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History and Evolution:
By William E. Steinman:
Part 17, The Athenian Empire:
July 14, 2003:
Even during the Persian Wars, Athens continued to develop and tweak the democratic forms of government. With the Persian threat ended Ionia and others were liberated. Sparta which was the natural leader of the Greeks until this time showed some reluctance to protect these outlying areas. They then appealed to Athens and the Athenian empire began. A confederation of Greek states was formed under the leadership of Aristides, the general who lead Athens at the battle of Marathon. With its increased power, Athens began to get seriously imperialistic. This was the political situation into which Socrates was born in 470 BC.
In 462 BC an Athenian statesman, Ephialtes carried the cause of democracy forward. He was able to transfer most of the powers of the aristocratic courts to the popular assembly. A bit later he was assassinated for his troubles, but his reforms remained in place. Whatever the condition of the Athenian democracy, Athenian imperialism continued.
Following the assassination, in 461 another well off Athenian statesman became a power in Athenian politics. This was Pericles who could be called a democratic imperialist. He came to power through the back door with the support of the assembly. He championed the people of Athens and championed the Athenian empire. His goal seemed to be to establish Athenian leadership in the world. To that end he began the restoration of the Greek temples which were ravaged by the Persian invaders. One such temple was the Parthenon at the Acropolis in Athens.
By negotiation he avoided a war with Sparta and achieved an iffy thirty years peace. Having some doubts about the peace he also built two long walls from Piraeus at the sea to Athens. This was no puny feat. The walls were about 4 miles long and 550 feet apart. With Athens being a walled city, this created a walled city with a 550 foot wide corridor to the sea. Thus Athens could be isolated from the countryside and still receive supplies.
Although by law his powers as executive were limited, Pericles drew on his support in the assembly to have his way. His popularity increased as his building programs continued while celebrations and religious festivals increases in splendor. He also extended some colonies into Italy, but that success was limited.
The tensions between Athens and Sparta never really subsided. Both Pericles and the Spartans were a bit bullheaded about negotiations. The situation finally erupted in open warfare in 431 BC. There were several years of war during which Pericles died of a plague which infected the crowded city. The war was interrupted by a six year peace, but more war followed which ended in a total defeat for Athens in 413 BC. Pericles final campaign did not go well at all.
In 411 BC the Athenian democracy was overthrown by a group
called the oligarchical party. This was in turn replaced by some
sort of coalition, but that became irrelevant. The Athenians continued
their belligerent behavior and were finally defeated at sea in
405 BC when the Persians pitched in to help Sparta. Athens surrendered
the following year. The Long Walls were demolished, and the empire
ceased to exist. The Spartans imposed a new oligarchy government
on Athens. Thus ended the Athenian Empire. It was a rather ignoble
end to a magnificent experiment. It was in the context of this
tumultuous time that Socrates developed his philosophy.
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