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105-638: Mytilene had joined in alliance with Athens as a member of the Delian League , which began as a voluntary coalition of Greek city-states against Persia , during the Greco-Persian Wars . Most members of the Delian League had been effectively reduced to tributary status under Athenian hegemony, in which member states paid dues in cash, which were then used to supplement the Athenian fleet of warships. Mytilene

210-579: A second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC, taking an enormous (although oft-exaggerated) army and navy to Greece. Those Greeks who chose to resist (the 'Allies') were defeated in the twin simultaneous battles of Thermopylae on land and Artemisium at sea. All of Greece except the Peloponnesus thus having fallen into Persian hands, the Persians then seeking to destroy the Allied navy once and for all, suffered

315-634: 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 Spartan-led Peloponnesian League and allied herself with Athens, allowing construction of a double line of walls across the Isthmus of Corinth and protecting Athens from attack from that quarter. Roughly a decade earlier, due to encouragement from influential speaker Themistocles ,

420-573: A decisive defeat at the Battle of Salamis . The following year, 479 BC, the Allies assembled the largest Greek army yet seen and defeated the Persian invasion force at the Battle of Plataea , ending the invasion and the threat to Greece. The Allied fleet defeated the remnants of the Persian fleet in the Battle of Mycale near the island of Samos—on the same day as Plataea, according to tradition. This action marks

525-558: A force to capture the city of Byzantion (modern day Istanbul ). The siege was successful, but the behaviour of the Spartan general Pausanias alienated many of the Allies, and resulted in Pausanias's recall. After Byzantion, Sparta was eager to end its involvement in the war. The Spartans greatly feared the rise of the Athenians as a challenge to their power. Additionally, the Spartans were of

630-664: A key event of 454 BC was the moving of the treasury of the Delian League from Delos to Athens. This is often seen as a key marker of the transition from alliance to empire, but while it is significant, it is important to view the period as a whole when considering the development of Athenian imperialism, and not to focus on a single event as being the main contributor to it. At 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,

735-407: A means of dividing spoils of war. The members were given a choice of either offering armed forces or paying a tax to the joint treasury; most states chose the tax. League members swore to have the same friends and enemies, and dropped ingots of iron into the sea to symbolize the permanence of their alliance. The Athenian politician Aristides would spend the rest of his life occupied in the affairs of

840-581: A plague it would have financial difficulties fighting on two fronts. The Peloponnesian League agreed to aid Mytilene. During the winter, Sparta sent Salatheus to deliver an announcement to the Mytileneans. He arrived in Mytilene undetected by the Athenians. He assured the Mytileneans that the Peloponnesians planned to invade Attica, in order to distract the Athenians from attacking a fleet of forty ships sent by

945-424: A result, the Mytileneans quickly retreated and had to implement negotiating tactics to stall for time. After the Mytileneans and Athenians reached an armistice , the Mytileneans sent representatives to Athens for negotiations. With little hope that the Athenians would recall the fleet, the Mytileneans also secretly sent envoys to Sparta. The Mytilenean representatives called for the removal of the Athenian fleet, which

1050-473: A worse offense than war undertaken on their own account in the acquisition of power." He argued that it was this distinguished status of Mytilene over the other allies of Athens which made them arrogant and predisposed to rebellion. He urged the Athenians to impose the same punishment on all Mytileneans, not just the aristocracy, because the people were complacent in the plans of the aristocracy and because failing to do so would encourage revolt among other allies of

1155-462: Is artificial and was created by damming in 1920. Pine and fir forests cover the area around Parnitha. Hymettus, Penteli, Myrrhinous and Lavrio are forested with pine trees, whereas the rest are covered by shrubbery. Parts of the sprawling forests of mount Penteli and Parnitha have been lost to forest fires, while the Synngrou Estate on the foothills of the former (intersecting the border between

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1260-567: Is reflected in his argument for punishing all of the people of Mytilene. The results of the Mytilenean Debate may be contrasted with the later Melian Dialogue —where Athens killed all the men and sold the women and children into slavery. This difference in outcomes serves as one example of how the treatment of Athens' allies in the Delian League would develop as the Peloponnesian War progressed. Delian League The Delian League

1365-513: The Attic Peninsula , is a historical region that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area , which consists of the city of Athens , the capital of Greece and the core city of the metropolitan area, as well as its surrounding suburban cities and towns. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean Sea , bordering on Boeotia to the north and Megaris to the west. The southern tip of

