Delian League and Related Topics

Persian soldier (left) and Greek hoplite (right) depicted fighting, on an ancient kylix, 5th century BC

Greco-Persian Wars

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The Greco-Persian Wars (also often called the Persian Wars) were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire and Greek city-states that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the fractious political world of the Greeks and the enormous empire of the Persians began when Cyrus the Great conquered the Greek-inhabited region of Ionia in 547 BC. Struggling to control the independent-minded cities of Ionia, the Persians appointed tyrants to rule each of them.

Herodotus, the main historical source for this conflict

Thucydides continued Herodotus's narrative

The Achaemenid Empire at its greatest extent under Darius the Great

Persian and Median Immortals in ceremonial dress, bas-relief in Persepolis

According to Herodotus, the Athenians, hoping for protection against Sparta, made the gift of "Earth and Water" to the Persians in 507 BC.

Coinage of Athens at the time of Cleisthenes. Effigy of Athena, with owl and ΑΘΕ, initials of "Athens". Circa 510-500/490 BC.

The burning of Sardis by the Greeks and the Ionians during the Ionian Revolt in 498 BC.

Map showing main events of the Ionian Revolt.

Map showing events of the first phases of the Greco-Persian Wars

Achaemenid king fighting hoplites, seal and seal holder, Cimmerian Bosporus.

The soldiers of Xerxes I, of all ethnicities, on the tomb of Xerxes I, at Naqsh-e Rostam.

Probable Spartan hoplite (Vix crater, c. 500 BC).

Major events in the second invasion of Greece

Schematic diagram illustrating events during the Battle of Salamis

Spartans fighting against Persian forces at the Battle of Plataea. 19th century illustration.

Athens and her "empire" in 431 BC. The empire was the direct descendant of the Delian League

Map showing the locations of battles fought by the Delian League, 477–449 BC

Dynast of Lycia, Kherei, with Athena on the obverse, and himself wearing the Persian cap on the reverse. Circa 440/30–410 BC.

Coinage of Tiribazos, Satrap of Lydia, with Faravahar on the obverse. 388–380 BC.

The actions of the general Pausanias at the siege of Byzantium alienated many of the Greek states from the Spartans, and the anti-Persian alliance was therefore reconstituted around Athenian leadership, called the Delian League.

Delian League ("Athenian Empire") shown in yellow, Athenian territory shown in red, situation in 431 BC, before the Peloponnesian War.

Classical Athens

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Early Athenian coin, 5th century BC. British Museum.

The modern National Academy in Athens, with Apollo and Athena on their columns, and Socrates and Plato seated in front.

Map of ancient Athens showing the Acropolis in middle, the Agora to the northwest, and the city walls.

Map of the environs of Athens showing Piraeus, Phalerum, and the Long Walls

The Acropolis imagined in an 1846 painting by Leo von Klenze

The Temple of Hephaestus in modern-day Athens

Artist's impression of the Theatre of Dionysus

The Karyatides statues of the Erechtheion on its Acropolis.

The city of Athens (, Athênai [a.tʰɛ̂ː.nai̯]; Modern Greek: Αθήναι Athine or, more commonly and in singular, Αθήνα Athina [a.'θi.na]) during the classical period of ancient Greece (480–323 BC) was the major urban centre of the notable polis (city-state) of the same name, located in Attica, Greece, leading the Delian League in the Peloponnesian War against Sparta and the Peloponnesian League.

Peloponnesian War

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Ancient Greek war fought between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Greek world.

Fragment of the Athenian Tribute List, 425–424 BC.

Battle of Potidaea (432 BC): Athenians against Corinthians. Scene of Socrates saving Alcibiades. 18th century engraving.

Destruction of the Athenian army at Syracuse.

The triumphal return of Alcibiades to Athens in 407 BC.

Encounter between Cyrus the Younger (left), Achaemenid satrap of Asia Minor and son of Darius II, and Spartan general Lysander (right), in Sardis. The encounter was related by Xenophon. Francesco Antonio Grue (1618–1673).

