persuaded greeks to put aside their enmity”- plutarch
-”the athenians amassed a large sum of money from the silver mines at laurium, themistocles convinced them to spend it on the construction of 200 triremes”- herodotus, convinced them delphic prophecy “only wooden walls will not fall” referred to navy
-”at artemesium he carved messages into the rocks asking the ionians to switch sides”- plutarch
- salamis slave trick, narrow strait decision, convinced eurybiades to stay, evacuated athens

para 2 leonidas
-spartan king, relatively small role, killed at thermopylae, when he found out ephialtes had told xerxes about mountain pass, sent all away except 300 spartans, hostage thebans and voluntary thespians
-”leonidas acted as he did for the sake of sparta and his own honour”- ehrenberg
-bravery boosted morale and showed battle capabilities of hoplites
-”they should guard the pass of thermopylae, narrower than thessaly”
-choice of base restricted persian cavalry
-”leonidas recommended they all retire except himself and 300 spartans”- abbot
-held battle pass for multiple days, saved soldiers lives by sending away, preserved forces

para 3 eurybiades
-spartan commander in chief artemesium and salamis
-”eurybiades was admiral but themistocles gave orders”- green
-still important bc peloponnesian allies refused to serve under athenian commander, strong working relationship with themistocles, trusted judgement to stay in salamis long enough to evacuate athens
-”if we break up the floating bridges the persians will be cut off and remain in europe”- herodotus
-argued against themistocles proposal to burn bridge across hellespont
-got prize of valour wreath of olives but often overshadowed by themistocles
-”little is known of eurybiades outside role in 480 naval campaign”- shepherd

greek victory essay

para 1 themistocles leadership
-in 493 elected leading magistrate of athens, created and maintained hellenic league of 31 states

-”persuaded greeks to put aside their enmity”- plutarch

-”the athenians amassed a large sum of money from the silver mines at laurium, themistocles convinced them to spend it on the construction of 200 triremes”- herodotus, convinced them delphic prophecy “only wooden walls will not fall” referred to navy

-”at artemesium he carved messages into the rocks asking the ionians to switch sides”- plutarch

- salamis slave trick, narrow strait decision, convinced eurybiades to stay, evacuated athens

para 2 morale and leonidas
-greek unity through hellenic league and interwar prep
-herodotus said first decree at meeting was to “put an end to all their mutual feuds and wars”
-sparta as hegemon, discipline of hoplites, cohesion of leadership increased greek morale
-thermopylae when leonidas found out ephialtes told xerxes about mountain pass, sent away all but 300 spartans, theban hostages and voluntary thespians
-”leonidas acted as he did for the sake of sparta and his own honour”-ehrenberg
-bravery boosted morale, showed battle capabilities of hoplites, hailed as military heroes
-”leonidas recommended they all retire except himself and 300 spartans”- abbot
-held pass for multiple days, sent soldiers away and saved their lives, preserved forces

para 3 greek tactics and weaponry
-”combined land and sea strategy made victory possible for greeks”- bradford
-allies combined strengths of navy and land warfare
-”heavily armoured foot soldiers…dominance over lightly armoured men”- bradford
-greeks choice of narrow areas restricted persian reliance on long range weapons, made them vulnerable with hide and wicker armour, greeks had full bronze hoplite armour
-local knowledge e.g. artemesium
-”those who realised the blow in time managed to beach their vessels”- herodotus
-persians waited near magnesian coast for army to reach thessaly, docked 6 ships deep, destroyed in storm while greeks rode it out near euboea, tried to round euboean coast, destroyed on rugged coastline

para 4 persian hubris
-behistun inscription shows expectation of persian kings to avenge fathers and continue expansionist policy, xerxes eagerness to exceed darius’ military legacy led him to spend 483-480 BCE conscripting from all over the empire, large and varied force with little experience
-”confusion of tongues, winds and ships”- herodotus
-”prisoners to their own king…ironically all they had in common”- bury
-presumed ionian loyalty, led to betrayal at mycale
-xerxes impatience, artemesia of halicarnassus warned him to wait, too eager and underprepared
-”nothing prepared xerxes for the true nature of the country he was about to invade”-bradford

persian defeat essay

para 1 xerxes poor leadership
-”xerxes had little interest or aptitude in military affairs, he was much more interested in building programs”- o’neil
-orientalist view but some truth bc xerxes young and inexperienced king
-”xerxes did not understand that the greeks could not hold out for long, he needed to wait but his impatience was apparent”- herodotus
-e.g. artemesia of halicarnassus warned him to wait before artemesium but he set up throne
-”arrogance of leader who thought himself invincible”- holland
-desire to avenge darius