1470-644: The Geraneia , Parnitha (the highest mountain of Attica), Aigaleo and Penteli . Four mountains — Aigaleo, Parnitha, Penteli and Hymettus (clockwise from the southwest) — delineate the hilly plain on which the Athens urban area now spreads. The plain is pockmarked by a plethora of semi-continuous hills, the most notable ones being the Tourkovounia , Lykavittos , the Acropolis of Athens itself and Philopappou . Mesogeia lies to

1575-497: The Goths under the command of Alaric . Attica's population diminished in comparison to the neighboring area of Boeotia . The sites of historical interest date to the 11th and 12th centuries, when Attica was under the rule of the Franks . The great monastery of Dafni, that was built under Justinian I 's rule, is an isolated case that does not signify a widespread development of Attica during

1680-727: The Greek War of Independence in the 1820s, the peasants of Attica were the first to revolt (April 1821), occupying Athens and seizing the Acropolis that was handed over to the Greek revolutionaries in June, 1822. Attica belonged to the newly-founded Greek state from its founding. From 1834, Athens was made the new Greek capital (moved from Nafplio in Argolis ), which caused the gradual repopulation of Attica by other people around Greece. The most dramatic surge came with Greek refugees from Anatolia following

1785-767: The Greek genocide and later the population exchanges between Greece and Turkey under the Treaty of Lausanne . Today, much of Attica is occupied by urban Athens, encompassing the entirety of the Athenian plain. The modern Greek region of Attica includes classical Attica as well as the Saronic Islands , a small part of the Peloponnese around Troezen , and the Ionian Island of Kythira . Mela, A.; Tousi, E.; Melas, E.; Varelidis, G. Spatial Distribution and Quality of Urban Public Spaces in

1890-633: The Greek world . Following Sparta's withdrawal from the conflict with Persia , Athens took the lead of the Hellenic alliance accompanied by several states around the Aegean and the Anatolian coast. The Delian League was formed as an anti-Persian defensive association of equal city-states seeking protection under Athens, as the latter wished to extend its support towards the Ionian Greek colonies of Anatolia. By

1995-454: The Isthmus , and, toward the continent, they extended as far as the heights of Cithaeron and Parnes . The boundary line came down toward the sea, bounded by the district of Oropus on the right and by the river Asopus on the left. During antiquity, the Athenians boasted about being ' autochthonic ', which is to say that they were the original inhabitants of the area and had not moved to Attica from another place. The traditions current in

2100-525: The Peloponnesian League . The League's modern name derives from its official meeting place, the island of Delos , where congresses were held within the sanctuary of the Temple of Apollo ; contemporary authors referred to the organization simply as "the Athenians and their Allies". While Sparta excelled as Greece's greatest power on land, Athens turned to the seas becoming the dominant naval power of

2205-559: 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

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2310-615: The Peloponnesian league . With the withdrawal of these states, a congress was called on the holy island of Delos to institute a new alliance to continue the fight against the Persians; hence the modern designation "Delian League". According to Thucydides, the official aim of the League was to "avenge the wrongs they suffered by ravaging the territory of the king." In reality, this goal was divided into three main efforts—to prepare for future invasion, to seek revenge against Persia, and to organize

2415-462: The "constant change of measures" was a threat to the stability of the empire, and that "bad laws which are never changed are better for a city than good ones that have no authority." Cleon then critiqued of one of the fundamental elements of Athenian democracy: the contests of "elaborate sophistic arguments." He placed the blame upon all Athenians for instituting this process of argumentation, who he called "victims of newfangled arguments" and "slaves to

2520-582: The Athenian commander at Mycale, had furiously rejected this; the Ionian cities had been Athenian colonies, and the Athenians, if no one else, would protect the Ionians. This marked the point at which the leadership of the Greek alliance effectively passed to the Athenians. With the Spartan withdrawal after Byzantion, the leadership of the Athenians became explicit. The loose alliance of city states which had fought against Xerxes's invasion had been dominated by Sparta and

2625-423: The Athenian expedition and did not engage in festivities; instead, they barricaded and guarded the island. Upon arrival, Athens delivered an ultimatum, which ordered the Mytileneans to surrender and tear down their fortifications, but they refused and the rebellion ensued. However, due to the intelligence given to Athens by the informants, the Mytileneans were forced into revolt before they were militarily prepared. As

2730-710: The Athenians had also constructed the Long Walls connecting their city to the Piraeus , its port, making it effectively invulnerable to attack by land. In 454 BC, the Athenian general Pericles moved the Delian League's treasury from Delos to Athens, allegedly to keep it safe from Persia. However, Plutarch indicates that many of Pericles's rivals viewed the transfer to Athens as usurping monetary resources to fund elaborate building projects. Athens also switched from accepting ships, men and weapons as dues from league members, to only accepting money. The new treasury established in Athens

