The Delian League was an association of Greek city-states in the 5th century BC. As it was led by Athens, it is sometimes pejoratively referred to as the Athenian Empire. A city-state is a region controlled exclusively by a city. ... Jump to: navigation, search (6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC - other centuries) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) The 5th and 6th centuries BC are a period of philosophical brilliance among advanced civilizations. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Acropolis in central Athens, one of the most important landmarks in world history. ...

In 478 BC, following the defeat of Xerxes' invasion of Greece, Pausanias the Spartan led Hellenic forces against the Persians. He was an unpopular commander (who may have conspired with the Persians), and Sparta was eager to stop prosecuting the war. They surrendered the leadership of the ongoing campaign to Athens, which was eager to accept it. The Delian League was inaugurated in 477 BC as an offensive and defensive alliance against Persia. The principal cities in the League were Athens, Chios, Samos, and Lesbos, but many of the principal islands and Ionian cities joined the league. Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 520s BC 510s BC 500s BC 490s BC 480s BC - 470s BC - 460s BC 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC Years: 483 BC 482 BC 481 BC 480 BC 479 BC - 478 BC - 477 BC 476 BC... Xerxes I (خشایارشاه), was a Persian king (reigned 485 - 465 BC) of the Achaemenid dynasty. ... Jump to: navigation, search Pausanias (Greek = Παυσανιας) was a Spartan general of the 5th century BC. He was the nephew of Leonidas I and served as regent after his uncles death, as Leonidas son, Pleistarchus, was still under-age. ... Jump to: navigation, search Sparta (Greek Σπάρτη) was a city in ancient Greece, whose territory included, in Classical times, all Laconia and Messenia, and which was the most powerful state of the Peloponnesus. ... Official Government Links The following websites belong to the various branches of government, or are directly operated by the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran: Official site of the Supreme Leader, (Qom office) Presidency of the Islamic Republic of Iran - Official website. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Acropolis in central Athens, one of the most important landmarks in world history. ... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 520s BC 510s BC 500s BC 490s BC 480s BC - 470s BC - 460s BC 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC Years: 482 BC 481 BC 480 BC 479 BC 478 BC - 477 BC - 476 BC 475 BC... Jump to: navigation, search The Acropolis in central Athens, one of the most important landmarks in world history. ... Jump to: navigation, search Chios (Italian: Scio, Χίος; alternative transliterations Khios and Hios, see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. ... Samos (Greek Σαμος; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is an island in southeastern Greece in the Aegean Sea, off the coast of Turkey. ... Jump to: navigation, search Lesbos (Greek: Λέσβος - Lésvos; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is an island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. ... Ionia (Greek Ιωνία; see also List of traditional Greek place names) was an ancient region of southwestern coastal Anatolia (now in Turkey) on the Aegean Sea. ...

Athens led the Delian League from the beginning, though at its founding the treasury was located on the island of Delos, and each state in the league had an equal vote. The assessment due from each state was assigned by Aristides the Just, leader of the Athenians; some members were assessed ships, others troops, others weapons, and others money. A council of all the cities met at Delos regularly, probably when bringing their assessment to the island. Jump to: navigation, search The Acropolis in central Athens, one of the most important landmarks in world history. ... A treasury is the part of a government which manages all money and revenue. ... The island of Delos (Greek: Δήλος, Dhilos), isolated in the centre of the roughly circular ring of islands called the Cyclades, near Mykonos, had a position as a holy sanctuary for a millennium before Olympian Greek mythology made it the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis. ... Note: This article is about Aristides the statesman. ...