Lysander outside the walls of Athens; 19th century lithograph

The Spartan general Lysander has the walls of Athens demolished in 404 BC, as a result of the Athenian defeat in the Peloponnesian War.

In 404 BC, the Athenian General Alcibiades, exiled in the Achaemenid Empire province of Hellespontine Phrygia, was assassinated by Persian soldiers, who may have been following the orders of Satrap Pharnabazus II, at the instigation of Sparta's Lysander. La mort d'Alcibiade. Philippe Chéry, 1791. Musée des Beaux-Arts, La Rochelle.

Eight bookes of the Peloponnesian Warre written by Thucydides the sonne of Olorus. Interpreted with faith and diligence immediately out of the Greeke by Thomas Hobbes secretary to ye late Earle of Deuonshire. (Houghton Library)

However, the Long Walls of Athens rendered this strategy ineffective, while the superior navy of the Delian League (Athens' alliance) raided the Peloponnesian coast to trigger rebellions within Sparta.

Achaemenid Empire

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Ancient Iranian empire based in Western Asia that was founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. It reached its greatest extent under Xerxes I, who conquered most of northern and central ancient Greece.

The Achaemenid Empire at its greatest territorial extent under the rule of Darius I (522 BC–486 BC)

Map of the expansion process of Achaemenid territories

Cyrus the Great is said, in the Bible, to have liberated the Hebrew captives in Babylon to resettle and rebuild Jerusalem, earning him an honored place in Judaism.

The tomb of Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Empire. At Pasargadae, Iran.

The Achaemenid Empire at its greatest extent, c. 500 BC

The Persian queen Atossa, daughter of Cyrus the Great, sister-wife of Cambyses II, Darius the Great's wife, and mother of Xerxes the Great

Greek hoplite and Persian warrior depicted fighting, on an ancient kylix, 5th century BC

Achaemenid gold ornaments, Brooklyn Museum

Persian Empire timeline including important events and territorial evolution – 550–323 BC

Relief showing Darius I offering lettuces to the Egyptian deity Amun-Ra Kamutef, Temple of Hibis

The 24 countries subject to the Achaemenid Empire at the time of Darius, on the Egyptian statue of Darius I.

The Battle of Issus, between Alexander the Great on horseback to the left, and Darius III in the chariot to the right, represented in a Pompeii mosaic dated 1st century BC – Naples National Archaeological Museum

Alexander's first victory over Darius, the Persian king depicted in medieval European style in the 15th century romance The History of Alexander's Battles

Frataraka dynasty ruler Vadfradad I (Autophradates I). 3rd century BC. Istakhr (Persepolis) mint.

Dārēv I (Darios I) used for the first time the title of mlk (King). 2nd century BC.

Winged sphinx from the Palace of Darius in Susa, Louvre

Volume of annual tribute per district, in the Achaemenid Empire, according to Herodotus.

Achaemenid tax collector, calculating on an Abax or Abacus, according to the Darius Vase (340–320 BC).

Letter from the Satrap of Bactria to the governor of Khulmi, concerning camel keepers, 353 BC

Relief of throne-bearing soldiers in their native clothing at the tomb of Xerxes I, demonstrating the satrapies under his rule.

Achaemenid king killing a Greek hoplite. c. 500 BC–475 BC, at the time of Xerxes I. Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Persian soldiers (left) fighting against Scythians. Cylinder seal impression.

Color reconstruction of Achaemenid infantry on the Alexander Sarcophagus (end of 4th century BC).

Seal of Darius the Great hunting in a chariot, reading "I am Darius, the Great King" in Old Persian (𐎠𐎭𐎶𐏐𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁𐎴 𐏋, "adam Dārayavaʰuš xšāyaθiya"), as well as in Elamite and Babylonian. The word "great" only appears in Babylonian. British Museum.

Achaemenid calvalryman in the satrapy of Hellespontine Phrygia, Altıkulaç Sarcophagus, early 4th century BC.

Armoured cavalry: Achaemenid Dynast of Hellespontine Phrygia attacking a Greek psiloi, Altıkulaç Sarcophagus, early 4th century BC.

Reconstitution of Persian landing ships at the Battle of Marathon.