2835-447: The Athenians promptly denied, and fighting continued. All of Lesbos, other than Methymna, took arms against Athens, but Lesbos lost ground upon the arrival of more Athenian troops. Mytilene became surrounded by Athenian fortifications and were isolated by land and sea. In Olympia, the Mytileneans asked the Spartans for direct help in Mytilene, but also for an invasion of Attica , pointing out that since Athens had recently been devastated by

2940-443: The Athenians to remember that they were "not in a court of justice" and therefore Cleon's argument, while it may have seemed more just, was not appropriate for the setting. Diodotus then argued that there is no law or punishment that can prevent states or individuals from rebelling. He proposed two options; either the Athenians must employ "some means of terror more terrible" than the death penalty or recognize its ineffectiveness. With

3045-402: The Athenians were admitted into Mytilene as long as the Mytileneans were allowed to send an embassy to Athens to plead for compassion, and Paches agreed that no punitive actions would be taken until the Athenians agreed upon a conclusion. After finding Salaethus in hiding, Paches sent him, along with those most prominent in drafting the terms of negotiation and leading the revolt, to Athens. Once

3150-497: 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

3255-477: The Athenians, also served as proof that the rebellion had been long premeditated. It was within the context of this reactionary anger that the Assembly that same day voted to sentence all of the male Mytilenean citizens to death, while the women and children would be sold into slavery. A trireme was dispatched to Mytilene so that Paches could receive and carry out the decree. The next day, the Athenians reflected upon

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3360-459: The Athenians. His speech concludes by urging the Athenians to channel their initial anger towards the Mytileneans in order to pay them back for their malicious actions and intentions. After Cleon's speech, Diodotus spoke in defense of his sustained opposition to the death sentence. The structure of his speech responded to that of Cleon, as Diodotus began by arguing that "the two things most opposed to good counsel are haste and passion," and defended

3465-614: The Athmoneia games were also celebrated. After the period of antiquity, Attica came under Roman , Byzantine , Venetian , and Ottoman rule. In the Roman period, the Scandinavian Heruli tribe raided Athens and Attica in 267 AD, destroying most of the city and laying waste to the countryside. During the Byzantine period Athens was an important middle size city. In 396 Attica was invaded by

3570-641: The Byzantine period. On the other hand, the buildings built during the 11th and 12th centuries show a greater development that continued during the rule of the Franks, who did not impose strict rule. From the 14th century onwards, the Arvanites came to Attica from what is today southern Albania . They were mostly invited as mercenaries by the local Greek lords. During the Ottoman rule, Athens enjoyed some rights. However, that

3675-581: The Hellenes called Inaros and Amyrtaeus , who requested aid from Athens. Pericles led 250 ships, intended to attack Cyprus , to their aid because it would further damage Persia. After four years, however, the Egyptian rebellion was defeated by the Achaemenid general Megabyzus , who captured the greater part of the Athenian forces. In fact, according to Isocrates, the Athenians and their allies lost some 20,000 men in

3780-404: The Ionian city-states which bordered it. The members of the Delian League were made to swear an oath of loyalty to the league and contributed mostly monetarily but in some instances donated ships or other forces. It was also the case that many democratic members of the League owed their freedom from oligarchic or tyrannical rule to Athens. Because of this, Athens gained an overwhelming advantage in

3885-643: The Ionian tribe and spoke the Ionian dialect of Ancient Greek. Many Ionians later left Attica to colonize the Aegean coast of Asia Minor and to create the twelve cities of Ionia . During the Mycenaean period , the inhabitants of Attica lived in autonomous agricultural societies . The main places where prehistoric remains were found are Marathon , Rafina , Nea Makri , Brauron , Thorikos , Agios Kosmas, Elefsina , Menidi , Markopoulo , Spata , Aphidnae and Athens main city. All of these settlements flourished during

3990-562: The League through judicial decisions. Synoecism under the Athenian Empire was enforced by resolving matters of and between states in Athens by courts composed of Athenian citizens and enforcing those decisions through the Athenian military. In the first ten years of the league's existence, Cimon/Kimon forced Karystos in Euboea to join the league, conquered the island of Skyros and sent Athenian colonists there. Over time, especially with

4095-517: The League was dissolved upon the war's conclusion in 404 BC under the direction of Lysander , the Spartan commander. Witnessing Sparta's growing hegemony in the first half of the 4th century BC, Athens went on to partly revive the alliance, this time called the Second Athenian League , reestablishing its naval dominance in the eastern Mediterranean . The Greco-Persian Wars had their roots in

