The
political change came in 478/77
BC. The Spartans showed clearly their lack of
interest in the Ionian cities. As
a result, the most powerful islands-states Chios and Samos forced the transference
of the supreme command of the Hellenic Alliance
to the Athenian, under the leadership of Aristeides.
Athens
used its position to build a completely different system of alliance
with many fixed organization structures. The city signed bilateral
agreements with many Aegean island and coast states according a mutual
help and the recognition of the same enemies and friends. The security
of the allied territories was ensured by a membership
subscription that got paid to the general counter hall of Delos and was
used to maintain the common fleet.
These
alliance was called the Attic Alliance, which existed together with the
Hellenic Alliance until the 461 BC. But Athens did not concentrate much
on the last one. Between 478 and 458 the city was ruled by Kimon,
responsible of many military successes against the Persian (as for
instance Eurymedon and Pamphylien).
After the clear defeat of
the Persian, many of the partners of the Alliance were no longer
interested in staying in it, although they were forced to continue
paying a contribution to Athens.
The Rule of Athens
In 449/8 and 446/5
Athens signed peace agreements with Persia and Sparta, at the same time
that trade and economy flourished again in the Attic Alliance. During
this period, Athens stood out as the cultural center of Greece with art
and poetry being at the peak of their evolution.
Early History / Archaic Age / Classical Age / Hellenic Age / The Army / Timeline
