Delian League and Spartan Confederacy

9/13/11

(c) PIH 2007. All rights reserved.

What Really Happened….

Allegiances

• Delian League– Argos– Melos– Corcyria

• Spartan Confederacy– Corinth– Thebes– Pylos

NeutralMacedonia

The Delian League

• Initially formed to continue the naval war against Persia

• To protect trade routes

• Liberate Greek Islands from Persian control

Purposes of Spartan Confederacy

• A mutual desire for security• Support other oligarchy governments• Stop Athenian domination of the Greeks

The Leagues Transition

• Athens power continued to grow and it began to dominate the Delian League

• Sparta became paranoid and suspicious of the Delian leagues intentions. As a result, their members began to encourage action against Athens.

New League Goals

• Delian/Athens– Retain all members– Promote democratic governments– Maintain position of power

• Sparta– Prevent Athenian domination– Assist oligarchic governments– Protect other city-states attempting to

leave the Delian League

What were the purposes and goals of the two leagues?

Discussion!

Relationship between Athens and Sparta

• During the Persian war Athens and Sparta were allies

• For much of the war Sparta was in charge of the Greek alliance against the Persians

• After the Delian league was established, Sparta gave up its leadership of the war against Persia

• As a result, relations between Athens and Sparta eventually became strained-especially, once Athens began to appear to be establishing an empire

How The Delian League Functioned

• Athens was made the leader due to naval strength

• After becoming a member, city-states had to pay regular fees and supply ships

• Initially, each city-state had an equal vote, but Athens eventually took over decision making

• Athens was always able to control the majority-ensuring its will was carried out

How the Spartan Confederacy Functioned

• Offensive and defensive alliance• League councils were used for decision

making• Bound together by a mutual desire for

security and protection• Leadership of the member city-states was

a close knit group of oligarchs • Larger city-states could influence Spartan

policy• Geographic proximity of the Peloponnesus

strongly influenced league membership– Smaller city-states joined out of fear of Sparta

How did the two leagues function?

Discussion!

Athenian Perspective on Power

• Corcyria: – got involved in a civil war Epidamnus. – It supported a democratic government

over an opposing aristocratic government

– As a result, the democratic government won

– Corcyria was afraid of an attack from Corinth because they had helped the democratic party

– Out of fear Corcyria turned to Athens

Other Examples of Athenian Perspectives on Power

• Melos: A city-state that wanted to stay neutral and was forced to become part of the Athenian Empire. Men were killed, women and children were sold as slaves, and 500 settlers were sent to colonize their island.– Example: Melian Dialogue is a document that describes

a conversation between the leaders of Melos and Athenian delegation. Here we see the Athenians demanding submission of Melos. Document is recorded by Thucydides.• “The strong do what they can and the weak submit.”

• Aigina, another city-state, tried to leave the Delian League. It was subjected by Athens in a similar way. Its land was ravaged, cities besieged, and navy defeated. They were forced to pay money to Athens on a regular basis.

Spartan Perspective on Power• Corinth:

– Allied with Sparta since the Persian War and possibly before.

– Corinth mainly joined Sparta due to its rivalry with Athens.

– Athens was perceived as a threat to its communications, trade, and wealth.

• Thebes– Neighboring Boeotian city-states were taken over by

Athens and made into democracies, therefore, making Thebes isolated as an oligarchy

– Turned to Sparta because they shared common interests and government structure

• Infanticide• Annual wars on helots to keep them in “Spartan”

shape

How did the two leagues achieve the allegiance of the city-states mentioned in the examples?

Discussion!

How do you think Athens and Sparta demonstrated

imperialism?

Perspectives of Athens and Sparta

• Athens– Justified their dominance based on their

leadership role in the Persian War– The strength they had developed– Their promotion of democracy

• Sparta– Justified their criticism of Athens as a

moral crusade against the suppression of unwilling city-states in the Athenian Empire

– Felt suspicious of Athens intent and how far they would take their empire

What were the perspectives of the two leagues?

Discussion!

Do you think these leagues will lead to war or peace?