Athenian Foreign Policy 478-431.

Paper Summary:

This paper charts the rise of Athens from a city in ruins in 480, to the possession of a large and rapidly expanding empire 50 years on. It examines the causes of this, and the reaction of Sparta. It questions whether Athens actually set out to form an Empire, or whether this was an idea which developed over time. Finally, it weighs up the respective responsibilities of Athens and Sparta for the outbreak of war.

From the Paper:

"In 480-79 a Greek alliance, led by Sparta, finally defeated the Persians, first at Salamis in 480, then at Plataia and Mykale in 479. For the Athenians, there now lay two principle objectives; the rebuilding of their city, which had been destroyed by the Persians in 480, and the consolidation of their victory over the Persians. The Greek alliance now took the offensive, attacking Persia at Sestos, Cyprus and Byzantion. However, the alliance soon rejected Spartan rule in favor of the Athenians. Athens was more suited to leading an offensive against Persia; her navy was far greater than Sparta's, and had been the greatest force in the victory at Salamis; furthermore, her people were more closely related to the eastern-Greeks whom the alliance hoped to free and protect from Persian rule. The members of this alliance, called the Delian League, had to provide contributions towards the defense against Persia in the form of money (phoros) or ships. Although originally the League was intended to be an equal alliance, Athens soon came to dominate it, and over the next half century moulded it into an empire. Athenian intentions in forming the League are varied; the obvious threat of Persia should not overshadow the huge financial and political gains to be made. There is evidence to suggest that the Athenians used the argument that they wanted 'to compensate themselves for their losses by ravaging the territory of the King of Persia' as a pretext for ulterior motives; namely, the domination of the Delian League and 'a desire for power and wealth' . The need of funds to rebuild their city would have been at the forefront of Athenian minds. However, the willingness of the member states to join the League, the approval of Sparta on its creation, and the first fifteen years of anti-Persian campaigning, suggest that initial Athenian intentions were based primarily on the need to form an alliance against Persia."

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