The first action of the Delian League, under the command of Cimon, was the capture of Eion, a Persian fortification that guarded a river crossing on the way to Asia; following this victory, the League acted against several pirate islands in the Aegean Sea, most notably against Scyros where they turned the Dolopian inhabitants into slaves and set up a cleruchy. A few years later they sailed against Caria and Lycia, defeating both the Persian army and navy in the battle of the Eurymedon. This article or section should include material fromKimon Cimon (died 450 BC?) was a major figure of the 470s BC and 460s BC in Athens, and the son of Miltiades. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Jump to: navigation, search World map showing Asia (geographically) Asia is the central and eastern part of Eurasia and worlds largest continent. ... Jump to: navigation, search A pirate digging a grave. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Aegean Sea. ... Skyros (Greek: Σκύρος) is the southernmost island of the Sporades, a Greek archipelago in the Aegean Sea. ... A cleruchy, in Hellenic Greece, was the result of the exportation of excess and generally impoverished populations to colonies or special settlements of citizens. ... Caria (Greek Καρία) was a region of Asia Minor, situated south of Ionia, and west of Phrygia and Lycia. ... Lycia is a region on the southern coast of Turkey. ... Battle of the Eurymedon Conflict Persian Wars Date c. ...

These actions were most likely very popular with the League. However, the League, particuarly the Athenians, were willing to force cities to join the League. Carystus, a city on the southern tip of Euboea, was forced to join the League by military actions of the Athenians. The justification for this was that Carystus was enjoying the advantages of the League (protection from pirates and the Persians) without taking on any of the responsibilities. Furthermore, Carystus was a traditional base for Persian occupations. Naxos, a member of the Delian League, attempted to secede, and was enslaved; Naxos is believed to have been forced to tear down her walls, lost her fleet, and her vote in the League. For other uses, see Athens (disambiguation). ... Carystus was a city-state that refused to join the Delian League. ... Euboea or Negropont (Modern Greek: Εύβοια Evia, Ancient Greek Εúβοια Eúboia; see also List of traditional Greek place names), is the largest island of the Greek archipelago. ... Naxos is the largest island (428 km² ) in the Cyclades island group in the Aegean Sea, which separates Greece and Turkey. ...

Thucydides tells us that this is how Athens' control over the League grew. Bust of Thucydides Thucydides (between 460 and 455 BC–circa 400 BC, Greek Θουκυδίδης, Thoukudídês) was an ancient Greek historian, and the author of the History of the Peloponnesian War, which recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens. ...

Of all the causes of defection, that connected with arrears of tribute and vessels, and with failure of sevice, was the chief; for the Athenians were very severe and exacting, and made themselves offensive by applying the screw of necessity to men who were not used to and in fact not disposed for any continuous labour. In some other respects the Athenians were not the old popular rulers they had been at first; and if they had more than their fair share of service, it was correspondingly easy for them to reduce any that tried to leave the confederacy. For this the allies had themselves to blame, the wish to get off service making most of them arrange to pay their share of the expense in money instead of in ships, and so to avoid having to leave their homes. Thus while Athens was increasing her navy with the funds they contributed, a revolt always found them without resources or experience for war. [Thucydides i. 99]

In 454 BC, Athens moved the treasury of the Delian League from Delos to Athens, allegedly to keep it safe. They also switched from accepting ships, men and weapons, to only accepting money. The new treasury established in Athens was used for many purposes, not all relating to the defense of members of the league. It was from tribute paid to the league that Athens build the Acropolis and the Parthenon, as well as many other non-defence realated expenditures. It was during this time that some claim that the Athenian Empire arose. Centuries: 4th century BC - 5th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 500s BC 490s BC 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC - 450s BC - 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC Years: 459 BC 458 BC 457 BC 456 BC 455 BC - 454 BC - 453 BC 452 BC... This article refers to acropoleis in general. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Parthenon seen from the hill of the Pnyx to the west The Parthenon (Greek: Παρθενώνας) is the best-known surviving building of Ancient Greece and is regarded as one of the worlds great cultural monuments. ... The Delian League was an association of Greek city-states in the 5th century BC. As it was led by Athens, it is sometimes pejoratively referred to as the Athenian Empire. ...