4200-409: The League's vast territory. Furthermore, Pericles employed a number of offices to maintain Athens' empire: proxenoi , who fostered good relations between Athens and League members; episkopoi and archontes , who oversaw the collection of tribute; and hellenotamiai , who received the tribute on Athens' behalf. Athens's empire was not very stable and after 27 years of war, the Spartans, aided by

4305-474: The Mycenaean period. According to tradition, Attica comprised twelve small communities during the reign of Cecrops , the legendary Ionian king of Athens. Strabo assigns these the names of Cecropia , Tetrapolis , Epacria , Decelea , Eleusis , Aphidna , Thoricus , Brauron , Cytherus , Sphettus , Cephisia , and possibly Phaleron. These were said to have been later incorporated in an Athenian state during

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4410-481: The Mytilenean people in a final effort to launch a defensive attack against the Athenians. The people soon refused to follow orders, however, and demaded that the oligarchs bring all the reserves of food to the public or else they would surrender. The oligarchs could not meet these demands and agreed to join the people in surrendering Mytilene to Paches and his troops. The Mytileneans arranged for terms of capitulation ;

4515-494: The Mytileneans could not wait for this and should preemptively break away before Athens forced its will upon them. This speech does not, however, reflect the motivations which drove the oligarchs to rebellion. According to the informants who supplied the Athenians with intelligence concerning preparations for the revolt, the Mytilenean oligarchs sought to forcibly unify the five city-states of Lesbos under their sovereign leadership. Athenian policy aimed to break up larger units within

4620-457: The Mytileneans sent by Paches arrived in Athens, Salaethus was immediately executed, and the assembly gathered to deliberate what punitive actions should be taken. The Athenians were furious that the Mytileneans, who had enjoyed the privilege of non-tributary status, had not only revolted against their allies but sought the support from the Peloponnesian enemies. This latter action, in the eyes of

4725-493: The Peloponnesian War. Cleon's speech reflects the critiques of Athenian democracy which would continue to develop and be employed against Athens by its enemies. These critiques also provide an opportunity for Diodotus to defend the centrality of rhetoric and sophist discourse within the Athenian Assembly and elevate the importance of orators as political figures. The argument developed by Diodotus further serves to distinguish

4830-481: The Peloponnesian war, Attica was invaded and raided several times by the Lacedaemonians , while in the war's third phase the fortress of Decelea was captured and fortified by Lacedaemon. During the classical period, Athens was fortified to the north by the fortress of Eleutherae , which is preserved well. Other fortresses are those of Oenoe , Decelea , Phyle and Aphidnae . To protect the mines at Laurium , on

4935-523: The Persians and Athenian internal strife, were able to defeat it. However, it did not remain defeated for long. The Second Athenian League , a maritime self-defense league, was founded in 377 BC and was led by Athens. The Athenians would never recover the full extent of their power, and their enemies were now far stronger and more varied. Attica Attica ( Greek : Αττική , Ancient Greek Attikḗ or Attikī́ , Ancient Greek: [atːikɛ̌ː] or Modern: [atiˈci] ), or

5040-460: The Spartans. He promised the ships would soon arrive with supplies. The arrival of this news encouraged the Mytilenenas to reject any ideas of negotiating with the Athenians. As promised, Attica was invaded, but the Peloponnesians were forced to retreat due to lack of provisions, and the fleet sent to Mytilene took too long on its journey. Salaethus gave up hope that the fleet would arrive and armed

5145-545: The actions of the tyrant of Miletus , Aristagoras . Attempting to save himself after a disastrous Persian-sponsored expedition in 499 BC, Aristagoras chose to declare Miletus a democracy. This triggered similar revolutions across Ionia, extending to Doris and Aeolis , beginning the Ionian Revolt . The Greek states of Athens and Eretria allowed themselves to be drawn into this conflict by Aristagoras, and during their only campaigning season (498 BC) they contributed to

5250-541: The alliance, dying (according to Plutarch ) a few years later in Pontus, whilst determining what the tax of new members was to be. The Delian League, also known as the Athenian Empire, was a collection of Greek city-states largely based around the Aegean Sea which operated under the hegemony of Athens. This alliance initially served the purpose of coordinating a united Greek front against a perceived looming Persian threat against

5355-447: The area between Eleusis and Cape Sounion and the area around the city (ἐσωτερικό-μεσογαία), inhabited by people living on the north of Mount Parnitha , Penteliko and the area east of the mountain of Hymettus on the plain of Mesogeia . Principally, each civic unit would include equal parts of townspeople, seamen, and farmers. A "trittýs" ("third") of each sector constituted a tribe. Consequently, Attica comprised ten tribes. During

