The Peace of Kalias and Thirty Years Peace: 449 BC - 445 BC

479-445 BC, Four politicians wrestle for dominance in Athenian political life

Aristeides (530-468BC) "The Just"

Called "the wisest and most honourable man in Athens" by Herodotus. Aristeides was strategos in Athens during the Persian Wars, where he led the Athenian forces at Plataea. After the wars he earned his nickname "the just" for his role in creating the Delian League and his fair treatment of Athens' allies

Kimon (c.510-450 BC)

Son of Miltiades, victor of Marathon, Kimon served as strategos following the Persian Wars. Known for his pro-Spartan, conservative foreign policy. He was ostracised by the Athenians in the 460s BC, but returned in the 450s. Kimon's most famous achievement is the victory at the Eurymedon River against the Persian fleet, which effectively marked the end of the Persian Wars

Democrats

Kallias (dates unknown)

Supporter of Pericles, he acted as a diplomat for Athens and the Delian League during the period following the Persian Wars. Most notably he secured the peace that marked the end of the Persian Wars in 450 BC - the "Peace of Kallias"

Pericles

Rising star in Athenian politics during this period. Pericles was a radical democrat and imperialist who led Athens during her golden age into the Peloponnesian War. His most lasting achievement is the building of the Parthenon

Athenian Actions against the Persians

In the mid 450s, a five-year truce was signed between the Athenians and Spartans; freeing up the Delian forced to go on the offensive against the Persians:

Eurymedon River 466 BC:

Delian navy - some 200 strong - under Kimon win a stunning victory against Persian forces in 466 BC, though are unable to press their attack due to events back home

Cyprus c.453-450 BC:

A fleet of 200 ships under the command of Kimon sailed to Cyprus, where multiple victories against the Persians allowed the Athenians to liberate the island. The loss was enough to force the Persians to the negotiating table. The "Peace of Kallias" was signed not long after this campaign

449 BC: Peace of Kallias signed

Persians: shocked by series of defeats by Athenian navy

Athenians: losses in Egypt and at Tanagra to the Spartans had changed popular opinion on continuing the war

Questions: Using Lactor 1:33, 51-54 (pp. 46-47)

1.  Outline the conditions agreed upon in the Peace of Kallias 
1. Plutarch - The Persians had to keep a 'horse's journey' from the Greek sea
2. Diodorus - The Persian Satraps were not to come any closer than 3 days' journey to the coast
3. Diodorus - Greek cities in Asia Minor given their autonomy
4. (Plutarch and Diodorus) - Persian warships will not sail in the Greek sea
5. Diodorus - The Athenians agreed to stop invading the Persian King's land
2. To what extent can Kimon be considered the most responsible for securing peace between the Greeks and the Persians?
1. Plutarch - no one did more to humble the Great King's pride than Kimon
2. Plutarch - he remained hard on the Persian's heels - not letting them gain their breath
3. Plutarch - Kimon's "famous victory" led to the treaty
4. Plutarch - he completely cleared Asia of Persian arms from Ionia to Pamphylia
3. What problems with regards to the reliability of the sources for the Peace of Kallias can you identify?
1. No mention of the treaty in Thucydides - our most comprehensive, well researched, contemporary source
2. Plutarch - Callisthenes (a fourth century historian) claims that the terms were not agreed upon but the Persian King acted as if they had been (out of fear)
3. Theopompus - the treaty was written in the wrong Greek language for the time (Ionic when it should have been Attic)

Thirty Years Peace

-in 446/5 a Thirty Year Peace was agreed between Athens and Sparta on the following terms:

1. Athens had to give up control of Nisaea, Pagae, Troezen and Achaea (1.115.1)
2. There should be a list of allies of each side, and each side should keep what it possessed at the time of the treaty with the exception of those mentioned in clause 1 (1.140.2). If any ally were to revolt and be received into the other side's alliance, then the alliance which received the revolting ally would be deemed to have broken the treaty
3. Any state not listed was deemed to be a 'neutral' and therefore was free to join either alliance, if it wished (1.35.2)
4. Neither side was allowed to make an armed attack on the other, if the latter wished to go to arbitration (1.85.2)
5. Argos, although unlisted, was exempt from clause 3. No military alliance was to exist between Argos and Athens, although diplomatic relations were allowed
6. There may have been a clause guaranteeing the autonomy of Aegina within the Athenian Empire (1.67.2)

The Thirty Years Peace Treaty

The Thirty Years' Peace was a treaty, signed between the Greek city-states Athens and Sparta, in the year 446/445 BCE. The treaty brought an end to the conflict commonly known as the First Peloponnesian War, which had been raging since c.464 BCE
The primary purpose of the treaty was to prevent another outbreak of war. Ultimately, the peace treaty failed in achieving its goal. With the outbreak of the Second Peloponnesian War, in 431 BCE

Term of the Treaty	Who benefitted more from the Agreement?	Why?
Athens had to give up control of Nisaea, Pagae, Troezen and Achaea (1.115.1)	Sparta	Athens gave up control of all city states in the Peloponnese
There should be a list of allies of each side, and each side should keep what it possessed at the time of the treaty with the exception of those mentioned in clause 1(1.140.2). If any ally were to revolt and be received into the other side's alliance, then the alliance which received the revolting ally would be deemed to have broken the treaty	Athens	If an ally revolts, the Spartans can not intervene and try to help them
Any state not listed was deemed to be a 'neutral' and therefore was free to join either alliance, if it wished (1.35.2)	Both (Although according to Thucydides, Athens benefitted the most)	Greek states may prefer to join Sparta rather than falling victim to Athenian Imperialism Both sides could gain new allies - Athens gained Corcyca as an ally Athens may have benefitted the most as it gave them free reign to continue expanding
Argos, although unlisted, was exempt from clause 3. No military alliance was to exist between Argos and Athens, although diplomatic relations were allowed	Sparta	Athens and Argos couldn't ally themselves against Sparta
There may have been a clause guaranteeing the autonomy of Aegina within the Athenian Empire (1.67.2)	Sparta/Aegina	Athens could not control or take tribute from Aegina

The First Peloponnesian War, 460-445 BC, Thucydides 1.103-114

              