In 461 BC, Cimon was ostracized, and was succeeded in his influence by democrats like Ephialtes and Pericles. This signalled a complete change in Athenian foreign policy, neglecting the alliance with the Spartans and instead allying with her enemies, Argos and Thessaly. Megara deserted the Peloponnesian league and allied herself with Athens, allowing construction of a double line of walls across the isthmus of Corinth, protecting Athens from attack from that quarter. Around the same time they also constructed the Long Walls connecting their city to the Piraeus, its port, making it effectively invulnerable to attack by land. Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 510s BC 500s BC 490s BC 480s BC 470s BC - 460s BC - 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC Years: 466 BC 465 BC 464 BC 463 BC 462 BC - 461 BC - 460 BC 459 BC... Ostracism was a procedure under the Athenian democracy where a prominent citizen could be expelled from the city for ten years. ... See the Aloadae article for information about the giant Ephialtes of Greek mythology. ... Jump to: navigation, search Pericles, British Museum, London Pericles (ca. ... Jump to: navigation, search Sparta (Greek Σπάρτη) was a city in ancient Greece, whose territory included, in Classical times, all Laconia and Messenia, and which was the most powerful state of the Peloponnesus. ... Jump to: navigation, search Argos (Greek: Άργος, Árgos; is a city in Greece in the Peloponnesus near Nafplio, which was its historic harbor, named for Nauplius. ... Thessaly (Θεσσαλια; modern Greek Thessalía; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is one of the 13 peripheries of Greece, and is further sub-divided into 4 prefectures. ... Jump to: navigation, search Megara (Greek: Μέγαρα; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is an ancient city in Attica, Greece. ... Jump to: navigation, search Temple of Apollo at Corinth Corinth, or Korinth (Κόρινθος; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a Greek city, on the Isthmus of Corinth, the original isthmus, the narrow stretch of land that joins the Peloponnesus to the mainland of Greece. ... Jump to: navigation, search View of Piraeus A night ferry about to leave the port of Piraeus for the Dodecanese Piraeus, or Peiraeus (Modern Greek: Πειραιάς Peiraiás or Pireás, Ancient Greek / Katharevousa: Πειραιεύς Pireéfs) is a city in the prefecture of Attica, Greece, located south of Athens. ...

Soon war with the Peloponnesians broke out. In 458 BC, the Athenians blockaded the island of Aegina, and simultaneously defended Megara from the Corinthians by sending out an army composed of those too young or old for regular military service. The next year Sparta sent an army into Boeotia, reviving the power of Thebes to help hold the Athenians in check. Their return was blocked, and they resolved to march on Athens, where the Long Walls were not yet completed, winning a victory at the Battle of Tanagra. All this accomplished, however, was to allow them to return home via the Megarid. Two months later, the Athenians under Myronides invaded Boeotia, and winning the battle of Oenophyta gained control of the whole country except Thebes. Centuries: 4th century BC - 5th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 500s BC 490s BC 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC - 450s BC - 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC Years: 463 BC 462 BC 461 BC 460 BC 459 BC - 458 BC - 457 BC 456 BC... Jump to: navigation, search Aegina (Greek: Αίγινα Egina), one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, 31 miles (50 km) from Athens. ... Jump to: navigation, search Sparta (Greek Σπάρτη) was a city in ancient Greece, whose territory included, in Classical times, all Laconia and Messenia, and which was the most powerful state of the Peloponnesus. ... Boeotia (Greek Βοιωτια) was the central area of ancient Greece. ... For the ancient capital of Upper Egypt, see Thebes, Egypt. ... The Battle of Tanagra took place in 457 BC between Athens and Sparta. ... Boeotia (Greek Βοιωτια) was the central area of ancient Greece. ... The Battle of Oenophyta took place between Athens and the Boeotian city-states in 457 BC. In this period between the Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian War, alliances and leagues sprang up and collapsed, although there was very little prolonged warfare. ...