para 2 naval failures
-herodotus tells us persians had 1207 triremes at artemesium
-numerical advantage became liability, too unwieldy, couldnt maneuver in narrow strait
-”after some brief ramming action, 30 persian vessels were captured”- osprey
-much of persian strat relied on continuous contact between army and navy, left them vulnerable when this was jeopardised
-lack of knowledge of seas around greece
-”those who realised the blow in time managed to beach their vessels”-herodotus
-artemesium, destroyed in storms, rugged euboea coast

para 3 composition of army
-Behistun inscription shows expectation of Persian kings to avenge fathers and continue expansionist policy, Xerxes desire to exceed military legacy of Darius led him to spend 483-480 BCE conscripting from all over the empire, reliance on large and diverse force of untrained men
-“Confusion of tongues, winds and ships”- Herodotus
-“Prisoners to their own king…ironically all they had in common”- Bury
-Presumed Ionian loyalty, led to betrayal at Mycale
-Supplies for massive army, lack of resources

para 4 succeeded to some extent
-still achieved main objective of avenging darius and punishing athens for role in ionian revolt, burnt athens in 480 and 479, looted city, demolished acropolis temples, sent treasures back to persia
-archaeological evidence, athenians ceremonially buried statue fragments, charred temple foundations
-successfully expanded persian empire deep into europe, took macedonia, thrace, thessaly etc
-daeva inscription prob 460s BCE, xerxes frames expedition as successful religous crusade “among these lands was a place which worshipped daevas, by the grace of ahura mazda i destroyed this sanctuary of demons”

delian league into athenian empire essay

para 1 economic control
-478 BCE reps from greek city states in asia minor and islands of aegean met on sacred island of delos, swore oaths of allegiance to each other and athens, main aims were to prep for future invasion, divide spoils of war, revenge against persia
-thucydides tells us athens became hegemon bc spartan king pausanias had treated ionians harshly, while athenians shared common ancestor w them and were held in high regard aftter naval success salamis
-aristides decided member tributes, but often used for funding acropolis etc.
-in 476 BCE persians expelled from thrace, league and thus athens had increased access to minerals, trade, lumber
-in 469 BCE naxos tried to leave, forced to become tribute paying subject
-thicydides says “naxos revolted and the athenians waged war…naxos was forced to capitulate and was the first allied city to be enslaved contrary to the hellenic agreement”
-treasury moved from delos to athens in 454 BCE
-plutarch says “the common funds of greece which had been removed from delos…was being used to beauitfy the city of athens”

para 2 pericles and ephialtes radical democrats
-prior to late 460s BCE, athens dominated by conservative general cimon who preferred more traditional and respectful relationship with league allies
-in 461 BCE radical democrat pericles ousted cimon from power and made alliance with spartan enemy argos
-thucydides warned that the league had become a tyranny under pericles
-pericles expanded cleruchy system (strategic outposts in lands of ‘untrustworthy allies’ e.g. Naxos, intimidated locals
-plutarch said he sent 500 cleruchs to naxos and 1000 to thrace
-in 462 BCE ephialtes overthrew areopagus (elite council of wealthy aristocrats) and gave power to thetes poorest class who voted for aggressive naval expansion
-plutarch said “under the lead of ephialtes they stripped the power of the areopagus…plunged the city into unmitigated democracy”

para 3 decrees
-453 BCE erythrae decree shows transition from athens respecting internal political structures of its allies, to forcibly imposing athenian style democracy
-”a council of 129 men…the balloting and installation is to be administered by the [athenian] garrison commander”- erythrae decree
-coinage decree banned non athenian weights and measures, erased distinct identity of allies
-”if ansyone does not e,ploy athenian coinage, weights and measures, I will punish and penalise them”- coinage decree
-447 BCE cleinas decree said contributions to league had to continue, those who refused to pay had to go before athenian court, tribute reassessed every 4 years
-”the inspectors are to see to it that the tribute is paid and brought th athens…issuing receipts to those who paid and demanding the unpaid portion”- cleinas decree
-446-445 bce chalcis decree after euboea revolted, destroyed illusion of mutual oaths of allegiance and protection, one sided oath to athens
-”the chalcidians took the following oath…i will not revolt from the athenians nor will i obey anyone who has rebelled, whoever shall not swear shall have his citizenship stripped and property confiscated”- chalcis decree

