10. Classical Period I: The Delian Empire to Athenian Empire

Question 1

When was Penekotaetia? What does it mean?what were some notable events during this time?

Answer 1

479-431
Pentekontaetia – “the period of 50 years”
! Time until Peloponnesian War
! Tensions between Athens and Sparta
! Sources
! Sparta
! No Classical Spartan sources
! Xenophon – Athenian ex-pat in Sparta (preferred Spartan ways)
! Athens
! Many sources (contemporary and later): Thucydides, Herodotu

Question 2

What happened to the Hellenic league in 479BCE?

Answer 2

! 479 BCE – Hellenic League
! Spartans take the lead for a bit
! Replaced by Athenians
! Hellenic League → Delian League

Question 3

Why was the Delian league created?requirements?

Answer 3

Delian League: Punish Persia
! Voluntary and eternal membership
! Members remain free and autonomous
! Equal vote in alliance
! Dues
! Ships (and manpower) or money (to build ships)
! Most pay money → Athens builds the ships (keeps them in
Athenian harbour)
! Growing power and influence of Athens (Cimon)

Question 4

What was the effect of Delian league on the empire?

Answer 4

Allies – no threat, time to leave League
! Athens – “not so fast!”
! Forcing allies back
! Athenian domination
! New Athenian leader, Pericles
! Imperial ambitions
! Aggressive action on Egypt (457-454 BCE)
! Move Delian treasury to Athens (“safe 
keeping”)
! No longer dues - phoros (tribute)

Question 5

What was happening between 449-432 that rose tensions in this time?

Answer 5

Lacedaemonians (Sparta) and her allies
! All connected by Sparta
! Allies in an offensive alliance with Sparta
! Sparta in a defensive alliance with allies
! Members incl.: Megara, Thebes, Corinth
! Concerns about Athens
! 464 BCE – Third Messenian War (helot 
revolt)
! Spartans call on allies
! Distrust Athens
! Cimon embarrassed → ostracized 461 BCE

Question 6

Who was Thucydides?What did he do?

Answer 6

Athenian general (strategos)
! Military knowledge
! Pro-Athenian
! Pro-elite
! Contemporary (emotion?)
! Economic and military analysis
! Psychological considerations
! Moral decline of Athens
! History of the war up to 411 BCE
! Rest written by Xenophon

Question 7

When was the Peloponnesian war?what was each sides strategy?

Answer 7

431-421 Peloponnesian War Part 1)
! Archidamus = Spartan king
! Athenian strategy:
! Defensive
! “make Athens an island”
! Walls around city and harbour (Piraeus)
! Spartan strategy:
! Pitched battles; pillage and plunder
! Embarrass Athens and break their morale
! Support rebellions

Question 8

What happend during the 1 st year of the Archidmian War?

Answer 8

! Public eulogy for Athenian war dead
! Annual nature of Greek warfare
! Thucydides’ knowledge of the original speech
! Message in the speech
! Emphasis on praising Athenian citizens
! Celebrate democracy
! Contrast to Sparta
! Ideal of Athens

Question 9

What happend during the second year of the of the Archidmian War?

Answer 9

! Farmer-citizen-soldiers don’t like the 
defensive strategy
! Watching Spartans run over lands
! Plague of Athens
! Quarter of the population dies
! Sparta avoids fighting (to avoid 
plague)
! Pericles blamed

Question 10

What happend during the 3rd year?

Answer 10

Pericles dies of the plague
! Lacking experienced political and military
leaders
! Rhetor (pl. rhetores) – persuasive speakers
! Cleon
! Demagoguery – pandering, opportunistic,
self-interested
! Athens on the offensive

Question 11

What happend during the Sphakteria
Campaign?
425 BCE

Answer 11

Pericles dies of the plague
! Lacking experienced political and military
leaders
! Rhetor (pl. rhetores) – persuasive speakers
! Cleon
! Demagoguery – pandering, opportunistic,
self-interested
! Athens on the offensive

Question 12

Who is Brasidas? What were some notable events?

Answer 12

Pericles dies of the plague
! Lacking experienced political and military
leaders
! Rhetor (pl. rhetores) – persuasive speakers
! Cleon
! Demagoguery – pandering, opportunistic,
self-interested
! Athens on the offensive

Question 13

What is the Mytilenean debate? What happend?

