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Delian League
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The Delian League was an association of fifth-century BC Greek city-states (approximately 150)[1] under the leadership of Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting Persia after the Greek victory in the Battle of Plataea. According to Thucydides (1.96), 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 a means of divvying spoils. 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.
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The first action of the Delian League, under the command of Cimon, was the capture of Eion, a Persian fortification that guarded a river crossing on the way to Asia. Following this victory, the League acted against several pirate islands in the Aegean Sea, most notably against Scyros where they turned the Dolopian inhabitants into slaves and Athens set up a settler-colony (known as a cleruchy). A few years later they sailed against Caria and Lycia, defeating both the Persian army and navy in the battle of the Eurymedon.
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The Delian League was essentially an Athenian empire, and while Athens was usually successful at holding their possessions in the Aegean Sea , they were less successful on land. By 447 BC some of the men exiled from Boeotia after the Athenian victory there in 457 had returned home and began to take back some of the Boeotian towns. The Athenians under Tolmides, with 1000 hoplites plus other troops from their allies, marched into Boeotia to take back the recaptured towns. They captured Chaeronea , but were attacked and defeated by the Boeotians at Coronea . The Athenians were forced to give up control of Boeotia, and the defeat led to revolts on Euboea and in Megara , which in turn led to further conflict with Sparta , contributing to the Peloponnesian War .
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Prior to the outbreak of the war, the Delian League formed following the end of the Persian wars (479 BC). Athens convinced neighboring city-states that Persia was still a threat, and that unity was the best option for their own protection. To continue their expansion through the incorporation of other city-states, Athens incited revolts in hopes of de-stabilizing those isolated city-state governments whose allegiance they sought. The Athenian government system was very strong at this time and offered many levels of stability for the weaker city-states, particularly economic and political. Due to already established Athenian leadership of the League, it was decided that the Parthenon would become the "bank" to which other city-states paid dues. This added wealth only helped to increase the dominance of Athens in the region.
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The Persian danger was now over, and the immediate purpose of the Delian League was achieved. Already... Athens had introduced the policy of coercion which was to transform the league into an empire, a policy which, after the ostracism of Themistocles and the death of Aristides, must be attributed to Cimon, whose fundamental idea was the union of the Greeks against all outsiders (see Delian League). Carystus was compelled to join the league; Naxos (c. 469) and Thasos (465463), which had revolted, were compelled to accept the position of tributary allies. In 464 Sparta was involved in war with her Helots (principally of Messenian origin) and was in great difficulties. Cimon, then the most prominent man in Athens, persuaded the Athenians to send assistance, on the ground that Athens could not "stand without her yoke-fellow" and leave "Hellas lame."
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The Delian League was broken up when Sparta captured Athens in 404. It was later revived in 378-7 to protect against Spartan aggression, and survived until Philip II of Macedon's victory at Chaeronea (in Boeotia, where Plutarch would later be born).
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Delian League