cimon and aristides essay

para 1 cimon ending persian threat and contributing to athens as hegemon
-athenian son of miltiades, main military commander of delian league
-between 476 and 475 BCE, besieged and captured persian stronghold eion, expelled residual persian forces from thrace, severed persias land based routes into central greece
-thucydides says transition from alliance to hegemony is directly bc of cimon allowing allies to contribute money instead of military strength
-3 yr siege against thasos, confiscated mines
-plutarch describes modification of trireme, wider deck, reinforced hull, more capacity, strengthening naval power

para 2 cimon truce with sparta
-strategoi of athens from 479-461 BCE, ostracised for 10 years, came back in 451, negotiated 5 yr truce with sparta, believed they could coexist as a dual hegemony over sea and land
-”cimon as soon as he returned reconciled the two cities”- plutarch
-gave athens window to control allies, move treasury, decrees without fear of spartan attack
-”cimon was official representative of sparta in athens”- blackwell
-with home front secure, allowed for final mobilisation of 200 greek ships to free cyprus from persian control
-directly led to 449 BCE peace of callias

para 3 aristides tributes
-general of athenian fleet during persian wars, ostracised for 5 years, returned and took over from pausanias
-travelled to each individual city state to determine economic capacity for tributes, determined that wealthy maritime states could build and man warships, smaller ones could give monetary tribute
-thucydides said “he determined which states were to contribute money against the barbarian, and which ships”
-placed initial treasury at delos, framed as sacred communal trust for ongoing defense against persia
-”he made the tax list not only cleanly and innocently, but to the content and satisfaction of all parties…it was a golden age”- plutarch

para 4 aristides oaths
-created founding oath of delian league, gained trust of allies
-”it was aristides who made the greeks swear alliance against persia, and to solemnise it threw iron into the sea”- plutarch
-swore the oath himself back to the allies
-”a brilliant statesman and the most upright man of his age”- aristotle
-initial equality persuaded allies to entrust athens with money and resources, contributing to eventual dominance

athenian methods of controlling allies essay

para 1 military
-453 BCE erythrae decree transition from athens respecting internal political structures of allies to forcibly imposing democracy
-”a council of 129 men…the balloting and installation is to be administered by the [athenian] garrison commander”- erythrae decree
-pericles expanded cleruchy system (strategic outposts on the lands of ‘untrustworthy allies’ e.g. naxos, intimidated locals
-plutarch said he sent 500 cleruchs to naxos and 1000 to thrace
-3 year siege against thasos, confiscated mines
-plutarch describes cimon modifications to trireme; widened deck, strengthened hull, increased capacity, increased athens naval power

para 2 pollitical
-476 BCE persians expelled from thrace, league and thus athens had more access to minerals, lumber, trade
-469 naxos revolted, forced to be a tribute paying subject
-thucydides says “naxos revolted and the athenians waged war…Naxos was forced to capitulate and the first state enslaved contrary to the hellenic agreement”
-446-445 BCE chalcis decree after euboea revolted, destroyed illusion of mutual oaths of allegiance and protection, one sided oath to athens
-“The chalcidians took the following oath…i will not revolt from the athenians nor will i obey anyone who has rebelled, whoever shall not swear shall have his property confiscated and citizenship stripped”- Chalcis Decree

para 3 economic
-447 BCE cleinas decree said contributions to league must continue, those who refused would go before athenian law courts, tribute reassessed every 4 years
-“The inspectors are to see to it that the tribute is paid and brought to athens…issuing receipts to those who have paid and demanding the unpaid portion”- Cleinas Decree
-Coinage decree banned non-Athenians weights and measures, erased distinct identity of allies
-“If anyone does not employ Athenian coinage, weights and measures, I will punish and penalise them”- Coinage Decree

athenian democracy essay

para 1 solon
-athenian statesman between 594 and 593 BCE
-introduced 4 class system based on how many bushels of grain a man could raise, top 2 500+ and 300-500 were eligible for archonship and areopagus
-granted thetes (lowest class, less than 200 bushels) right to attend ekklesia and vote on legislation, paved way for upward social mobility
-allowed anyone the right to file a lawsuit if theyd been wronged
-aristotle said “what is to have contributed most to the power of the masses is the right of appeal to the popular courts”
-”i stood holding my mighty shield over both parties, allowing neither to triumph unjusrly”- solons poetry

