The Relationship Between Athens And Other Greek States From 479 - 450 BC

Question: Discuss the relationship between Athens and other Greek states from 479 – 450 BC

During the period of 479-450 BC, Athens’ relationship with her allies transformed dramatically as it emerged to become the supreme leader of an empire. The establishment of the Delian League was arguably the key factor in signifying the beginning of Athens’ rise to power, subsequently resulting in the deterioration of Its relations with Its allies. However, other factors such as Athenian control of empire’s finances, Athen’s willingness to use force against its allies and the growing tensions between Sparta and Athens were equally important in facilitating the downfall of Athenian relations with its Greek states.

Following Its victorious conclusion of the Persian Wars, a period of prosperity flourished withins Athens, and they needed to establish new ways to protect themselves and expand their empire, this would greatly affect their relationship with fellow Greek states. The development of the Delian League immensely impacted Athen’s relationship with other Greek states, consequently evolving from allied harmony to imperial dominance; so dominating that, in effect, it evolved into the Athenian empire. The Delian League, also known as the Athenian League, was an alliance of Greek city-states formed in 478 BC in order to liberate remaining Greek cities under Persian rule and simultaneously as a defence from potential Persian attacks following the Greek victories at Marathon, Salamis and Plataea. Furthermore, according to Thucydides, each state in existence with the Delian League had an “equal vote”, however, from the beginning it could be argued that the unofficial leader of the League was evidently Athens. Athens progressively became less active with the rights and liberties of its allies in the League, instead Athens gradually marginalised them as a subject states. This situation continued to exacerbate in 454 BC when the League’s treasury, which stored all of the tributes and money, was relocated from the sacred religious island of Delos to Athens. Although reasons of safety could be justified, such as avoiding a potential Persian raid, the transition was viewed by the allies as further consolidation of Athenian control and a pivotal advance in the transformation of the League into a predominantly Athenian Empire. The treasury’s initial aim was to combine the revenues that had been collected from the League members for utilitarian purposes, such as building up the League’s navy and military. After the transfer of the League’s treasury from Delos to Athens, money of the allies was not being utilised for the mutual benefit of the League, instead, it was being used primarily for Athenian personal interests, such as Athenian maintenance of fleet and building infrastructure, further demonstrating how Athens was taking control of the League to benefit its own needs. This made other city-states resentful of Athen’s abuse of power and hence decide to leave the league, however they were subsequently forced to stay.

What had begun as an equal and voluntary union of Greek states in the early 470s BC, the Delian League was revolutionised into an Athenian dominated empire, who gradually became resented and feared by Greek states. Member of the league were forced to swear an oath indicating their loyalty to Athens and highlighting that they would hold authority over the league as long as it was established. This was further solidified by throwing iron bars into the sea, the oath was a symbol of the permanency of Athens’ reign. Naxos was one of the most prominent islands in the Aegean and was also major contributor of ships to the Delian League. However, in 469 BC, Naxos – the first member who attempted to leave – was considered as an enemy to Athens and the alliance, later forced to rejoin the League as it was of great strategic importance to Athens and the league. Furthermore, Naxos compelled by Athens to convert Its contributions from ships to money, therefore they would lack the means to revolt again. Thucydides stated that Athens had ‘declared war’ and ‘after a siege, Naxos was forced back to allegiance’. This was the first case in which an ally broke the oath made in 478 BC and as a result, Naxos lost its independence. By forcing Naxos back into the league, Athens took away its sense of self determination and tributes to the treasury remained ongoing on a compulsory basis. Furthermore, Athens had used harsh treatment in Naxos’ punishment in order to illustrate to other Greek states the consequences of going against Athenian rule, as well as the extreme hostility that she was willing to show in order to uphold her authority. Similarly , Thasos was one of the largest and most affluent members of the Delian League, and when a conflict sparked between Athens and Thasos during a personal dispute regarding the Island’s gold, which Athens claimed was her own, Thasos attempted to withdraw from the League, however Athens compelled the state to stay by use of the league’s forces. Consequently, by doing this Athens expressed clearly to other Greek States that they were not hesitant in using their position of authority in order to gain a personal advantage. The League, under the control of Cimon, then besieged Thasos for two years, forcing them to surrender their protection by pulling down their walls, confiscating their navy and making them pay a large tribute to Athens. Hence, the revolt of Thasos was significant as it proved that Athens showed no intentions of allowing the states to leave the alliance, and sent a clear message to any other states thinking of escaping Its leadership.

The growing conflict between Athens and Sparta as a result of the league directly hindered the relations between the two Greek states. Following the Persian Wars, Athens and Sparta had emerged as the dominating and most prominent Greek states. Greek historian Thucydides claimed that ‘the growth of the power of Athens… made war inevitable’, hence it was only a matter of time before the two powerful leagues collided. However, as the news of the Delian League began to spread, Spartan concerns had consequently grown as Athenian power had led itself to become increasingly dominating over other Greek states, and hostility began to grow as Spartan dominance was exceedingly being challenged by Athens, who was eager to solidify leadership of the Greek world. An example of this tension can be seen in the consolidation of Athens and its harbour, in which was orchestrated against Spartan commands. Furthermore, In 462 BC the Spartans requested Athenian assistance with an internal helot revolt. In response, Cimon – who aimed to strengthen Spartan- Athenian relations – agreed to send troops of over 4000 hoplites with him to assist Sparta. However, the offer was rejected by the Spartans in fears that democracy would spread, consequently sending Athens in a more democratic and anti-Spartan direction. Sparta saw Athens and the Delian League as a major threat to their isolationist policy which had remained unchanged for centuries, as the spread of Athenian influence equated to the spread of democracy. This signified the first Spartan open dismissal of Athens, reflecting the increasing tensions between the two states. Additionally, the expansion of imperial democracy triggered the relationship between Athens and Sparta to deteriorate, resulting in the division of Hellenic League alliance of 462 BC. This action was essentially a precursor to the subsequent Pelopponese war, and Athens now faced a dual-threat from Persian and Spartan forces. As a result of their declining relations with Sparta, Athens was left with no choice but to enforce consolidation of its alliances, exemplified by Athens allegiance to Argos, Sparta’s enemy.

Thus, by examining the period of 479-450 BC, it is evident that Athens’ relationship with other Greek states changed dramatically as it emerged to become the leader of an empire. It could be argued that initially, Athens intended to uphold Its role of leader of the Delian League whilst protecting Its members, however as time went passed, the extreme power that Athens soon possessed began to influence It’s actions and thus, the increasingly aggressive nature of Athenian policy made it largely unpopular amongst its allies and other Greek states.