Greek ships against Achaemenid ships at the Battle of Salamis.

Iconic relief of lion and bull fighting, Apadana of Persepolis

Achaemenid golden bowl with lioness imagery of Mazandaran

A section of the Old Persian part of the trilingual Behistun inscription. Other versions are in Babylonian and Elamite.

A copy of the Behistun inscription in Aramaic on a papyrus. Aramaic was the lingua franca of the empire.

The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven wonders of the ancient world, was built by Greek architects for the local Persian satrap of Caria, Mausolus (Scale model)

Reconstruction of the Palace of Darius at Susa. The palace served as a model for Persepolis.

Lion on a decorative panel from Darius I the Great's palace, Louvre

Apadana Hall, Persian and Median soldiers at Persepolis

Lateral view of tomb of Cambyses II, Pasargadae, Iran

Plaque with horned lion-griffins. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

This indirectly caused the Athenians to move the treasury of the Delian League from the island of Delos to the Athenian acropolis.

Pericles

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Greek politician and general during the Golden Age of Athens.

Bust of Pericles, Roman copy of a Greek original, British Museum

Phidias Showing the Frieze of the Parthenon to Pericles, Aspasia, Alcibiades and Friends, by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, 1868, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery

Bust of Pericles after Kresilas, Altes Museum, Berlin

Aspasia of Miletus (c. 469 BC – c. 406 BC), Pericles' companion

Anaxagoras and Pericles by Augustin-Louis Belle (1757–1841)

Pericles' Funeral Oration (Perikles hält die Leichenrede) by Philipp Foltz (1852)

The Plague of Athens (c. 1652–1654) by Michiel Sweerts

An ostracon with Pericles' name written on it (c. 444–443 BC), Museum of the ancient Agora of Athens

A painting by Hector Leroux (1682–1740), which portrays Pericles and Aspasia, admiring the gigantic statue of Athena in Phidias' studio

Marble bust of Pericles with the Corinthian helmet, Roman copy of a Greek original, Museo Chiaramonti, Vatican Museums

The Acropolis at Athens (1846) by Leo von Klenze

Pericles turned the Delian League into an Athenian empire and led his countrymen during the first two years of the Peloponnesian War.

Cimon

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Athenian statesman and general in mid-5th century BC Greece.

Pieces of broken pottery (Ostracon) as voting tokens for ostracism. The persons nominated are Pericles, Cimon and Aristides, each with his patronymic (top to bottom).

Cimon played a key role in creating the powerful Athenian maritime empire following the failure of the Persian invasion of Greece by Xerxes I in 480–479 BC. Cimon became a celebrated military hero and was elected to the rank of strategos after fighting in the Battle of Salamis.

Persians and Spartans fighting at Plataea. 19th century illustration.

Battle of Plataea

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The final land battle during the second Persian invasion of Greece.

A map showing the Greek world at the time of the battle

The Achaemenid Empire and its allied Greek states (Macedonia, Thessaly, Malis, Locris, Phocis and Boeotia) at the time of the Battle of Plataea.

Movements of the Persian and Greek armies in 480–479 BC

Answer of Aristides to the ambassadors of Mardonius: "As long as the sun holds to its present course, we shall never come to terms with Xerxes".

The initial movements at the Battle of Plataea. The Greek line moves forward to the Asopus ridge.

The Spartan general Pausanias commanded the Allied Greek troops.

Disposition of Achaemenid troops beyond the Asopos river at the beginning of the Battle of Plataea. From left to right: Greek allies, Sacae, Indians, Bactrians, Medes and Persians.

Aristides, commander of the Athenians, informed by Alexander I of Macedon (a nominal ally of the Achaemenids) that delaying the encounter with the Persians would help further diminish their already low supplies. Battle of Plataea, 479 BC.

The battlefield of Plataea from the Achaemenid (northern) side.

Pausanias offering sacrifice to the Gods before the battle

Scene of the Battle of Plataea. 19th century illustration.

The main phase of the battle at Plataea. The Greek retreat becomes disorganised, and the Persians cross the Asopus to attack.

