Cimon's Role Model

Hye Sun Lee
Professor T. Wesley Fleming
HIS 101 (048N)
June 7, 2015
Cimon
Cimon was an outstanding Athenian statesman and general in the first half of the 5th century B.C. (Blackwell). He was influential “in leading Athens to a dominant position in the Greek world after the Persian Wars” (Blackwell).
His distinct bravery in the triumphant naval battle with the Persians at Salamis (480 B.C.) led him to be elected as strategus – one of Athens’ 10 annual war generals - and he was reelected every year until his ostracism, which happened in 461 B.C. (“Cimon”).
Demosthenes, writing in the 4th century B.C., depicts that Cimon had a modest character, citing him as an example of how the rich and famous Athenians were no different from others who were typical citizens in the early 5th century (Blackwell). Cimon was tall and good-looking, open and friendly in manner, and straightforward in action; he was a natural leader and possibly, the best general Athens ever

The battle demonstrated that the Athenian-led Delian League could accomplish its objectives (“Battles”). In the Aegean Sea, the Persian fleet was no longer a real threat to the Greeks (“Battles”). A year after the battle, Cimon invaded and defeated the remaining Persian forces in the Thracian peninsula (“Battles”). This victory acquired the Greek fleet's definite control of the Aegean Sea and allowed the Athenians freely to follow their broader political motive; making the Delian League allies tributary states in an Athenian empire and challenging for the supremacy in the Greek world (“Battles”). This situation lasted until the annihilation of the Athenian expeditionary force in Egypt, probably between 460 BC - 456 BC, which contributed that the Persians became a major naval power in eastern Mediterranean again