War with the Persians continued, however. In 460 BC, Egypt had revolted under Inarus and Amyrtaeus, who requested aid from Athens. Pericles led 200 ships, originally intended to attack Cyprus, to their aid. After four years, however, the rebellion was defeated by the general Megabyzus, who captured the greater part of the Athenian forces. The remainder escaped to Cyrene and thence returned home. Centuries: 4th century BC - 5th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 500s BC 490s BC 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC - 450s BC - 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC Years: 465 BC 464 BC 463 BC 462 BC 461 BC - 460 BC - 459 BC 458 BC... Ienheru or Inarus, was the son of Psammetichus, presumably of the old Saite line. ... Jump to: navigation, search The only king of the Twenty-eighth Dynasty Amyrtaeus (or Amenirdis) ended the First Persian Occupation and reigned from 404 BC to 398 BC. He is known only from external Ancient Greek sources, and left no monuments. ... Jump to: navigation, search Pericles, British Museum, London Pericles (ca. ... Megabyzus was a Persian general, son of Zopyrus, satrap of Babylon. ... Cyrene, the ancient Greek city (in present-day Libya) was the oldest and most important of the five Greek cities in the region and gave eastern Libya the classical name Cyrenaica that it has retained to modern times. ...

Fearing retribution for all this, the Athenians moved the treasury of the League from Delos to Athens, further consolidating their control over the League. The Persians followed up their victory by sending a fleet to re-establish their control over Cyprus, and 200 ships were sent out to counter them under Cimon, who returned from ostracism in 451 BC. He died during the blockade of Citium, though the fleet won a double victory by land and sea over the Persians off Salamis. This article or section should include material fromKimon Cimon (died 450 BC?) was a major figure of the 470s BC and 460s BC in Athens, and the son of Miltiades. ... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 500s BC 490s BC 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC - 450s BC - 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC Years: 456 BC 455 BC 454 BC 453 BC 452 BC - 451 BC - 450 BC 449 BC... Larnaca, or Larnaka, is a city on the southeast coast of Cyprus. ... Salamis is an ancient city on the east coast of Cyprus, at the mouth of the river Pedieos, 6 km North of GazimaguÅŸa. ...

This battle was the last major one fought against the Persians. Many writers report that a formal peace treaty, known as the Peace of Callias, was formalised in 450 BC, but some writers believe that the treaty was a myth created later to inflate the stature of Athens. However, an understanding was definitely reached, enabling the Athenians to focus their attention on events in Greece proper. The Peace of Callias was established around 449 BC between the Delian League (led by Athens) and Persia, ending the Persian Wars. ... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 500s BC 490s BC 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC - 450s BC - 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC Years: 455 BC 454 BC 453 BC 452 BC 451 BC - 450 BC - 449 BC 448 BC...

The peace with Persia, however, was followed by further reverses. The Battle of Coronea, in 447 BC, led to the abandonment of Boeotia. Euboea and Megara both revolted, and while the former was restored to its status as a tributary ally, the latter was a permanent loss. The Delian and Peloponnesian Leagues signed a peace treaty, which was set to endure for thirty years. It only lasted until 431 BC, when the Peloponnesian War broke out. The Battle of Coronea took place between the Athenian-led Delian League and the Boeotian League in 447 BC. In 457 BC the Athenians had taken control of Boeotia at the Battle of Oenophyta, and spent the next ten years attempting to consolidate the Leagues power. ... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 490s BC 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC 450s BC - 440s BC - 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC 390s BC Years: 452 BC 451 BC 450 BC 449 BC 448 BC - 447 BC - 446 BC 445 BC... Euboea or Negropont (Modern Greek: Εύβοια Evia, Ancient Greek Εúβοια Eúboia; see also List of traditional Greek place names), is the largest island of the Greek archipelago. ... Jump to: navigation, search Megara (Greek: Μέγαρα; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is an ancient city in Attica, Greece. ... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC 450s BC 440s BC - 430s BC - 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC 390s BC 380s BC Years: 436 BC 435 BC 434 BC 433 BC 432 BC - 431 BC - 430 BC 429 BC... Jump to: navigation, search Map of the Greek world at the start of the Peloponnesian War Temple of Apollo at Corinth The Peloponnesian War began in 431 BC between the Athenian Empire (or The Delian League) and the Peloponnesian League which included Sparta and Corinth. ...

