Dissolution of the Hellenic League: 479-464 BC

Historical Problems

• Unlike the opening decades of fifth century BC, we have no detailed historical accounts of this period
• Herodotus finishes his account on the aftermath of Mycale
• Thucydides, his successor, begins his work exactly where Herodotus finishes - with Greek movements after Mycale
• However, he only provides brief overviews of events , and other writers who cover this period either contradicted Thucydides or give accounts of completely different events

After Mycale: Thucydides 1.89

• After Plataea and Mycale, the Peloponnesians headed home
• However, troops from Athens, Ionia and the Hellespont moved north to the Persian stronghold of Sestos, on the European side of the Hellespont
• They successfully besieged the city, under the command of Athenian general Xanthippus

Athens: Recaptured, Rebuilt

• Knowing that the Persian threat was over, the Athenians reoccupied their city and began the long process of rebuilding
• Themistocles, wishing to permanently strengthen Athens' defensive position in case of further attacks, decided on a vast series of fortifications that would link the city of Athens proper with its main port called the Piraeus
• The Spartans, hearing that the Athenians were strengthening their position, sent a delegation to Athens to oppose the decision

The Long Walls: Thucydides 89-93

What arguments do the Spartans give as to why the Athenians should not fortify their city? Do these seem genuine?

•  According to Thucydides, the Spartans "would themselves have been glad that neither the Athenians nor any other had walls" and "feared not only the greatness of their (Athenian) navy...but also their courage shown against the Persians"
• The Spartans sent ambassadors to advise the Athenians to "not build their walls but rather join with them in pulling down the walls of what cities soever without Peloponnesus had them yet standing...not discovering their meaning and the jealousy they had of the Athenians, but pretending this:" - they basically said that it would be best to tear down all fortifications so the Persians wouldn't have a stronghold for their operations if they came back
• "If the barbarian returned he might find no fortified city to make the seat of his war...and that Peloponnesus was sufficient for them all whereinto to retire and from whence to withstand the war"
• As Thucydides writes, the Spartans feared the greatness of the Athenian navy and the courage of the Athenians, which means that it is very unlikely that the Spartans would be genuine in their advice. Thucydides blatantly claims that the Spartans were jealous of the Athenians and "pretended" that they had other reasons for their advice

How do the Athenians deal with/respond to Sparta's demands?

•  The Athenians "dismissed them presently" and said that they would send ambassadors to Lacedaemon. Themistocles wanted to go and willed the ambassadors to stay until the walls were big enough to fight from. He said that he would "do the rest" at Lacedaemon
• He went to Lacedaemon, but delayed announcing himself and told those in his office who asked that the ambassadors had been held up and that he was waiting for them to arrive. He said that he "wondered they were not come already"
• The Athenians kept the Spartan ambassadors at Athens "for he (Themistocles) feared lest the Lacedaemons, when they knew the truth, would refuse to let them go"
• The Lacedaemons "made no show of being angry" when they found out about the Athenians building the wall, as they had sent ambassadors to ADVISE them not to build the wall, not to demand it "yet they were inwardly offended"
• The ambassadors on both sides "returned without complaint"
• Once the walls were finished, Themistocles told the Spartans that building the walls was for the good of Greece

What does this incident reveal about Spartan/Athenian relations?

•  It is painstakingly obvious that there is constant tension between Athens and Sparta. Both sides have no trust in the other and so dance around each other under the pretext of friendship. It seems obvious to me that their alliance is purely out of necessity and has always been fragile, as they constantly undermine each other and refuse to trust each other out of fear that the other will betray them
• Themistocles said that the Spartans should treat Athens as if she is able to make her own decisions outside of Sparta's sphere of influence - "if the Spartans or their allies wanted to send embassies to Athens on any subject, they should in future go there prepared to recognise that the Athenians were capable of making up their own interests and about the interests of the rest of Hellas"

Ionians Reject Spartan Leadership

• In the mid 470s BC, the Greeks still remained in Ionia to crush any last Persian resistance in Greek-occupied lands
• The Spartans were still in charge, including Pausanias - the victor of Plataea, who led a Peloponnesian Fleet to help in the liberation of Ionia
• Very quickly however, Pausanias was recalled from duty by the Spartan government
• There had been accusations of Medising and collaborating with the Persians, of unlawful military operations, of extortion of the Ionian allies, and of wishing to establish himself as a tyrant in the Chersonese
• Pausanias was acquitted of some of the more serious crimes, but on other counts was found guilty
• Eventually he sought refuge in a Temple to Hera, but he was starved out of the sanctuary and died on the temple steps

Thucydides 1.94-95 

What caused the Ionian Greeks to reject Spartan leadership of the Hellenic League following the Persian Wars?