Answer 13

Revolting allies
! E.g., Mytilene (428 BCE)
! Debate about what to do with them
! Cleon - expediency over justice = destroy them!
! Diodotus – yes, expediency over justice = mercy
! Trouble of politics based in competitive speech
! Arguments not about logic and facts
! Say whatever will win

Question 14

When was the siege of melos?

Answer 14

! Independent island
! Glaring exception to Athenian Empire
! “you’re either with us or you’re against us”
! Athens
! Right and wrong are pretenses – only power
! Moral claims based on positions of strength or weakness
! Destruction of Melos
! Euripides, Trojan Women (415 BCE)
! Athens = the new Persia
! New Greek warfare

Question 15

When was the Silican Campaig? What occurred?

Answer 15

Segesta calls on Athens for aid
! Athens: “Why not just take over all of Sicily?”
! Nicias (against) vs Alcibiades (for)
! Sparta arrives to help
! Athenian armada destroyed
! (Xerxes’ Grand Army?)
! Results:
! Athenian allies revolt
! Alcibiades flees to Sparta (later to Persia)
! Advises a garrison in Attica to block Athens
! Athens is cut off by land

Question 16

What happend with greek post war?

Answer 16

! End of the “high” Classical period
! Decrease in population, trade, agriculture
! Pessimistic outlook
! Political upheaval
! Economic depression in countryside
! Rural poor going to cities for work
! Growing distance between classes
! Greater inequality and social conflict
! Citizen-farmer-soldiers need work → mercenaries
! Cash economy – trades and professionals

Question 17

What happend with Sparta post war?

Answer 17

! No interest to adapt to new world
! Had adapted during war and want to 
go back
! Retract citizenship – return to 
exclusive Spartiate class
! Drop in Spartiate numbers
! New imperialist position

Question 18

What happend with Athens post war?

Answer 18

Terms of surrender:
! 1. Tear down its long walls (around city 
and out to port)
! 2. Swear allegiance to Sparta
! 3. Reduce navy (12 ships)
! 4. Abolish democracy
! Pro-Spartan oligarchy
! “The Thirty Tyrants”

Question 19

When was the Corinthian war?

Answer 19

395-387
War = Sparta vs the rest of S. Greece
! Persia gives Athens money → rebuild walls and navy
! Athens becomes the bigger threat
! Persia threatens to help Sparta
! 387 BCE – Koine Eirene (“Common Peace”) aka King’s Peace
! Terms:
! All mainland poleis = free and autonomous
! Sparta gives up navy; Athens rebuilds
! Transfer of lands
! “Guarantee clause”

Question 20

What happend in the aftermath of king’s peace?

Answer 20

Persia retakes Ionia (and Egypt etc)
! Sparta “the enforcer”
! Disbands Boeotian League (major power of Thebes)
! Break up sympolity of Argos and Corinth
! Campaign in Chalcidic peninsula (NE Greece)
! Athens
! Second Athenian League/ Second Martime Alliance
! Basically the Delian League (now vs Sparta)
! Promise to play nice
! Decline in polis system

Question 21

What was the trigger incident in thebes?

Answer 21

382
! Sparta seizes Theban acropolis
! Democrats flee to Athens
! Spartan oligarchs removed
! Results for Thebes:
! Distrusts Sparta (join the club!)
! Aligns with Athens
! Ambitions grow – rebuild Boeotian League
! 379-371 – Boeotian War (Thebes vs Sparta)
! 371 – Thebes (Epaminondas) wants to sign for
! Sparta refuses

Question 22

What happend during the battle of Leuktra?

Answer 22

371 BCE
 Spartan king Cleombrotus marches 
into Boeotia
! c. 10,000 hoplites (700 Spartiates)
! Boeotian force c. 6000
! Includes Theban Sacred Band
! 150 pairs of male lovers
! Tactical skill of Epaminondas
! One of few Spartan defeats in a 
pitched battle

Question 23

What was the aftermath and the theban power?

Answer 23

! 400 of 700 Spartiates (incl. King Cleombrotus) killed
! Spartan allies revolt
! 371 BCE – Thebes (Boeotian League)
! 370 BCE – Epaminondas and Pelopidas
! Free Messenia (helots)
! Arcadian League – anti-Spartan league 
! Spartan power gone
! Thebes begins to meddle 
! Politics of Thessaly (ally of Athens)
! Succession of kingdom of Macedon