Greek AND Roman Civilisation DF UNIT 3 PDF

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Explain how successful the Delian League was....

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Discussion Forum Unit 3 Explain how successful the Delian League was. After the second Persian invasion of Greece was repelled in 479 BCE, the Spartans and many of the allies in the Peloponnesus of southern Greece lost interest in the war against Persia. The remaining Greek allies formed a new pact on the island of Delos called the Delian League. The Delian League which was founded in 478 BC was an association of Greek city-states, under the leadership of Athens. According to Brand (n.d.), Athens emerged as the leader because it was the largest navy and the prestige of having twice been crucial to stopping two Persian invasions of Greece in 490 BCE and 480 BCE. The purpose of the Delian league was to continue fighting the Persian Empire after the Greek victory in the Battle of Plataea at the end of the Second Persian invasion of Greece. The League's got its name based on its official meeting place in the island of Delos, where congresses were held in the temple and where the treasury stood until, in a symbolic gesture, Pericles moved it to Athens in 454 BC. According to Wikipedia (2018), shortly after its inception, Athens began to use the League's navy for its own purposes, which led to its naming by historians as the Athenian Empire. As time went by, however, Athens started treating other city states in the League less as allies and more as subjects. This behavior frequently led to conflict between Athens and the less powerful members of the League. By 431 BC, Athens' became very autocratic in their leadership of the Delian League, partially contributing to the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War; the League was dissolved upon the war's conclusion in 404 BC under the direction of Lysander, the Spartan commander. Their dictatorship style of leadership was evident especially in 471 BCE, when the island of Naxos tried to withdraw from the league because they did not appreciate Athens’ style of leadership. Athens viewed this act of rebellion and went to war with Naxos and defeated them. The story of the league I have just presented is not one of success. According to Nenartovich (2015), success in political leadership can be measured the Using Quality of Life QOL) Index rather than Gross Domestic Product, or 'happiness index', or something else. It allows figuring out whether the political system benefits everyone and the whole society, not the rich or the poor only. Following the military defeat of Naxos, allies were expected to contribute only silver and not ships. The League treasury was soon transferred from the island of Delos to the temple of Athena in Athens for safe keeping. It is clear from these steps being taken that Athens was bullying its way through the control of the other city-sates in the league. Using the QOL Index, I would identify the efforts of the league as a failure, even if it had made some achievements. The ‘golden age’ of Athens under Pericles’ leadership was funded by the contributions of the Delian League. The magnificent Parthenon marble temple to Athena was constructed with resources paid for by the silver contributions made by members of the Delian League. The yearly tribute payments that each former ally made was to what had now become a kind of Athenian protection racket system. When people are oppressed by a system that they are supporting, resistance and revolt will eventually be expressed. According to Brand (n.d.), “a coalition of other Greek states, led by Sparta was openly hostile to Athens. Eventually, a rival league led by Sparta would go to war against Athens. The Peloponnesian wars would eventually humble Athens and bleed all of Greece dry”. It is clear therefore that the Delian League did not only affect and destroy the League itself, but also the country of Greece and its resourcefulness. Consequently, Greece, “which had uncharacteristically united to fight off the Persian superpower, would now commit a form of collective suicide as it tore itself apart” (Brand, n.d.). The conclusion I have arrived at from the failure of the Delian League is that power as the capacity to generate a highly corruptive influence. According to Lord Acton (n.d.), “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Evidence to this effect can be seen in the Athenian leadership which was hijacked into a dictatorship of the Delian League. From this example and many others, many invaluable lessons can be learnt, chief of which is the fact that dictatorship and oppression will eventually end in downfall and destruction, and is an approach which is not worthy of emulation. Honesty and democracy are still the more favorable policies.

Reference Brand, P. (n.d.). The Delian League: From Alliance to Empire. Retrieved from https://my.uopeople.edu/pluginfile.php/247645/mod_book/chapter/143430/Athens %20%20Sparta%20dictatorship%20%20democracy.pdf Dalberg-Acton, J. (n.d.). Lord Acton Quote Archive. Power and Authority. Retrieved from https://acton.org/research/lord-acton-quote-archive Nenartovich, K. (2015). How can the success of a political system be measured? Retrieved from https://www.quora.com/How-can-the-success-of-a-political-system-be-measured Wikipedia. (2018). Delian League. Retrieved on 2nd Dec, 2018 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delian_League...