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5460-441: The argument that rebellion is impossible to prevent, even with the death penalty, Diodotus rejected Cleon's appeal to set a precedent with the punishment of the Mytileneans. Diodotus then proceeded to consider how sparing the people of Mytilene would be most expedient for the future of Athens. He argued that, by imposing the same punishment upon all Mytileneans, rebels would be shown there was no point in repenting or surrendering. This

5565-410: The assembly was persuaded to not massacre the Mytileneans. As a result, the votes, which were originally unanimous, were narrowly passed in favor of Diodotus. Another trireme, double-manned to row overnight and provisioned by the Mytilenean ambassadors, was immediately sent to Lesbos in order to prevent the previous orders from being carried out. Favorable weather and diligence of the rowers ensured that

5670-459: The blockade of Citium , though the fleet won a double victory by land and sea over the Persians off Salamis, Cyprus . This battle was the last major one fought against the Persians. Many writers report that a 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

5775-424: The brutality of their actions and questioned the merit of a decree which executed the whole population for the crimes of the few. The Mytilenean ambassadors at Athens pushed for a second vote, and an assembly was called in order to reassess the course of action to be taken. The debate as presented by Thucydides is framed as a series of two speeches which represent the two opposing sides of the debate. The first speech

5880-510: The capture and burning of the Persian regional capital of Sardis . After this, the Ionian revolt carried on (without further outside aid) for a further five years, until it was finally completely crushed by the Persians. However, in a decision of great historic significance, the Persian king Darius the Great decided that, despite having subdued the revolt, there remained the unfinished business of exacting punishment on Athens and Eretria for supporting

5985-459: The city and its less powerful allies, at times culminating in rebellions, like that of Thasos in 465 BC. The League's treasury initially stood in Delos until, in a symbolic gesture, Pericles moved it to Athens in 454 BC. By 431 BC, the threat that the League presented to Spartan hegemony combined with Athens's heavy-handed control of the Delian League prompted the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War ;

6090-462: The city with art and architecture. In order to maintain the new synoecism, Athens began using its greatly expanded military to enforce membership in the League. City-states who wished to leave the alliance were punished by Athens with force such as Mytilene and Melos . No longer considered her allies, Athens eventually began to refer to the members of the Delian League as "all the cities Athens rules." Athens also extended its authority over members of

6195-638: The classical period recounted that, during the Greek Dark Ages , Attica had become the refuge of the Ionians , who belonged to a tribe from the northern Peloponnese. Supposedly, the Ionians had been forced out of their homeland by the Achaeans , who in turn had been forced out of their homeland by the Dorian invasion . Supposedly, the Ionians integrated with the ancient Atticans, who, afterward, considered themselves part of

6300-489: The coast, Athens was protected by the walls at Rhamnus , Thoricus , Sounion , Anavyssos , Piraeus , and Elefsina . Although these forts and walls had been constructed, Attica did not establish a fortification system until later, in the 4th century BC. Attica's warfare is displayed by piles of rubble from fortresses from the Chremonidean war. Even though archaeological ruins of religious importance are found in nearly

6405-464: The colony of Amphipolis on the Strymon river. Thasos , a member of the League, saw her interests in the mines of Mt. Pangaion threatened and defected from the League to Persia. She called to Sparta for assistance but was denied, as Sparta was facing the largest helot revolt in its history. After more than two years of siege, Thasos surrendered to the Athenian leader Aristides and was forced back into

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6510-509: The confederacy and did not support consolidation of Mytilenean power. The Mytileneans, with the support of the oligarchic Lesbian city-states of Antissa , Eresus , and Pyrrha , began preparing for the revolt during the Summer of 428. They began building moles for their harbors, erecting fortifications, and building additional warships. They had also sent for archers and grain from the Pontus . Athens

6615-597: The conquest of the Greek cities of Asia Minor , and particularly Ionia , by the Achaemenid Persian Empire of Cyrus the Great shortly after 550 BC. The Persians found the Ionians difficult to rule, eventually settling for sponsoring a tyrant in each Ionian city. While Greek states had in the past often been ruled by tyrants, this form of government was on the decline. By 500 BC, Ionia appears to have been ripe for rebellion against these Persian clients . The simmering tension finally broke into open revolt due to

6720-583: The east of Mount Hymettus and is bound to the north by the foothills of Mount Penteli, to the east by the Euboean Gulf and Mount Myrrhinous, and to the south by the mountains of Lavrio (modern Lavreotiki ), Paneio (Πάνειον Όρος), and Laureotic Olympus (Λαυρεωτικός Όλυμπος). The Lavrio region terminates in Cape Sounion , forming the southeastern tip of the Attic peninsula. Athens' water reservoir, Lake Marathon ,

