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Home , Corinthian War, Second Athenian League

Athenian Maritime Leagues 20 June 2019 Chad Uhl

1st Athenian League (The ) 478-404 BCE 499 BCE Athenians move 1st Fortifications of treasury to (?) Constructed 454 BCE Treaty of Callias 493-480 BCE 449 BCE

Persian Wars c.499-449 BCE 430-404 BCE Constructed 465-446 BCE First Athenian League (Delian League) 478-404 BCE

Treasury Built Battle of at 479 BCE 490 BCE 404 BCE

Overview pre-existing religious network centered on the cult of Apollo at . • Simply called symmachia by ancients. • Athens begins to lay the groundwork in the • Founded in 478 BCE in order to liberate the 6th c. when Peisistratus ‘cleanses’ part of the eastern Greek city-states from Persian rule. island in the 540s and builds a large monument • Led by Athens and aimed at defending against (porinos naos) from Athenian limestone. future Persian retribution/aggression. • Athens also began to claim itself as the mother- • Made up of over 300 city-states. city of all ()—propaganda which continues into the 5th century. • Athens became increasingly aggressive and demanded tribute in money, ships, or • Both and attempted similar materials—creating the Athenian Empire. interventions in the Aegean, but neither of the three had the means to assert control over the • The league made some impressive region. accomplishments: • Two interpretations of Athens’ moving of the • Ridding the Aegean of piracy. league’s treasury: • Establishing standard measurements and • Gomme argues that this marked a shift a standard coinage. away from the former political narrative • Centralizing taxation. which placed Athens as the mother-city of Ionia • Making accessible the judiciary of Athens. • Constantakopoulou disagrees since • Increasing inter-city trade. Athens sustained that propaganda and was actually co-opting Delos’ former role From League to Empire as the center of the Aegean religious and • Scholars disagree on when the 1st Athenian cultural network. league changes into an empire, but there are • Athens takes over authority at the sanctuary on two common dates: Delos, instituting the amphiktiones and forces • c.454 BCE - League Treasury moved from another purification of the island, at one point Delos to Athens. even expelling the Delians themselves • 446 BCE - Long Walls are constructed • need a safe place to rest every 4 hours connecting Piraeus to Athens. or so, which makes the Aegean ideal but, on the other hand, makes long voyages in regions • Athens built the league and its empire from the with few islands nearly impossible (e.g. ) • Whoever controlled the sea, controlled the εἰ μὲν ⟨οὖν⟩ ταύτην σὺ τὴν θάλατταν islands. Whoever controlled the islands could ἀποδώσεις ἑκων, εἰ δὲ μη, ⟨τὰ⟩ πάντα ταῦτα maintain their rule over the entire region. συντριαινῶν ἀπολέσω. • According to the Tribute Lists, the island states only made up roughly 1/3 of the league. • In Thucydides’ mind, Athens had a natural • Sources focus on the islands and intertwine claim to all islands. For him, islands even them with conceptions of naval power: become a substitute for subject-allies. • Thucydides articulates through Cleon’s speech at 3.39.2, it is understandable for • Links the islanders (nesiotes) with the idea some cities to revolt against Athenian of subject-allies as he relates the story of , but islands revolting is totally during the Persian Wars unacceptable. • He also describes the islands and the Hellespont as ‘prizes’ (aethla) for winning League Members the battle of Mycale (9.101.3) • The largest number of members recorded on extant tribute tablets name 330 city-states • tells the sausage-seller to: • Tablets are known to be incomplete “look at the islands all around.” • Many of these cities are Ionian, but all κάτιδε τὰς νήσους ἁπάσας ἐν κύκλῳ (170). regions of the Greek world seem to be represented • There are also 2 lost comedies by Aristophanes and which focus on • Members were expected to pay tribute (phoros) Athenian sea-power and the islands. to the treasury in order to fund the building and maintenance of ships for the fleet maintained • KA F24: Poseidon threatens the Spartans. by Athens. “If, therefore, you readily give away this sea, or • Revolts by Naxos and Thasos provide good even if you don’t, I, brandishing my trident, will examples of growing discontent in the latter destroy all these things.” periods of the Athenian Empire. 2nd Athenian League 378-338 BCE