Scene of the Battle of Plataea on the south frieze of the Temple of Athena Nike, Athens. The scene on the right may show the fight over the body of Masistius. British Museum.

Coin of Alexander I of Macedon in the decade following the Battle of Plataea and the departure of Achaemenid forces (struck in 480/79-470 BC).

Over the next 30 years the Greeks, primarily the Athenian-dominated Delian League, would expel (or help expel) the Persians from Macedon, Thrace, the Aegean islands and Ionia.

Themistocles

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Athenian politician and general.

A sluicing tank for silver ore, excavated at Laurium, Attica

A Roman-era bust of Themistocles in "Severe style", based on a Greek original, in the Museo Archeologico Ostiense, Ostia, Rome, Italy. The lost original of this bust, dated to circa 470 BC, has been described as "the first true portrait of an individual European".

Decree of Themistocles, National Archaeological Museum of Athens, 13330

Diagram of the approximate events of the Battle of Salamis

Romantic interpretation of the Battle of Salamis by Wilhelm von Kaulbach. Artemisia of Caria is seen shooting arrows in the direction of the Greeks led by Themistocles.

The triumph of Themistocles after the Battle of Salamis. 19th century illustration.

Athenians rebuilding their city under the direction of Themistocles.

The northern wall of the Acropolis of Athens, built by Themistocles with built-in fragments of destroyed temples.

Column drums of the destroyed Older Parthenon, reused in building-up the North wall of the Acropolis, by Themistocles.

Ostracon with inscription: "Themist[h]ocles, son of Neocles"

Themistocles finds refuge with King Admetus.

Illustration by Walter Crane showing Themistocles standing silently before King Artaxerxes

Coin of Themistocles as Governor of Magnesia. Obv: Head of Zeus. Rev: Letters ΘΕ, initials of Themistocles. Circa 465-459 BC

Coin of Themistocles as Governor of Magnesia. Obv: Barley grain. ΘE to left. Rev: Possible portrait of Themistocles. Circa 465–459 BC.

Didrachm of Themistocles in Magnesia. Obv: Apollo standing in clamys, legend around ΘΕΜΙΣΤΟΚ-ΛΕΟΣ ("Themistokles"). Rev: Eagle with letters Μ-Α ("Magnesia").

Hemiobol of Themistocles in Magnesia, where he is seen wearing a tight bonnet with Olive wreath (a similar headdress can be seen on the coinage of Kherei). This possibly reflects the bonnets of Achaemenid Satraps, such as seen in the Herakleia head. Initials Θ-Ε around portrait and on reverse. c. 465–459 BC

A dignitary of Asia Minor in Achaemenid style, c. 475 BC. Karaburun tomb near Elmalı, Lycia.

Portrait of a ruler with olive wreath on the Magnesian coinage of Archeptolis, son of Themistocles, c. 459 BC. The portraits on the coinage of Archeptolis could also represent Themistocles.

Ruins of the Themistoclean Wall in the Kerameikos of Athens, Greece, named after Themistocles

His naval policies would have a lasting impact on Athens as well, since maritime power became the cornerstone of the Athenian Empire and golden age.

The Kingdom of Macedonia in 336 BC (orange)

Macedonia (ancient kingdom)

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Ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece.

The entrance to one of the royal tombs at Vergina, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

A silver octadrachm of Alexander I of Macedon ((r. 498 – 454)), minted c. 465–460 BC, showing an equestrian figure wearing a chlamys (short cloak) and petasos (head cap) while holding two spears and leading a horse

Macedon (orange) during the Peloponnesian War around 431BC, with Athens and the Delian League (yellow), Sparta and Peloponnesian League (red), independent states (blue), and the Persian Achaemenid Empire (purple)

A Macedonian didrachm minted during the reign of Archelaus I of Macedon ((r. 413 – 399))

A silver stater of Amyntas III of Macedon ((r. 393 – 370))

Map of the Kingdom of Macedon at the death of PhilipII in 336BC (light blue), with the original territory that existed in 431BC (red outline), and dependent states (yellow)

The Stag Hunt Mosaic, c.300BC, from Pella; the figure on the right is possibly Alexander the Great due to the date of the mosaic along with the depicted upsweep of his centrally-parted hair (anastole); the figure on the left wielding a double-edged axe (associated with Hephaistos) is perhaps Hephaestion, one of Alexander's loyal companions.