6825-528: The end of the Persian invasion, and the beginning of the next phase in the Greco-Persian wars, the Greek counterattack . After Mycale, the Greek cities of Asia Minor again revolted, with the Persians now powerless to stop them. The Allied fleet then sailed to the Thracian Chersonese , still held by the Persians, and besieged and captured the town of Sestos . The following year, 478 BC, the Allies sent

6930-447: The envoy, the Mytileneans feared tributary democracy and did not want to be reduced the status of other Athenian allies. The Mytileneans believed that Athens had taken advantage of the Delian League and used it as a mechanism for "enslaving" and exploiting other Greeks; that it was only a matter of time before they set their sights on Mytilene's prosperous and autonomous island of Lesbos and forced it into their system of oppression; and that

7035-471: The eventual removal of the oligarchies. The Athenians responded to the news by sending an embassy to persuade the Mytileneans to give up their preparations, and when this effort failed, they sent a fleet of ships to the island of Lesbos. The Athenians planned to surprise the Mytileneans during the celebration of an upcoming festival in honor of the Malean Apollo . The Mytileneans, however, were informed of

7140-548: The expedition, while modern estimates place the figure at 50,000 men and 250 ships including reinforcements. The remainder escaped to Cyrene and thence returned home. This was the 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

7245-524: The league. As a result, the fortification walls of Thasos were torn down, and they had to pay yearly tribute and fines. Additionally, their land, naval ships, and the mines of Thasos were confiscated by Athens. The siege of Thasos marks the transformation of the Delian league from an alliance into, in the words of Thucydides, a hegemony . In 461 BC, Cimon was ostracized and was succeeded in his influence by democrats such as Ephialtes and Pericles. This signaled

7350-453: The local communities lose their independence and succumb to the central government in Athens . As a result of these reforms, Attica was divided into approximately a hundred municipalities, the demes ( dēmoi , δῆμοι), and also into three large sectors: the city (ἄστυ), which comprised the areas of central Athens, Ymittos , Aegaleo and the foot of Mount Parnes , the coast (παράλια), that included

7455-445: The mid-fifth century BC, the alliance had developed into a naval imperial power, called the Athenian Empire , where Athens established complete dominion and the allies became increasingly less autonomous. The alliance held an assembly of representatives in order to shape its policy, while the members swore an oath of loyalty to the coalition. The Delian League successfully accomplished its principal strategic goal by decisively expelling

7560-517: The most famous battles in history. During the first invasion , Thrace , Macedon and the Aegean Islands were added to the Persian Empire, and Eretria was duly destroyed. However, the invasion ended in 490 BC with the decisive Athenian victory at the Battle of Marathon . After this invasion, Darius died, and responsibility for the war passed to his son Xerxes I . Xerxes then personally led

7665-564: The 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 success for several years, inspiring all of Ionia to revolt. Athens was nonetheless eventually able to suppress these revolts. To further strengthen Athens's grip on its empire, Pericles in 450 BC began a policy of establishing kleruchiai —quasi-colonies that remained tied to Athens and which served as garrisons to maintain control of

7770-446: The municipality of Troizinia on the Peloponnesian mainland. According to the Roman geographer Pausanias , the place was originally named Actaea, but was later renamed in the honour of Atthis , daughter of king Cranaus of Athens . Attica is a triangular peninsula jutting into the Aegean Sea . It is naturally divided to the north from Boeotia by the 10 mi (16 km) long Cithaeron and Parnes mountain ranges. To

7875-424: The other allies in the Delian League, as a source of revenue for Athens to exploit in order to maintain its fleet is clear in the argument given by Diodotus and reflective of the imperial strategy developed by Pericles that emphasized the importance of the tributary relationship. This imperial policy would develop after the death of Pericles with Cleon, and the more aggressive and offensive approach that he would take

7980-535: The peninsula, known as Laurion , was an important mining region . The history of Attica is closely linked with that of Athens. In ancient times, Attica corresponded with the Athens city-state. It was the most prominent region in Ancient Greece, specifically during the Golden Age of Athens in the classical period . Ancient Attica (the classical Athens city-state ) was divided into demoi , or municipalities, from

8085-500: The pleasure of the ear." He believed that these contests were a distraction which caused a delay that only benefited the guilty. Cleon then sought to prevent this distraction by asserting the guilt of the Mytileneans. According to Cleon, because Mytilene was not oppressed by Athens but rather an independent city-state with its own fleet and fortifications, their uprising was not a revolt but a "deliberate and wanton aggression; an attempt to ruin [Athens] by siding with our bitterest enemies;

8190-530: The power of Thebes in order 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

