Athens And Its Allies example essay topic

Athens' Unjust Treatment of her Allies Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War is a classic text detailing the tremendous and historically important war between Athens and Sparta. One of the most central aspects of the war, and a subject given much attention by Thucydides, is the relationships between Athens and her allies in the Delian League. Much of the wealth and manpower necessary to Athens' war effort were drawn from the allied poleis, and without their support, whether offered or forced, Athens had no hope in defeating Sparta. On many occasions, both prior to and during the Peloponnesian War, the allies of Athens attempted to withdraw from the Delian League, an act perceived by Athens as contrary to the collective good of the alliance, and consequently intolerable and rebellious. These rebel cities were denied, through military measures, the freedom to leave the alliance and often received harsh punishments. By denying its allies the ability to leave the alliance, Athens violated the initial intent of the League, and they now served only their own goals.

Athens' legitimacy to power is strongly questioned by their corruption of the initial intent of the alliance and their hypocritical practice of democracy at home and tyranny abroad. Often the repression of their allies caused more harm than good, contributing to the cause of the Peloponnesian War as well as their eventual defeat by Sparta. When Athens and its allies created the Delian League, their purpose was to drive out the remaining Persians by creating a strong navy, which in the process would help prevent against future invasions. However, the alliance soon became a tool used unjustly by Athens to increase their wealth and power. After their important and courageous role in defeating the invading Persians, Athens was asked by their allies to take the leadership in the League. The allies, especially those "who had been recently liberated from Persian domination" (I, 95), feared the dictatorial manner of the Spartan general Pausanias, which was another reason behind their request that Athens take the leadership in the alliance.

Thucydides foreshadows Athens eventual abuse of their power when he writes: "These approaches were welcomed by the Athenians, who made up their minds to put a check on Pausanias and to arrange matters generally in a way that would best suit their own interests". (I, 95) One of the main reasons that the allies rebelled were the tributes imposed on alliance member by Athens. "Athenians assessed the various contributions to be made for the war against Persia and decided which states should furnish money and which states should send ships". (I, 96) Another cause of anger towards Athens was their use of the League in military engagements against other Greek city-states, something the alliance never intended. Naxos, for example, attempted to withdraw from the alliance because they were "frustrated by an Athenian invasion" (Appendix I, p 609).

Thucydides writes that "this was the first case when the original constitution of the League was broken and an allied city lost its independence" (I, 98). Naxos lost its autonomy and was forced to make tribute to Athens directly, rather than to the alliance funds. The use of the League against political entities within Greece and the conversion of allies to subjects by Athens was a gross abuse of their power, and it emphasizes the unjustness of their rule. Athens legitimacy to power is strongly questioned by their practice of democracy at home and tyranny abroad.

In Pericles' famous funeral oration, the great Athenian leader outlines the basis for Athens' claim to power, which he believes is in its superior form of government, democracy. Pericles states: "Our constitution is called a democracy because power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole people", as well as, "everyone is equal before the law". (II, 37) These assertions by Pericles show that the legitimacy of Athenian rule is through its citizens accepting and participating in the government. They are meant to show the positives of Athens, but they also highlight the stark contrast between the treatment of individual citizens and that of other political entities.

Athenian citizens were encouraged to take part in politics; the poleis which had been subjugated by Athens had no part in any decisions affecting them. Even in Samos, one of the few remaining independent alliance members, Athens intervened and attempted to establish a democracy. After a failed resistance to this new government, Samos was stripped of its independence and its navy, and was forced to pay reparations directly to Athens (I, 115-117). Another example of Athens' tyranny is that of Melos, a colony of Sparta.

Athens demanded that Melos become part of their Empire, and Melos refused. After a long siege, Melos was defeated, its male inhabitants were put to death, the rest sold into slavery, and the land was colonized by Athens (V, 116). These events were not uncommon in Athens' dealings with its neighbors, and they stress the conflicting policies that they embraced. Athens' policy of repressing her allies freedom did not always serve her and her allies' best interest. By taking away the choice to remain in the alliance from her allies, Athens caused much anger and resentment. Even in the allies that remained independent, the subjugation of city after city brought about the fear that they would be next.

An example of this is the rebellion of Lesbos, led by the Mytilenians, in which Athens' imperial aims and its democratic ideals came into conflict. In their speech to Sparta requesting support for their rebellion, an important point is made by the Mytilenian ambassadors. They say: "The object of the alliance was the liberation of the Hellenes from Persia, not the subjugation of the Hellenes to Athens". After gaining control over Mytilene, the question of what do with the population came before the Athenian assembly, with one side supporting death and enslavement to all, and the other side finding this proposal cruel and unprecedented. Cleon represented the side supporting death, as well as the imperial aims of Athens.

He said: "To feel pity, to be carried away by the pleasure of hearing a clever argument, to listen to the claims of decency are... against the interests of an imperial power". ( , 40) Diodutus, speaking against the death penalty, believed that it would not be in Athens' best interest to impose such a harsh penalty. In his speech, Diodutus states: " (By) employing moderation in our punishments, we can in future secure for ourselves the full use of those cities which bring us important contributions". Diodutus emphasizes what Athens might gain from Mytilene, but on a deeper level he is stressing what they will lose by killing everyone: the democratic ideal. By creating deep anger in their allies, the Athenians ruled an extremely unstable empire. The Spartans used this to their advantage by instigating rebellions, which caused Athens to spread its forces thin, greatly contributing to their defeat by Sparta.

Athens' corruption of the basic intent of the Delian League not only caused its rise to power, but also influenced to its downfall. By using the power afforded to it after the Persian War, Athens built up both an immense wealth and an extremely affective navy. But they blatantly abused their power by subjugating and antagonizing nearly all their allies. They distorted the idea of what democracy meant by applying it only to themselves, and consequently sealed their own fate. Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War.