Delian League
The
Delian League was an association of
Greek city-states in the
5th century BC. It was led by
Athens. Because many of the league's
poleis were too poor to contribute ships to the collective navy, they paid taxes to Athens so that there would be enough money to build the expensive
triremes.
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.
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.
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
Athens set up a settler-colony (known as 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.
These actions were most likely very popular with the League's members. However, the League, particularly the
Athenians, were willing to force cities to join or stay in the League.
Carystus, a city on the southern tip of
Euboea, was forced to join the League by the 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. Athenian politicians had to justify these acts to Athenian voters in order to get votes.
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, lose her fleet, and her vote in the League.
Thucydides tells us that this is how Athens' control over the League grew.
Of all the causes of defection, that connected with arrears of tribute and vessels, and with failure of service, 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 labor. 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. The Athenians also arranged for the other members of the league to pay its share of the expense in money instead of in ships and men, and for this the subject city-states had themselves to blame, their wish to get out of giving service making most leave their homes. Thus while Athens was increasing her navy with the funds they contributed, a revolt always found itself without enough resources or experienced leaders 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 from Persia. However,
Plutarch indicates that many of
Pericles' rivals viewed the transfer to Athens as usurping monetary resources to fund elaborate building projects. Athens 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 Athenians built the
Acropolis and the
Parthenon, as well as many other non-defense related expenditures. It was during this time that some claim that the
Athenian Empire arose, as the technical definition of
empire is a group of cities paying taxes to a central, dominant city, while keeping local governments intact. The Delian League was turning from an alliance into an empire.
In
461 BC, Cimon was
ostracized, and was succeeded in his influence by democrats like
Ephialtes and
Pericles. This signaled 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, due to encouragement from influential speaker
Themistocles, they also constructed the
Long Walls connecting their city to the
Piraeus, its port, making it effectively invulnerable to attack by land.
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.
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 because it would hurt Persia. Persia's image had already been hurt when it failed to conquer the
Greeks and
Pericles wanted to further this. 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.
This was Athenians' main (public) reason for moving 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 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 formalized 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 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.
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 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).
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.
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.
*
Athenian democracy*
Hellenic civilization*
Peloponnesian War*
Delian League (band)*
Livius,
Delian League by Jona Lendering