8295-407: The process of debating important questions. Instead of challenging Cleon's assertion of the guilt of the Mytileneans, however, Diodotus argued that it was not their guilt which was the matter of importance, but instead the interest of Athens. Even if the Mytileneans were guilty, according to Diodotus, they should only have been put to death if the penalty was expedient for the future of Athens. He urged

8400-439: The reform of Cleisthenes in 508/7 BC, grouped into three zones: urban ( astu ) in the region of Athens main town, and Piraeus (the port), coastal ( paralia ) along the coastline, and inland ( mesogeia ) in the interior. The modern administrative region of Attica is more extensive than the historical region, and includes Megaris as part of the regional unit of West Attica , the Saronic Islands and Cythera , as well as

8505-431: The reign of Theseus , the mythical king of Athens. Modern historians consider it more likely that the communities were progressively incorporated into an Athenian state during the 8th and the 7th centuries BC. Until the 6th century BC, aristocratic families lived independent lives in the suburbs of Athens, such as Hippios Kolonos . Only after Peisistratos 's tyranny and the reforms implemented by Cleisthenes did

8610-426: The remaining Persian forces from the Aegean. As a result, Persia would cease to pose a major threat to Greece for the following fifty years. From its inception, Athens became the League's biggest source of military power, while more and more allies preferred to pay the dues in cash. Athens began to use the League's funds for its own purposes, like the reinforcement of its naval supremacy, which led to conflicts between

8715-428: The revolt. The Ionian revolt had severely threatened the stability of Darius's empire, and the states of mainland Greece would continue to threaten that stability unless dealt with. Darius thus began to contemplate the complete conquest of Greece, beginning with the destruction of Athens and Eretria. In the next two decades, there would be two Persian invasions of Greece, occasioning, thanks to Greek historians, some of

8820-403: The role of the Assembly as one that is political and not concerned with justice; this distinction would continue to develop within the context of Athenian democracy. The discussions of expediency and the future of the Athenian Empire in the debate likewise reflect the more general pattern of Athenian imperial policy developed throughout the Peloponnesian War. The importance of Mytilene, and all of

8925-653: The second trireme arrived just in time; Paches had only just read the decree brought by the first trireme but had not yet carried out the sentence. The massacre was prevented and the people of Mytilene were spared. The architects of the rebellion, who had been sent to Athens by Paches, were put to death by the Athenians. The Athenians demolished the city walls of Mytilene, seized their ships, and divided their land into allotments which were distributed amongst Athenian shareholders. The debate as recorded by Thucydides provides important insight into Athenian democracy and imperial policy, and reflections upon their development and role in

9030-448: The suburban towns of Kifisia , Melissia and Marousi is home to the sole remaining natural forest in the Athenian plain. The Kifisos is the longest river in Attica, which starts from the foothills of mount Parnitha near Varibobi, crosses the Athenian plain and empties into the delta of Faliro east of the port of Piraeus. According to Plato , Attica's ancient boundaries were fixed by

9135-500: The suppression of rebellions, Athens exercised hegemony over the rest of the league. Thucydides describes how Athens's 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

9240-567: The view that, with the liberation of mainland Greece, and the Greek cities of Asia Minor, the war's purpose had already been achieved. There was also perhaps a feeling that establishing long-term security for the Asian Greeks would prove impossible. In the aftermath of Mycale, the Spartan king Leotychidas had proposed transplanting all the Greeks from Asia Minor to Europe as the only method of permanently freeing them from Persian dominion. Xanthippus,

9345-500: The voting system conducted by relying on the support of democratic city-states Athens had helped into being. By 454 Athens moved the treasury of the Delian League from the Island of Delos to the Parthenon in Athens. Benefitting greatly from the influx of cash coming out of the 150-330 members, Athens used the money to reinforce its own naval supremacy and used the remaining funds to embellish

9450-630: The west of Eleusis , the Greek mainland narrows into Megaris , connecting to the Peloponnese at the Isthmus of Corinth . The southwestern coast of Attica, also known as the Athens Riviera , forms the eastern coastline of the Saronic Gulf . Mountains separate the peninsula into the plains of Pedias, Mesogeia , and the Thriasian Plain . The mountains of Attica are the Hymettus , the eastern portion of

9555-528: The whole area of Attica, the most important are those found in Eleusis . The worship of the goddesses Demeter and Cora , beginning in the Mycenaean period, continued until the late years of antiquity. Many other types of worship can be traced to the prehistory . For example, the worship of Pan and the Nymphs was common in many areas of Attica such as Marathon , Parnes and Ymittos . The god of wine, Dionysus ,