Theatre of War	States Involved	Individuals Involved	Battles Fought	Outcome
Megara	Athens Megara Corinth	Myronides - Athenian in command of the Magarian garrison	Athenians land at Haliae, engaged by Corinthians and Epidaurians, Corinthians were victorious Later naval engagement at Cecryphalia, at which the Athenians were victorious The Corinthians seize Geraneia and move into Megarid, Athenians gather a force of old and young reserves	Athens helps Megara build long walls down to Nisaea "This act caused bitter hatred by Corinth for Athens" Indecisive battle fought, both sides think they have won, Corinthians send out a force to set up a trophy, which is surrounded and massacred - decisive blow to Corinthians
Egypt	Athens Libya/Egypt Persian Empire	Psammetichus, king of Libya Megabazus - Persian envoy to Sparta	Fleet of 200 ships sent from Athens to assist the Egyptian rebels Initially Athenians and Egyptian rebels gain ground against the Persians "masters of Egypt" Megabazus invades Egypt with a Persian relief force, defeats the Egyptians in battle and drive the Athenians from Memphis	Megara defects from Delian League and re-joins the Peloponnesian league at the very end of the conflict Megabazus tries to bribe the Spartans into invading Attica, but is unsuccessful After six years the Athenians were besieged in Prosopitis and destroyed, only a few escaped Egypt remains in Persian control
Aegina	Athens Aegina	Leocrates - commander of Athenian force	Big sea battle off the coast of Aegina, with the support of allies on both sides Peloponnesians land on Aegina with 300 hoplites in an attempt to relieve the siege	Athenians win the naval engagement, land and besiege Aegina 70 Aeginetan ships were captured The hoplites helped Aegina to remain unconquered, but it was deprived of military strength
Doris	Phocians Dorians Spartans	Nicomedes - Spartan commander	1,500 Spartan hoplites and 10,000 Peloponnesian allies sent to help the Dorians	Spartans compel Phocis to give back towns they had taken Spartans forced to cross back into the Peloponnese inland, since they feared an attack at sea Spartans had to stay in Boeotia
Boeotia	Athens Sparta	Myronides - Athenian commander	Battle fought at Tanagra "whole Athenian army" 14,000 troops including 1,000 Argive hoplites vs 1,500 Spartans and 10,000 allies Battle at Oenophyta, between Athenians and Boeotians Athenians then sailed round the Peloponnese under Tolmides and burnt the the Spartan dockyards before capturing Chalcis from Corinth	"Great losses on both sides" but Sparta and their allies were victorious Spartans marched down into Megarid, and after cutting down plantation trees returned home Athenians victorious, conquer all of Boeotia and Phocis, pull down fortifications at Tanagra and take hostages Eventually, the Athenians driven out by the Boeotians, lose their territorial possessions
Thessaly	Athens Thessaly	Orestes, exiled king of Thessaly Pericles	Athenians and a force of Boeotian/Phocian allies marched into and dominated the Thessalian countryside Pericles landed at Pegae and captured towns in Acarnania	Athenians could not conquer the country though due to the Thessalian cavalry "returned home again not having achieved any results"
Cyprus	Athens Persian Empire	Cimon, son of Miltiades - Athenian commander	200 ships sent out as an expedition Battle fought against a force of Phoenicians, Cyprians and Cilicians - Eurymedon River	Athenians victorious - Peace of Kallias signed with Persia
Euboea	Euboeans Athens	Pericles - Athenian general	Euboeans revolt from Athenian empire, thinking they could be successful as Athens was at war on so many fronts	Pericles arrived with a substantial force, and subdued the island again - Euboea reduced to a subject territory of Athens

                            

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".

Ancient Greek Historians

Greek History
What influenced the Ancient Greek writers?

• History for the Ancient Greeks started with the Illiad (Homer's great epic poem)
• The poem, which was finally put to paper in the 7th century BC was the pinnacle for later works to come from Greek and Roman writers

What themes underlie the Ancient Greek writings?

• Many of the literary elements found in the Illiad are found in varying degrees in the narratives of Herodotus
• The history written during the Greek and Roman periods never lost its association with war and politics
• It was never really associated with the role of women or the social and economical issues

What was the role of the Ancient Greek writers?

• The Greek historians saw their role not as simple narration, but as offering comments and reflecting on the nature of the world - providing moral lessons
• Their works were meant to be entertaining, with exciting plots
• Its origin were based on epic poetry and in the descriptions of men and gods

Thucydides

• An Athenian aristocrat who witnessed the Peloponnesian War first hand
• He was elected in 424 BC as one of the ten Athenian commanders
• He was sent into exile for failing to defeat the Spartan attack at Amphipolis (Thrace)
• Although he kept in line with the writing of the period, in recording the war he was recalling the work of his predecessors, Herodotus and Homer

What were the methodologies used by Thucydides?

• He maintained that the work of his predecessors were exaggerated and lacking evidential weight (cough cough Homer cough), as well as more focused on being entertaining rather than truthful (cough cough Herodotus cough)
• He emphasised the importance of
• Sifting through examined evidence
• Potential conflict between the attractions of entertainment, telling a good story and the rigours of truthful reporting, even in the context of literary rivalries

"In investigating past history, it must be admitted that one cannot rely on every detail which has come down to us by way of tradition. People are inclined to accept all sorts of stories from ancient times in an un-critical way...most people in fact are much more inclined to accept the first story they hear, and will not take the trouble to find out the truth"

