Greece 479-446 Flashcards
What did the Greeks do after the battles of Plataea and Mycale in 479?
The Peloponnesians went home but troops from Athens, Ionia and the Hellespont attacked the Persian stronghold Sestos
What happened at Sestos in 479?
The Greeks successfully besieged it under the Athenian Xanthippus
Why were Sparta and their allies concerned about Athens after the Persian Wars?
Sparta had long been the dominant Greek state but Athens’ crucial role in defeating the Persians threatened this
What did Sparta ask Athens not to do in 478 out of fear?
Rebuild their walls
How did Themistocles respond to Sparta asking the Athenians to not rebuild their walls?
He sent half an envoy to Sparta to stall whilst Athens quickly rebuilt their walls before joining the envoy and telling Sparta it was too late
What did Themistocles encourage the Athenians to finish building after they had rebuilt their walls?
Fortifications at their harbour Piraeus
What did Athens build in 458 to further secure their position in the event of war?
The Long Walls between Athens and their two harbours, Piraeus and Phaleron
What did the Spartan commander Pausanias achieve in 478?
Subdued the major part of Cyprus near Persian naval bases, then was victorious in Byzantium
Why did the Ionians dislike Pausanias?
They resented the arrogant way he treated them
Who did the Ionians ask to take over from Pausanias?
Athens
What is strange about Sparta’s response to the Ionians complaints about Pausainias?
They handed Athens leadership of the Hellenic League without complaint but were supposedly scared of Athens’ growing power
What was agreed at the first meeting of the Delian League in 477?
Which cities would provide ships and which would provide money for their upkeep
What is debated about Athens’ motives for forming the Delian League?
Whether it was always Athens’ intention to build a naval empire or if it changed over time
How was the Delian League treasury set up?
It was kept at Delos but managed by Athenian elected Athenians
Who decided how much tribute members of the Delian League would pay and why?
Aristeides because he was famous for his fairness
Who provided the military leadership for the Delian League and why?
Cimon because his father was Miltiades, the hero of the Battle of Marathon in 490
What did the Delian League achieve in its early years?
All Persian garrisons were driven out of the northern Aegean, piracy was supressed and the Greeks extended their control to the south-west of Asia Minor
What was the Delian League’s greatest triumph?
The Battle of Eurymedon in the early 460s
What happened at the Battle of Eurymedon in the early 460s?
The Greeks (led by Cimon) destroyed a Persian fleet and routed the accompanying army
How did the Battle of Eurymedon affect Greco-Persian relations?
The Persians did not campaign in the Aegean for many decades afterwards
What happened in 456 that might have been responsible for the change in Greco-Persian relations instead of the Battle of Eurymedon
Xerxes died and his successor Artaxerxes seemed uninterested in Greece
Why is it difficult to know how much of an effect the Battle of Eurymedon had on Greco-Persian relations?
Thucydides only mentions it briefly, Diodorus’ account is unreliable and Plutarch’s is too praising of Cimon and his role in it
What happened to the Delian League over time?
Athens became an oppressive leader towards cities who tried to leave
What examples are there of Athens oppressing/coercing the Delian League?
Besieging Naxos after they tried to secede in c.470, forcing Carystus to join in 472 and Aegina in 457, interfering in Thasos’ mines which led them to revolt in 465