• Pausanias had been acting like a tyrant and dictator - for the Ionians they were replacing one overlord with another (Persia for Sparta)
• There were accusations that Pausanias planned to medise and set himself up as a tyrant with Persian backing

Why were the Spartans happy at this time to allow the Athenians to take leadership over the Greeks?

•  It allowed them to shift the burden of defence on Athens
• They saw the Athenians as being capable of continuing the war with Persia
• The Spartans feared that their officers were becoming corrupt when they were sent overseas
• They feared how much unpopularity Pausanias had stirred amongst the Greeks
• Athens was still on friendly terms with Sparta

Lactor 1.1  and Aristeides 23, Plutarch

What caused the Ionian Greeks to reject Spartan leadership of the Hellenic League following the Persian Wars?

• Spartan commanders had treated the Ionians harshly, with contempt
• The Spartans had refused the other Greeks their supplies and sometimes gave harsh beatings
• The Athenian commander treated them in a kindly and considerate manner
• "Pausanias always met the allied commanders with a short temper and rough treatment, and he punished the troops with beatings and making them stand holding an iron anchor all day"
• "[23.3] No one was allowed to fetch bedding or fodder or approach a spring to get water before the Spartans did, servants with whips driving away those who tried"
  

Why were the Spartans happy at this time to allow the Athenians to take leadership over the Greeks?

•  "[23.7] it was here that Sparta's wisdom revealed itself as remarkable. For when they became conscious that their commanders were being corrupted by the amount of power they were exercising, they willingly gave up the leadership and stopped sending generals to the war; they chose to have citizens who were self-controlled and continued to behave according to traditional values rather than to rule the whole of Greece"
• It seems that the Spartans recognised Pausanias' cruelty and so willingly gave up their claim

The Delian League: Organisation

What arrangements were made by Athens for the organisation of the Delian League?

Thucydides 1.96-101

• The Athenians "assessed the various contributions to be made for the war against Persia"
• They decided who would contribute what (ships, money, soldiers etc)
• Officials known as "Hellenic Treasurers" were appointed to receive the tributes
• "The original sum fixed for the tribute was 460 talents"

Diodorus, 11.46-47, 50

• People much preferred Aristeides to Pausanias - and so "he made them all incline...to the Athenians"
• "He advised all the allies to choose Delos as their common treasury"
• "and to impose a levy on all cities according to their means for the war"
• The total collected was 560 talents
• Aristeides was given the nickname 'Aristeides the Just'
  

Plutarch Aristeides, 23, 24.1-5

• Aristeides was instructed to "consider the land and income of each city and to fix the contributions according to the resources of each"
• "Aristeides' assessment was 460 talents: Pericles added practically a third to this, for Thucydides says [111] that at the beginning of the [Peloponnesian] war 600 talents were coming in to the Athenians from their allies"
  

What demands are made of the allies in the league and what actions did the Athenians make when a member state (such as Naxos and Thasos) refused to submit to these demands?

Thucydides 1.96-101

• "the history of these years will show how the Athenian Empire came into being"
• "The leadership of the Athenians began with allies who were originally independent states and reached their decision in general congress"
• "The member states had to contribute money, soldiers or ships
• "Naxos left the League and the Athenians made war on the place"
• The main reasons for the revolts were disputes over the tributes (some failed to produce the right amount) - some even outright refused
• The Athenians "made themselves unpopular by bringing the severest pressure to bear on allies who were not used to making sacrifices and did not want to make them"
• The revolt in Thasos was caused by a dispute over the markets on the mainland opposite in Thrace (and over a mine)
• The Athenians sailed to Thasos with their fleet and won a naval engagement - then they fought on land
• The people of Thasos, defeated and now besieged, appealed to Sparta for help (they wanted the Spartans to invade Attica)
• Before the Spartans could help, there was a massive earthquake which led the helots to revolt
• Since the Spartans were preoccupied, in the third year of the siege, the Thasians had to agree to the Athenian terms
• "their walls were demolished and their navy surrendered"
• "they were ordered to pay an immediate indemnity and to pay tribute in the future
• "they surrendered their rights on the mainland and also the mine there"