9660-420: The whole country except Thebes. Reverses followed peace with Persia in 449 BC. The Battle of Coronea , in 447 BC, led to the abandonment of Boeotia. Euboea and Megara 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

9765-557: Was a confederacy of Greek city-states , numbering between 150 and 330, founded in 478 BC under the leadership ( hegemony ) of Athens , whose purpose was to continue fighting the Persian Empire after the Greek victory in the Battle of Plataea at the end of the Second Persian invasion of Greece . The League functioned as a dual –offensive and defensive– alliance ( symmachia ) of autonomous states, similar to its rival association,

9870-404: Was concerning to the future of Athens, according to Diodotus, because subjected states were an important source of revenue. If they knew there was no mercy shown, no matter when they surrendered, they would fight until the city was in ruins. Athens would then be left with no tribute and no strength to fight against their common enemies in the Peloponnesian League . This moderate approach, therefore,

9975-519: Was definitely reached, enabling the Athenians to focus their attention on events in Greece proper. 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 following year, Sparta sent an army into Boeotia , reviving

10080-455: Was given by Cleon . Cleon, who carried the reputation as "the most violent man at Athens," spoke to defend the previous decision against any doubts with had arisen. Cleon began his speech by questioning the compatibility of democratic and imperial goals, asserting that "a democracy is incapable of empire," and that the reconsideration of the first decision regarding the fate of the Mytileneans is further evidence of this incapability. He argued that

10185-434: Was increasing her navy with the funds they contributed, a revolt always found itself without enough resources or experienced leaders for war. The first member of the league to attempt to secede was the island of Naxos in c. 471 BC. After being defeated, Naxos is believed (based on similar, later revolts) to have been forced to tear down its walls along with losing its fleet and vote in the League. In 465 BC, Athens founded

10290-512: Was informed of these preparations by inhabitants of the nearby island of Tenedos ; by members of democratic Methymna , the only city-state on the island of Lesbos which did not revolt against Athens nor support a unified Lesbos under Mytilene; and by those dissident Mytileneans who were proxenoi of Athens. Proxenoi were a small faction of political opponents, whose temperaments were compatible with Athenian democracy. Athens selected these officials to strengthen her position internally and prepare for

10395-481: Was not one based on justice, but rather on the benefit of preserving the revenue from tributary allies. Diodotus concluded his speech by imploring the Athenians to consider the most useful approach for preserving the Athenian Empire; that is, calmly trying the prisoners sent by Paches and leaving the rest of the Mytileneans alone. With the conclusion of Diodotus' speech, the assembly recast their votes. The rational argument of expediency developed by Diodotus prevailed and

10500-458: Was not reserved solely for those who revolted. Thucydides documents the example of Melos , a small island, neutral in the war, though 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 ). By 454 BC, the Delian League could be fairly characterised as an Athenian Empire;

10605-488: Was not the case for the villages of Attica. Great areas were possessed by the Turks , who terrorized the population with the help of sipahis . The monasteries of Attica played a crucial role in preserving the Greek element of the villages. In spite of its conquerors, Attica managed to maintain its traditions. This fact is proved by the preservation of ancient toponyms such as Oropos , Dionysus , Eleusis , and Marathon . During

10710-427: Was one of the last non-tributary members of the Delian League which sent its own warships manned with Mytileneans to fight alongside the Athenian fleet. Mytilene was also distinguished from other Athenian allies because it was ruled by an oligarchy , not a democracy. Mytilene had sought to end its alliance with Athens prior to the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War , and appealed to Sparta for support, but this appeal

10815-465: Was rejected. The Mytileneans took advantage of the hostility between Sparta and Athens as the Pelopponesian War broke out to seek assistance from the Spartans once more in resisting Athenian rule. The Mytileneans sent an envoy to Olympia in 428 BC, whose speech given to the Spartans was recorded by Thucydides, and explains the reasons for the Mytilenean revolt against the Athenians. According to

10920-470: Was used for many purposes, not all relating to the defence of members of the league. It was from tribute paid to the league that Pericles set to building the Parthenon on the Acropolis , replacing an older temple, as well as many other non-defense related expenditures. The Delian League was turning from an alliance into an empire. War with the Persians continued. In 460 BC, Egypt revolted under local leaders

11025-562: Was worshipped mainly in the area of Icaria , now the suburb of Dionysus . Iphigeneia and Artemis were worshipped in Brauron , Artemis in Rafina , Athena on Sounion , Aphrodite on Iera Odos, and Apollo in Daphne . The festival of Chalceia was celebrated every autumn in Attica. The festival honored the gods Hephaestus and Athena Ergane . In the deme of Athmonon , in modern-day Marousi ,

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