395 BCE Peace of 387 BCE The Social War 357-355 BCE

Corinthian War Boeotian War 395-387 BCE 378-371 BCE

Second Athenian League 378-338 BCE

Decree of Aristoteles & Long Walls Rebuilt 394-391 BCE Invasion of the Piraeus 378 BCE 338 BCE

Overview • The Piraeus served as the hub for this trade network and was thus the most important • After the Peloponnesian War, takes over factor in establishing the second Athenian the former Athenian Empire, enforcing its own league. hegemony over the Greek world. • Growing tension between Thebes and Sparta • Sparta orders that : prompted the Spartans to invade the Piraeus in • Athenian walls and fortifications be the winter of 378 BCE. destroyed • Sources disagree on whether this • Athens let all former exiles return was by the order of the Spartan king Cleombrotus or a Theban plot to bring • The Athenian fleet be reduced to 12 ships Athens to their side. • Persia backs the (395-387 BCE) • Athens made alliances with several which essentially pitted Argos, Athens, , Aegean cities: , , , and Thebes against the Spartans. and . • During this time, Konon used Persian subsidies to rebuild the Long Walls (394-391 BCE). The Decree of Aristoteles • restrengthened relationships with • Decree passed in 378 BCE and inscribed on a the Hellespont in order to secure the grain stele placed in the Stoa of Zeus near the statue trade for Athens. of Zeus Eleutherios. • Corinthian War resolved by the ‘Peace • Formally launched the league, named of Antalcidas’ in 387 BCE (preserved by members, and outlined the terms. ): • Inscribed by 3 different hands and contains • Persia gets all Greek cities on Asia Minor several areas that seem to have been erased or and that do not survive. • Athens gets , Scyros, and • Primary source of evidence aside from • The rest should be autonomous Xenophon and Diodorus. • Athens’ acquisition of these islands allowed it • Placed limits on Athenian power: e.g. Athenians to begin rebuilding its naval power. It became were not allowed to own property in allied the center of the grain trade for the Aegean states. (Burke). • It also promised autonomy and no required • While the first league seems to be centered on tributes for members, which stood in stark imperialism and military control, the second opposition to the setup of the first Athenian league was focused on maritime commerce. League. • League members were required to make a The End of the League contribution (suntaxis), however, for the costs of the league’s navy. • The Social War begins c. 357 BCE when Chios, Rhodes, Cos, and Byzantium rebel against • Focused on defending members from the Athenian hegemony. influences of Sparta and developing a trade network. • Philip II captures Amphipolis (gold, silver, and timber) securing ’s future. • Thebes joined only because defeating Sparta was a primary objective of the league in its • League dwindles afterwards and is eventually initial stage. formally disbanded by Philip II in 338 BCE. • Some allies seceded from the league • Athens largely bankrupt after the Social War successfully while others were forcefully and in no place to enforce hegemony over restored. members of the league or even the Aegean.

Bibliography Monographs: Bonnin, G. 2015. De Naxos à : L’impérialisme athénien vu des Cyclades à l’époque classique. Bordeaux. Cargill, J. 1981. The : Empire or Free Alliance?. Berkeley. Constantakopoulos, C. The Dance of the Islands: Insularity, Networks, the Athenian Empire, and the Aegean World. Oxford. Lowe, P. (ed.). 2008. The Athenian Empire. Edinburgh. Meiggs, R. 1972. The Athenian Empire. Oxford.

Articles, Chapters, & Theses: Baron, C.A. 2006. “The Aristoteles Decree and the Expansion of the Second Athenian League.” Hesperia 75(3): 379-95. Burke, E.M. 1990. “Athens after the Peloponnesian War: Restoration Efforts and the Role of Maritime Commerce.” 9(1): 1-13. Cawkwell, G.L. 1984. “Athenian Naval Power in the Fourth Century.” Classical Quarterly 34(2): 334-45. ______. 1981. “Notes on the Failure of the Second Athenian Confederacy.” The Journal of Hellenic Studies 101: 40-55. Charles, J.F. 1946. “The Anatomy of Athenian Sea Power.” The Classical Journal 42(2): 86-91. MacFarline, M. 2016. The Second Athenian League: An Alliance Crippled by Institutional Stagnation. Master’s Thesis: Brandeis University.