Download Greece from 479 – 404 BC

Greece from 479 – 404 BC
De Blois, pp. 99 – 105
Sparta and Athens after 479 BC
– Who continued the fight against the Persians after 479 BC?
• Athens
– What occurred in 464 – 461 BC that threatened Sparta?
• Helot revolt
– Why did Athens wage war on Sparta from 461 – 446 BC?
• Spartans asked for Athenian help to put down the helot revolt
• When the Athenian army arrived, the Spartans sent it back home
• Athens responded by waging war against Sparta.
– What happened to Spartan power during this period?
• Spartiate full citizens declined due to
– reduced birth rates and
– reduction of impoverished Spatiates to 2nd class citizens.
Delian League (477 – 404 BC)
– Who founded the Delian League?
• Athens
– Who joined the league?
• Most Greek islands,
• Greeks on the west coast of Asia Minor and
• some other Greek cities.
– What did members contribute to the league?
• A few large islands (and Athens) contributed ships and soldiers.
• Most cities contributed money to finance the league’s fleet and army.
– Where was the league’s treasury kept?
• On the island of Delos – thus the name.
– What was the original purpose of the Delian League?
• An alliance to fight Persia
Delian League (477 – 404 BC) [2]
– What became of the league after 449 BC when hostilities against
the Persians finally came to an end?
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It became an instrument of Athens’ power politics.
The leagues territory became Athenian territory.
Allies could not leave the league.
Athens meddled in the allies’ internal affairs and established friendly
democratic governments in several poleis.
• Athens established network of colonies at strategic points (islands) as
military bases; not independent, but part of an extended Athenian polis.
– What was the common element for most members that wanted to
leave the league?
• They were oligarchies.
– What polarity emerged during the 5th century in Greece?
• Greeks in favor of democracy supporting Athens vs. those favoring
oligarchy in support of Sparta.
– Identify the key neutral states and Spartan allies.
• Neutral states: Epirus and Corcyra
• Spartan allies: Peloponnese, Corinth, Megara, Boeotia, and Macedonia
Athenian leaders in the 5th century
– Themistocles and Pericles:
• When?
– Themistocles: C. 490 – 470
– Pericles: C. 460 – 429
• Objective, strategy and policies?
– Athens to acquire a hegemony (strong influence, but not empire) over
the whole of Greece
– Prepare for conflict with Sparta by building long walls around Athens and
her port Piraeus so they could be supported from the sea
– expansionism externally and democracy internally
– What was Athens’ aim in the war with Sparta that began in
461?
• To extend her influence over central Greece and the
Peloponnesian coast opposite Attica.
– Where did Athens support revolt?
• Egypt
Athenian leaders in the 5th cent. [2]
– What was the result of this war?
• Athens was crushed in Egypt in 454.
• Athens was forced to conclude a compromise peace agreement with
Sparta and abandon her aim in 446.
– Why did the Athenians transfer the Delian League treasury to
Athens?
• After their failure in Egypt they feared that Persia might seize Delos.
– What general shift in power and allegiances occurred in Greece
between 446 and 431?
• Athens’ power peaked.
• Sparta recovered and became alarmed with Athens’ power.
• Other Greek poleis viewed Athens’ success with anxiety and looked to
Sparta for help in opposing Athenian imperialistic tendencies. Most
Greek poleis that were not members of the Delian League were
oligarchies that feared the spread of democracy.
Athens’ state income
– What were the sources of Athens’ state income?
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Allies’ tributes paid to the league treasury
Silver mines at Laurium
Tolls and harbor dues levied at Piraeus
Head taxes and market dues paid by foreigners (metics) who
worked in Athenian territories
• Gold mines in Thrace
• Athens’ large navy and political power enabled her to monopolize
the grain trade and control prices.
– Under what circumstances were Athenian citizens required
to pay taxes?
• Only in times of financial emergency (war)
• Wealthy citizens were occasionally expected to equip a warship or
to finance a building project or theatrical performance. These
were called liturgies (public services).
The Great Peloponnesian War
– When was the war?
• 431 – 404 BC
– Who were the key opponents?
• Athens and Sparta
– How did the war start?
• A conflict began between Athens and the Spartan maritime
allies Corinth and Megara.
– How was this war different from previous wars
between Greek poleis?
• The entire Greek world, from Ionia to Sicily, was engaged.
• There was constant fighting involving large land and naval
forces.
The Great Peloponnesian War [2]
– What was Pericles’ strategy?
• He developed a long term strategy.
• He created a treasury of 6000 talents (a trireme cost a
talent/month to maintain; a talent ~ 15-20 years average worker
salary).
• His aim was to fight a strategic defense:
– Launch a series of brief attacks on Sparta from the sea to entice them to
besiege Athens, exhausting their resources.
– Concentrate the population of Attica within the long walls.
– Avoid pitched battle.
– Exhaust Sparta’s war fund – her weakness.
– What major setbacks did Athens suffer during the war?
• Pericles died in 429
• Severe plague killed 1/3 of the Athenian population from 429-427
• Athens did not strictly follow Pericles’ strategy, but launched
several risky expeditions.
The Great Peloponnesian War [3]
– What was the outcome of the first stage of the war (431421)?
• Stalemate – Athens concluded a peace treaty on reasonable terms.
– What was the outcome of the second stage of the war
(413-404)?
• Athens lost.
– What happened with the Athenians invasion of Sicily?
• 415-413 Syracuse, with Spartan aid, defeated Athens and she lost
the best part of her army and navy.
– What advice did Alcibiades give to Sparta?
• Establish a permanent military base in Attica.
• Help Syracuse.
• Open up relations with Persia to seek their aid.
Phase 1: Archidamian war
(431 – 421B.C.)
Peace of Nicias
(421 – 414 B. C.)
Phase 2: Decelean (or Ionian) War
(414 – 404 B.C.)
The Great Peloponnesian War [4]
– What events eventually led to Athens’ surrender?
• Sparta occupied Decelea in Attica and used it as a base to disrupt the
regional agriculture and prevent access to the silver mines at Laurium.
– 1000’s of slaves escaped; Athens was cut off from major food supplies and
income.
• Persia sided with Sparta; gave them the means to build a strong fleet.
– Many of Athens’ allies defected.
– 405 – Athenian fleet was decisively defeated by the Spartan Lysander off
Aegospotami (Dardanelles)
• 404 – lack of food forced Athens to surrender.
– What were the results of the war for Athens and the Delian
League?
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Adult male citizen pop. decreased from 35,000 to 21,000 during war
Delian league was dissolved
Long walls were pulled down
Pro-Sparta oligarchy installed in Athens (for 1 yr)