Thucydides on his own work

"with regard to my factual reporting of events I have made it a principle not to write down the first story that has come my way, and not even to be guided by my own impressions; either I was present myself at the events I describe or else I heard them from eye-witnesses whose reports I have checked as thoroughly as possible. Not that the truth was easy to find: different eye-witnesses give different accounts of the same event, speaking out of partiality of one side or from imperfect memories. And it may well be that my history will seem less easy to read because of the absence of a romantic element to my work. It will be enough for me, however, if these words of mine are judged to be useful by those who want to judge accurately the events of the past. My work is not a piece to meet the taste of an immediate public, but was done to last forever"

• He attempted to set his own work aside from that of his predecessors, maintaining that the war he records was far greater and more destructive than any other war previously recorded
• He claims that his work is very accurate
• He limits himself to events at which he was present, or could find an eyewitness for
• Noted the contradictory tendency of eyewitnesses, whether it be due to memory or bias
• The main significance surrounding Thucydides was that for the first time he gave explicit expression not only to the problem of sources, but also to a methodology of analysing and judging their reliability

Xenophon

• An Athenian who was born a generation later than Thucydides, and was a pupil of Socrates
• He personally experienced the political turmoil of coup and counter-coup that gripped Athens after its fall to Sparta in 404 BC
• He enlisted as a mercenary into the army of Cyrus III (the Persian King) in the aftermath of the Peloponnesian War and after his defeat marched the Greek soldiers to the coast of the Black sea
• He did not return to his homeland but rather took up a position with the Spartan Army where he became an admirer of King Agesilaos. He was banished for this act of treason against Athens but towards the end of his life was granted reconciliation from his native country

What is the basis of his work?

• Xenophon's Hellenika picks up from where Thucydides' Peloponnesian War ends in 411 BC
• Book 1 completes the story down to the surrender of Athens and Samos and the knocking down of the long walls in 404 BC
• Book 2 is the longer section of the text which narrates the fortunes of Athens and Sparta in the decades after the war ending with the Battle of Mantineia

Links between Xenophon and Thucydides

• Xenophon's work owes much to the work of his predecessor:
• Subject matter - War and Politics
• Focus - confined to the Greek world particularly Athens and Sparta
• Thucydidean system of dating - summer and winter
• Speeches
• Detached objectivity - sources are hardly mentioned or discussed; personal involvement in the events described are played down

Plutarch

• A philosopher above all with a strong interest in history which he considered in biographical terms
• His key work is his Parallel Lives and what is central to his work is the exploration of character
• His work is remarkable for its focus on the person of the individual subject and for its concern with issues of character and personal morality

Aristophanes

• The comic playwright of the fifth (and late fourth) century BC is very useful for Athenian political life and also the impact of warfare on it
• Aristophanes was a Greek comic writer, who was the son of Philippus
• Most of his plays were political satires highlighting the troubles in Athens during that period. Many of them were performed at festivals, watched and voted for by the people
• His first surviving work is The Archanians (425 BC). Athens at this time was demoralised because of the Peloponnesian War and the death of Pericles six years earlier. The play highlights the problems the people of Attica were having with constant raids on their land and continual enemy invasions

Other works:

• His second surviving play is The Knights (424 BC). In the play, Aristophanes pokes fun at the Athenian leader of the time Cleon, for his tyrannical leadership and also for his alcoholic tendencies. Because of the sharp attack on Cleon, Aristophanes had to play the part of Cleon himself. The play gained Aristophanes first place at the festival
• Aristophanes' next play was not for another seven years and in that time a law had been passed attempting to keep in check political satire. Aristophanes' next surviving play was The Birds (414 BC) and poked fun at Athens for its fondness of litigation. In 411 BC Aristophanes wrote Lysistrata, which is another anti-war play and shows the plight of women trying to bring about peace in an attempt to stop losing their sons to the war