7-4 Glory, War, and Decline

7-4 Glory, War, and Decline

The Peloponnesian War

Life In Athens

The Delian League

Sparta and many other Greek city-states are wary of Athens' empire, and they don't want Athens becoming too strong. They band together, and eventually Sparta's allies are targeted by Athens, triggering a war across Greece.

In 487 B.C., Athens and many other city-states formed a defensive alliance to protect themselves against the Persians. Because their headquarters were located on the island of Delos, this became known as the Delian League.

After the conclusion of the Persian Wars, Athens experienced a period of dominance and prosperity. Its citizens enjoyed more rights under the rule of Periscles. He introduced the following changes:

• Appointed people on their ability, not for which family they belonged to
• Helped rebuild the city after the destruction brought by the Persians
• Supported philosophers, thinkers who reflect on the meaning of life.

It's ya boi

Pericles back at it again

The league was successful in pushing Persia out of the Anatolian city-states. Athens supplied most of the soldiers, sailors, commanders, and officials were from Athens. If Athens is providing all of these resources, what might Athens want in return?

Athenians continued to partake in direct democracy. This meant citizens were able to have a say in all government matters. This is different from our representative democracy, where we have representatives that debate, pass laws, and manage government for us.

That's right! Influence, wealth, and power! Athens uses its position to get payments from other city-states and to meddle in the affairs of other city-states. Athens straight up moves the League's treasure to Athens, and they begin sending troops to other states to help rebellions. Who might this upset?

Athens had attempted to win the war by outlasting the Spartans and using their navy to blockade Sparta, but an outbreak of plague, and outside interference from Persia caused their defeat.

Persia supported the Spartans, who in turn allowed Persia to take some Greek land. Sparta was able to build a navy of their own with this money.

Buuuuut out of the 285,000 people living in Athens, 150,000 were citizens. Only 43,000 of those citizens were males with political rights. Foreigners, women, and slaves did not have political rights.

SPARTAAAAAAAAA

Aftermath

The Peloponnesian War left Greece in terrible shape:

• Farms were destroyed, and many Greeks had no way of supporting themselves, leading them to join the Persian army, ironically
• Sparta ruled over the old Athenian territories, ruling harshly and angering local rulers
• Thebes, another city-state, toppled Sparta and proceeded to rule for about 10 years before collapsing in on itself.
• The Kingdom of Macedon to the north was growing in strength, and it preyed on the weakness of its southern neighbors.

Any Questions?