How Did Athens Take Over The L

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period of Greek greatness.
The idea of panhellenism - the awareness of Greek unity- appeared as a reaction to the fear of the Persian invasion. This is how Persia helped the Greece to recognise their identity, which gave significance to the year 479 BC to be marked as the beginning of the Classical Greek period. At the other side, the year 479 BC does not represent a vital turning-point in politics. Sparta’s control over her allies was still unbroken. After the Greeks’ triumph on Plataea, when the fear of the Persian invasion decreased, the idea of the united Greeks started diminishing. Phthonos (envy) was what characterised the relationship between Sparta and Athens,
and between many other city-states after the Persian Wars. Their rivalry was constant.
The most important direct result of the wars was the establishment of Athens as dominant Greek naval power. This gave Athens the opportunity to create, in the years to come, an extensive empire over the newly won ...

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of the rest of Hellos ( I, 91). As Thucydides stated, at this time Spartans were friendly disposed to Athens because of their gallantry in the Persian wars, so they did not openly manifest their anger (I, 92). He believed that
Sparta began to feel threatened because Athens was getting stronger and bigger.
The second reason of the strengthening of Athens was the Spartan commander, Pausanias. He commanded over the Hellenic forces against Cyprus and Byzantium. Pausanias was unpopular among his own people, especially in those states which were recently freed from Persian invasion. These states wanted Athens to take the command over from Sparta and to protect them from ...

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