Diodorus, 11.46-47, 50

• Nothing that I could find
  

Plutarch Aristeides, 23, 24.1-5

• "Even while the Spartans were leading them, the Greeks made contributions towards the war."
• "Wanting the burden on each city to be moderate, they asked the Athenians for Aristeides' help, and instructed him to consider the land and income of each city and to fix the contributions according to the resources of each."

• Aristeides' assessment was 460 talents: Pericles added practically a third to this, for Thucydides says [111] that at the beginning of the [Peloponnesian] war 600 talents were coming in to the Athenians from their allies; [24.5] after Pericles' death, the demagogues [popular political leaders] increased it little by little until they brought the total to 1,300 talents. They did this not so much because of the length and fortunes of war, but because they enticed the people into distributions of money, payments for public shows [theorika], and constructing cult statues and temples"
  

How do Sparta react to Athenian actions at this stage?

Thucydides 1.96-101

• The Spartans promised the people of Thasos that they would help them to fight the Athenians, but at that time there was a huge earthquake and the helots revolted, so they were delayed for a long time (which subsequently led to the Athenians winning)
• "the people of Thasos, who had been defeated in battle and were now besieged, appealed to Sparta and urged her to come to their help by invading Attica. The Spartans, without informing Athens of their intentions, promised to do so, and would have done so if they had not been prevented by the earthquake which happened then and by the simultaneous revolt and secession to Ithome of the helots and some of the perioeci... So Sparta had a war on her hands"

Diodorus, 11.46-47, 50

• "In this year [475], the Spartans showed their resentment that they had lost command of the sea for no good reason"
• "the Spartans debated whether to go to war with the Athenians over the command by sea"
• When the Assembly met, some (mainly the young men) were "ambitious" to get the command back
• Hetoimarides said that the Spartans shouldn't war with the Athenians over the command of the sea - he managed to convince the Spartans not to 

Plutarch Aristeides, 23, 24.1-5

• Nothing that I could find

What do these instances reveal about the nature of the Delian League in this period?

• These instances show the Delian League to be ingenuine, and an alliance of necessity alone. The constant betrayals, tensions, and lies show that the individual Greek states were selfish, and that the arrangement had been unstable from the start

Revolt of Thasos (TH.1.100.2-3)

• Thasos had long dominated the northern Aegean coast opposite its island
• Athenian activities in the Amphipolis region further conflicted with Thasian interests
• Thasos revolted from the Delian League, 465-463 BC
• The Spartans at this stage had even planned an invasion of Attica during this revolt, to stop Athenian aggression toward her allies. However, a Helot revolt against the Spartans at Messene put this invasion on hold

Helot Revolt at Ithome, 464 BC

• In 464 BC, an earthquake in Laconia decimated Sparta
• The city of Sparta was very poorly built, due to Sparta's focus on military training rather than civil administration, and so only a few houses survived this disaster
• Historical sources suggest that the death toll may have been as high as 20,000, although modern scholars suggest that this figure is likely an exaggeration
• The earthquake sparked a revolt of the JHelots, who took the opportunity to throw off the yoke of their Spartan overlords
• Events surrounding this revolt led to an increase in tension between Sparta and their rival Athens

Athenian Assistance, 1.102-103

• A resistance force of Helots retreated to Messenia, their original home, and occupied Mt Ithome in the south-west of the island
• The Spartans, inexperienced with siege warfare, appealed to their allies for assistance
• Themistocles had been ostracised by the Athenians at this stage (for mostly the same reasons as Pausanias), and leadership was under the conservative Cimon, who held pro-Spartan sentiments
• Cimon arrived at Sparta with a force to lend assistance to Sparta, but instead were summarily dismissed. As Thucydides says "this was the first open quarrel between Sparta and Athens".