Those who revolted unsuccessfully during the war saw the example made of the Mytilenians, the principal people on Lesbos. After an unsuccessful revolt, the Athenians ordered the death of the entire male population. After some thought, they rescinded this order, and only put to death the leading 1000 ringleaders of the revolt, and redistributed the land of the entire island to Athenian shareholders, who were sent out to reside on Lesbos. This city is not ot be confused with a village in the island of Samos named Mytilinii Mytilene (Μυτιλήνη in Greek) is the capital city of Lesbos, a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. ... Jump to: navigation, search Lesbos (Greek: Λέσβος - Lésvos; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is an island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. ...

This type of treatment was not reserved solely for those who revolted. Thucydides documents the example of Melos, a small island, neutral in the war, though originally founded by Spartans. The Melians were offered a choice to join the Athenians, or be conquered. Choosing to resist, their town was besieged and conquered; the males were put to death, and the women sold into slavery (see Melian dialogue). Bust of Thucydides Thucydides (between 460 and 455 BC–circa 400 BC, Greek Θουκυδίδης, Thoukudídês) was an ancient Greek historian, and the author of the History of the Peloponnesian War, which recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens. ... Milos (formerly Melos, and before the Athenian genocide Malos) is a volcanic island in the Aegean Sea. ... The Melian dialogue is found in Book V of the History of the Peloponnesian War by the ancient Greek historian Thucydides. ...

The Delian League was never formally turned into the Athenian Empire; but by the start of the Peloponnesian War, only Chios and Lesbos were left to contribute ships, and these states were by now far too weak to secede without support. Lesbos tried to revolt first, and failed completely. Chios, the greatest and most powerful of the original members of the Delian League (save Athens), was the last to revolt, and in the aftermath of the Syracusan Expedition enjoyed a success of several years, inspiring all of Ionia to revolt. Athens was, however, still able to eventually suppress these revolts. Jump to: navigation, search Map of the Greek world at the start of the Peloponnesian War Temple of Apollo at Corinth The Peloponnesian War began in 431 BC between the Athenian Empire (or The Delian League) and the Peloponnesian League which included Sparta and Corinth. ... Jump to: navigation, search Chios (Italian: Scio, Χίος; alternative transliterations Khios and Hios, see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. ... Jump to: navigation, search Lesbos (Greek: Λέσβος - Lésvos; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is an island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. ... The Sicilian Expedition was an Athenian expedition to Sicily from 415 BC to 413 BC, during the Peloponnesian War. ...

The Athenian Empire was very stable, and only 27 years of war, aided by the Persians and internal strife, were able to defeat it. The Athenian Empire did not stay defeated for long. The Second Athenian Empire, a maritime self-defense league, was founded in 377 BC and was led by Athens; but Athens would never recover the full extent of her power, and her enemies were now far stronger and more varied. Jump to: navigation, search Events The Second Athenian Empire, a maritime self-defense league, is founded. ...

See also

• Athenian democracy
• Hellenic civilization
• Peloponnesian War

Jump to: navigation, search The speakers platform in the Pnyx, the meeting ground of the assembly where all the great political struggles of Athens were fought out during the Golden Age. Here Athenian statesmen stood to speak, such as Pericles and Aristides in the 5th century BC and Demosthenes... Ancient Greece is the term used to describe the Greek-speaking world in ancient times. ... Jump to: navigation, search Map of the Greek world at the start of the Peloponnesian War Temple of Apollo at Corinth The Peloponnesian War began in 431 BC between the Athenian Empire (or The Delian League) and the Peloponnesian League which included Sparta and Corinth. ...

External links

• Livius, Delian League by Jona Lendering