What effect did the Persian Wars gave on the role of Athens in the Greek world?

Answer 1

Answer 1

The Athenians, who would dominate Greece culturally and politically through the fifth century BC and through part of the fourth, regarded the wars against Persia as their greatest and most characteristic moment.

The battle of Marathon (490 BC), is perhaps the single most important battle in Greek history. Had the Athenians lost, Greece would have eventually come under the control of the Persians and all the subsequent culture and accomplishments of the Greeks would probably not have taken the form they did.

For the Athenians, the battle at Marathon was their greatest achievement. From Marathon onwards, the Athenians began to think of themselves as the center of Greek culture and Greek power. This pride, or chauvinism, was the foundation on which much of their cultural achievements were built. The first great dramas, for instance, were the dramas of Aeschylus; the principle subject of these dramas is the celebration of Athenian greatness. The great building projects of the latter half of the fifth century were motivated by the need to display Athenian wealth, greatness, and power.

It's difficult to assess all the consequences of the Greek victory over the Persians. While the Spartans were principally responsible for the victory, the Athenian fleet was probably the most important component of that victory. This victory left Athens with the most powerful fleet in the Aegean, and since the Persians hadn't been completely defeated, all the Greeks feared a return. The majority of Greek city-states, however, didn't turn to Sparta; they turned, rather, to Athens and the Athenian fleet. The alliances that Athens would make following the retreat of the Persians, the so-called Delian League, would suddenly catapult Athens into the major power of the Greek city-states. This power would make Athens the cultural center of the Greek world, but it would also spell their downfall as the Spartans grew increasingly frightened of Athenian power and increasingly suspicious of Athenian intentions.

Answer 2

The first phase of the wars with Persia began with Persia's suppression of the Ionian Revolt in 499 BCE, continued with its failed attempt to punish and control Eretria and Athens for their interference in the Greek city uprisings in Asia Minor, then its failed invasion of peninsular Greece in 480-479 BCE attempting to incorporate it within the Persian empire to establish an ethnic frontier. Further confrontation in 466 and 450 ended in the Peace of Callias in 449 BCE, where both sides agreed to stay out of each others' areas of influence.

After the repulse of the 480-79 invasion Sparta wanted to repatriate Greeks from Asia to end the conflict. Adventurous Athens counter-proposed a defensive league and enlisted nearly 200 cities in it - they either provided warships or provided the money for them. Most paid.

Athens took leadership of this anti-Persian Delian League and used its funds to maintain a powerful navy. When peace with Persia was made in 449 BCE, Athens used the navy to continue to collect the funds, by force where necessary, and used them to dominate what became a virtual empire, and also enrich itself at their expense. The war chest paid for the beautification of Athens and half its citizens to be on the public payroll.

The Peloponnesian League led by Sparta, resisted increasing Athenian attempts to expand its influence and the collision resulted in a 27-year war which devastated the Greek world from Sicily to Asia Minor and saw Athens lose its empire. Persia reentered the fray, providing the funds for the Peloponnesian League to buy a fleet which could overpower the Athenian one. Athens became a lesser player without the other cities' money, and the Asia Minor Greek cities took the lead in science and culture.
It converted the Delian League which it had led against the Persian Empire into an empire of its own.

Answer 2

Athens converted the 180 Delian League cities, which it had lad against the Persian Empire in the second phase of the war, into an empire of its own, continuing to collect the war funds from the cities, and spent them on itself, in glorifying the city, putting half its people on the public payroll, and maintaining a fleet to enforce collection of the money. This fleet was then turned to harassing other Greek cities, resulting tn the disastrous 27-year Peloponnesian War which Athens lost and was stripped of its empire.

Answer 3

Athens converted the Delian League, which it had led against Persia, into an empire of its own, and used this combined power to try to establish dominance of the Greek world, which led to the Peloponnesian War.

Answer 4

Athens led the anti-Persian forces in the latter stages of the war, and after the Persians agreed to peace Athens turned the alliance into an empire of its own and lived high on the proceeds. It also used this power to intrude on the city-states outside its empire, bringing on the devastating Peloponnesian War, which it lost and was stripped of its empire, becoming a second rate power.

Answer 5

After the war, it converted the Delian League it had led into an empire and used the proceeds to maintain its navy and spend on itself. This power enabled it to interfere in the rest of the Greek world, leading to the devastating 27-year Peloponnesian War.

Answer 6

During the Persian invasion of the Greek mainland the Spartans led the resistance. After the invasion was repelled the Spartans urged the evacuation of the Greeks living in Persian territory in Asia Minor back to Greece to remove the problem.
Athens had another idea - to establish a league of Greek city-states in Asia Minor and the Aegean islands to defend them against the Persians. It set up the Delain League of 180 Greek city-states to create a force which could stand up to the Persians. This worked, and after 30 years the Persians agreed to stay away from the cities. Athens then continued to forcibly collect the war funds from the cities and spent them on itself, turning the league into an empire of its own, and used this power to increasingly intrude into the other Greek city-states, leading to the devastating Peloponnesian War and Athens' loss of leadership.

All this solved nothing - after 50 years the Persians resumed control of the Greek cities in Asia. And over 2,000 years later, the Greeks adopted Sparta's recipe and evacuated the Greeks in Asia Minor back to Greece after World War 1 in 1923.

Answer 7

After peace with Persia Was arranged, Athens turned the Greek city-states of the Delian League which it had led, into and empire of its own. It used this money and power to try to impose its will on others cities, resulting in the destructive 27-year Peloponnesian War and following ones, opening the way for a rising Macedonia to gain control of the weakened Greek city-states.

Answer 8

After Persia agreed to peace, Athens converted the Delian league which it had led against the Persian Empire into an empire of its own, vastly increasing its power in the Greek world.

Answer 9

After peace with the Persian Empire, Athens converted the eastern Greek cities into an empire of its own.