Delian+League

__**Delian League**__

By Hannah Feeney, Meinca Pinchinat, and Conor Medvitz

The Greeks had many significant battles that assisted them in winning the Persian Wars. The first major battle was the battle of Marathon which occurred in 490 B.C. This was an shocking defeat for the Persians and an amazing victory for the Greeks. The Athenians were greatly outnumbered. The Persians had 30,000 men and Athens had 8,000 men. Athens came up with a brilliant strategy, they would use Persia's size against the Persians. Athens strategy surprisingly worked due to their use of the moral, "//Cunning and// //Intelligence over Brute Strength"// and due to their fighting technique, the phalanx.



Another significant battle was the battle of Thermopylae which took place 480 B.C. Once again the Greeks used //Cunning and Intelligence over Brute Strength // to hold off the Persian king Xerses and his revenge for humiliating his father at Marathon. Xerses moved 200,000 men to Athens and with the help of the Spartans they managed to hold off 200,000 Persians for three days. In the end, 300 Spartans sacrificed themselves for the other Greeks to escape. This was a battle almost won by the. Then for their final victory at Salamis, which started in 479 B.C., the Greeks used their knowledge of their surroundings and crushed the Persians in a naval battle on the Aegean Sea. Persia lost two thirds of their ships. The result of the Persian War was power for the Athenians. At the end of the war, the greeks had soundly defeated the Persians, the Persian Empire(what used to be the largest empire in the world) and were still in tact. (Nardo 47)They then decided to create an agreement called the Delian League.



In 477 B.C. people from all over the coast of Greece, Ionia, and the Aegean islands come together on the sacred island of Delos. (Knight 145) On Delos they established an alliance called the Delian League. This would protect Greece from any other attacks from the Persians.(Nardo 47) Each city-state that was a part of the Delian League contributed ships, money, or both defensive and offensive actions against Persia. (Nardo 47) This had been the first time independent states had ever joined in a federation. ("The Delian League" 346) However, Sparta disagreed that the Persians were still a threat and refused to join the Delian League.(Nardo 47) Under the dierction of Aristides,the former archon of Athens, the league members agreed that each city-state would be required to contribute ships for the defense of Greece. However if they could not afford ships, they would have to contribute money for the building of ships.Then, the members of the Delian League turned from being defensive to offensive,chasing the Persians off the Ionian coast. ("The Delian League" 346) Furthermore, Leaugue members decided to avenge the Persian invasion by launching an offensive against Persian cities and in Asia Minor. Between 476 and 469 B.C., the armies of the Delian League engaged in a extremely bloody campaign against Persia. These attacks were led by a skilled warrior named Cimon, son of Militades, the hero at Marathon.(Nardo 47) Allied forces of the Delian League swept through the Aegean Sea, rooting out and pushing any Greeks who aided the enemy during the Persian Wars. (Knight 145) According to Thucydides,a Greek historian,because Athens was the strongest member, "The Athenians took over leadership of the league by a voluntary actof allies." Another fantastic perk to establishing the Delian League was that it was also very effective against pirates. ("The Delian League" 346) In 453 B.C., Pericles moved the treasury to Athens for its "safekeeping". (Nardo 47) The league eventually became not so much of an equal partnership of city-states as it was a vehicle of domination. In 431 B.C., the Spartans, with the rest of the Peloponnesian League, launched the Peloponnesian War which forced the Athenians, the Delian League, Spartans, and all Greeks to eventually end. ("The Delian League" 346)



In conclusion, the Delian League all began when Athens was attempting to protect themselves from further Persian aggression. All of the city-states and most of the Aegean Islands all met on the island of Delos and dicussed the becoming of this League. This was the first time independent states had ever joined a federation. Every city-state had to contribute ships and or money to assist in the prosses of defending the league. This league also avenged the Persian invasion and defended their land against oppesing forces. After some period of time, the Delain League became a vehicle for Athenian domination. In the end, the Delain League was put to an end due to the Peloponnesian War.

__Check Out These Great Video Links __  1. [] -All about the history of the Delian League. 2. [|http://www.history.com/videos/the-peloponnesian-war#the-peloponnesian-war]  -learn more about the Peloponnesian War and how it affected the Delian League.

Works Cited:
 * Knight,Judson."The Delian League." Ancient Civilization. 2000 ed. 2000.
 * Knight, Judson. Pericles.Mankato, Minnesota: Capstone Press, 2002.
 * Nardo, Don. Ancient Greece. San Diego, California:Lucent Book,1994.