para 2 cleisthenes
-athenian lawgiver and statesman 508-507 BCE, political reforms made athens more democratic
-reduced power of upper class, introduced deme system, small plot of land, everyone equal owner of a deme
-aristotle said they must not address each by their fathers names and expose each other, but by deme name
-men split into 10 new tribes, 10 strategoi one from each tribe
-aristotle said he “mixed up the tribes so more people may take part in government”
-council of 400 became council of 500 aka boule, replaced areopagus, considered laws and passed on to ekklesia
-ekklesia met 40 times a year and decision was final
-having taken the common people into his faction he was far more powerful than his rivals- herodotus

para 3 ostracism
-if a political figure was seen to be dangerous or plotting tyranny, ostracism exiled them
-If 6000 citizen votes were cast, whoever’s name appeared most was exiled for 10 years
-Plutarch tells us “each citizen took an ostrakon or piece of earthenware, wrote the name of the citizen he wished to be banished, and took it to the marketplace. If there were less than 6000 votes the ostracism was void. The man with the most recorded against him was exiled for 10 years and would receive income from his estate”
-Archaeological evidence of ostrakon with name of Xanthippus Pericles’ son
-Defused the threat of tyranny and prevented one person from holding too much power
-A peaceful and decisive tie breaker if two powerful leaders were clashing
-More power to masses rather than risking corruption from the small elite

para 4 weakening of areopagus
-462 BCE ephialtes overthrew areopagus council of wealthy aristocrats, transferred power to public officials and thetes poorest mass
-plutarch says “under the lead of ephialtes they stripped the power of the areopagus, plunged city into unmitigated democracy”
-ephialtes ended right of areopagus to investigate and punish officials, now only arson and homicide cases, tend to sacred olive trees and supervise property related to gods
-Aristotle said “Ephialtes stripped the council of all its additional prerogatives…gave some to the Council of Five Hundred and some to the people and the law-courts."
-powers of areopagus transferred to boule and ekklesia
-State pay for jury duty, 457 BCE pericles introduced, 2 obols a day, thetes could participate in full time governance

impact of persian wars essay

para 1 delian league becomes athenian empire
478 BCE reps from Greek city states in Asia minor and Aegean sea met in sacred island of Delos, swore oaths of allegiance to each other and Athens, main aims were to prep for future invasion, divide spoils of war, revenge against Persia
-Thucydides tells us Athens became hegemon bc Spartan king Pausanias had treated Ionians harshly, while Athenians shared common ancestor with them and were held in high regard after navy power at Salamis
-Aristides decided member tributes, but often used for funding projects like Acropolis
-In 476 BCE Persians expelled from Thrace, league and thus Athens had increased access to lumber, minerals and trade
-In 469 Naxos tried to leave and became forced to be a tribute paying subject
-Thucydides says “Naxos revolted and the Athenians waged war…Naxos was forced to capitulate and was the first allied city to be enslaved contrary to the Hellenic agreement”
-Treasury moved from Delos to Athens in 454 BCE
-Plutarch says “the common funds of Greece which had been removed from Delos…was being used to beautify the city of Athens”

para 2 athenian democracy
453 BCE Erythrae Decree is formal legislation that shows transition from Athens respecting internal political structures of its allies, to forcibly imposing an Athenian style democracy

“A council of 129 men…the balloting and installation is to be administered by the [Athenian] garrison commander” - Erythrae Decree

Pericles expanded cleruchy system (strategic outposts on the lands of ‘untrustworthy’ allies e.g. Naxos) intimidated locals

Plutarch he sent out 500 cleruchs to Naxos and 1000 to Thrace

3 year siege against Thasos, confiscated mines

Plutarch describes his modification of the triremes; Cimon widened deck, reinforced hull and increased capacity of each ship, making Athens an even powerful naval power

para 3 peloponnesian war between sparta and athens
-In 461 BCE athens makes alliance with argos, sparta’s enemy

459 BCE athens goes to war against aegina and sparta didn't support allies at this point so aegina became athens tribute paying subject

451 cimon 5 year truce, 447 battle of coronea in boetia between athens and sparta, athens defeated and lost control of megara, 446 30 year peace treaty and athens abandoned plan of extending into central greece

“What counted was Sparta's military strength and great prestige”- Ehrenberg

“Loose confederation of autonomous without constitutional bonds, under spartan leadership”- Ehrenberg

Impact of persian war as athens began to grow in power and interfered in peloponnese and became major trading rival for Sparta