Download The Athenian Empire, 454 - 404 BCE Background Founding

The Athenian Empire, 454 - 404 BCE
Background
Founding
Organization
Religion
Trade
Decline/Fall
-Greece was a
collection of
city - city states
sprinkled
across the tip
of the Balkan
Peninsula.
In the sixth
century BCE,
the Ionian city state belonged
to persia, which
conquered
them along
with the rest of
the Anatolian
Peninsula.
- In 494 BCE,
city - state
revolted,
spurred on by
Athens.
Darius, the
Persian
emperor
quickly
squashed the
uprising, and
two years later,
sent an army
the get even
with Athens.
-In spite of of
having a force
several times
larger as the
Athenian army,
the Persian
suffered defeat
on the plains of
Arathon in
490BCE.
In 480 BCE,
Xerxes
launched a
second attack.
Athenian navy
was outfoxed
and
outmaneuvered
-In 478, 104
Greek city state created
alliance under
Athenian
leadership.
- League was
run by a
council of
representatives
from member
states, the
Athenians, as a
leading city state.
- determine
taxes
- Athens
prevent any
city - state from
dropping out.
- Xerxes died
in 456 BCE
- Pericle fored
more city
states to join
but did not
allow them to
leave.
- In 454BCE,
the league’s
treasury was
moved to
Athens and
The Delian
League
became the
Athenian
empire.
- in 440s BCE,
Athens
controlled 172
tribute - paying
city - state.
-Was an
oppressor.
-Treated the
states as though
they were private
property
-Uncooperative
states ha their
land seized and
handed out to
Athenian
colonists, and
the governments
were overthrown
and replaced.
-Taxes were
collected.
No external
enemy.
-Became very
rich.
-Citizens were
used to support
projects in
Athens.
-In 447BCE,
League’s
treasury paid for
the construction
of the Parthenon.
-The arts
including drama,
flourished under
the Athenian
empire.
---Aeschylus,
Aristophanes,
Euripides, and
Sophocles.
-City-states were
not happy about
underwriting the
glory of Athens.
-Relatively
peaceful and
prosperity.
-Religion was
never an issue
as all the citystates of the
Athenian
empire shard
generally the
same culture.
-By 500BCE,
however, the
old polytheistic
religion o Zeus,
Hera, and
Athena, had
ceased to be
used for much
more than
public
ceremony.
-Egyptian cult
of the goddess
Isis came in,
bringing
elaborate rites
and restricted
memberships.
-Also, thinkers
like Socrates,
Plato, and
Aristotle used
reason to
develop systems
of rational
thought and
philosophies.
-The Athenian
navy cleared
the Aegean of
pirates to
allow all the
merchants to
increase
trading.
-As Athenians’
wealth and power
(both political and
commercial)
increase, this
alarmed the
Spartans which
were the allies in
the wars against
Persia.
-In 460 BCE, the
first
Peloponnesian
War broke and
and in 445 BCE
30 year treaty
was signed but in
431 BCE, the
fighting resumed.
-In 404, Spartans
had imposing
victory against
Athens.
-Athenian
democracy was
replaced by a
Council of Thirty,
and oligarchy,
loyal to Sparta,
Athenian property
was plundered
and a lot of
citizens were
exiled.
the Persian.
Xerxes
watched his
army defeated
-Following
year, Greeks
defeated the
Remnants of
the Persian
army at platea