A golden stater of Philip III Arrhidaeus ((r. 323 – 317)) bearing images of Athena (left) and Nike (right)

Paintings of Hellenistic-era military arms and armor from a tomb in ancient Mieza (modern-day Lefkadia), Imathia, Central Macedonia, Greece, 2nd centuryBC

The Temple of Apollo at Corinth, built c.540BC, with the Acrocorinth (i.e. the acropolis of Corinth that once held a Macedonian garrison) seen in the background

A tetradrachm minted during the reign of Antigonus III Doson ((r. 229 – 221)), possibly at Amphipolis, bearing the portrait image of Poseidon on the obverse and on the reverse a scene depicting Apollo sitting on the prow of a ship

The Kingdom of Macedonia (orange) under PhilipV ((r. 221 – 179)), with Macedonian dependent states (dark yellow), the Seleucid Empire (bright yellow), Roman protectorates (dark green), the Kingdom of Pergamon (light green), independent states (light purple), and possessions of the Ptolemaic Empire (violet purple)

A tetradrachm of Philip V of Macedon ((r. 221 – 179)), with the king's portrait on the obverse and Athena Alkidemos brandishing a thunderbolt on the reverse

Bronze bust of Eumenes II of Pergamon, a Roman copy of a Hellenistic Greek original, from the Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum

The Vergina Sun, the 16-ray star covering the royal burial larnax of Philip II of Macedon ((r. 359 – 336)), discovered in the tomb of Vergina, formerly ancient Aigai

Hades abducting Persephone, fresco in the small Macedonian royal tomb at Vergina, Macedonia, Greece, c.340BC

Fresco of an ancient Macedonian soldier (thorakites) wearing chainmail armor and bearing a thureos shield, 3rd centuryBC, İstanbul Archaeology Museums

A mosaic of the Kasta Tomb in Amphipolis depicting the abduction of Persephone by Pluto, 4thcenturyBC

The Lion of Amphipolis in Amphipolis, northern Greece, a 4th-centuryBC marble tomb sculpture erected in honor of Laomedon of Mytilene, a general who served under Alexander the Great

Alexander (left), wearing a kausia and fighting an Asiatic lion with his friend Craterus (detail); late 4th-centuryBC mosaic, Pella Museum.

Portrait bust of Aristotle, an Imperial Roman (1st or 2nd centuryAD) copy of a lost bronze sculpture made by Lysippos

A fresco showing Hades and Persephone riding in a chariot, from the tomb of Queen Eurydice I of Macedon at Vergina, Greece, 4thcenturyBC

A banquet scene from a Macedonian tomb of Agios Athanasios, Thessaloniki, 4thcenturyBC; shown are six men reclining on couches, with food arranged on nearby tables, a male servant in attendance, and female musicians providing entertainment.

Ruins of the ancient theatre in Maroneia, Rhodope, East Macedonia and Thrace, Greece

Tetradrachms (above) and drachms (below) issued during the reign of Alexander the Great, now in the Numismatic Museum of Athens

The Alexander Mosaic, a Roman mosaic from Pompeii, Italy, c. 100 BC

Kingdoms of the diadochi c.301BC, after the Battle of Ipsus
Kingdom of Ptolemy I Soter
Kingdom of Cassander
Kingdom of Lysimachus
Kingdom of Seleucus I Nicator
Epirus
Other
Carthage
Roman Republic
Greek States

454 – 413)) led the Macedonians to war in four separate conflicts against Athens, leader of the Delian League, while incursions by the Thracian ruler Sitalces of the Odrysian kingdom threatened Macedonia's territorial integrity in the northeast.

Ionian Revolt

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The dissatisfaction of the Greek cities of Asia Minor with the tyrants appointed by Persia to rule them, along with the individual actions of two Milesian tyrants, Histiaeus and Aristagoras.