History Of The Delian League

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The Delian league, founded in 478 BC, was originally formed not only to defend against the Persians, but to strike back against them. With Sparta reluctant to spearhead this effort, it fell to Athens to take the position as leader of these united Greeks. The Delian league began as a peaceful and voluntary union, however it was not long before Athens began using the league resources for personal gain and started conquering regions, forcing them to join, and pay tribute. This marks the transition from a democracy to an empire, and ultimately the beginning of the end for Athens. The people of the Delian league were not happy with this and many rebelled. Although these rebellions did not initially succeed, they did weaken the empire and contribute
However, many Greeks were still vulnerable and many felt they needed to strike back against Persia for what they had done. These city states met and formed the Delian league, because Athens had been one of the most active city states in fending off the Persians it was decided that they would lead the Delian league. In the early years of the Delian League Athens prepared for an invasion by building the long walls, building up the navy, and securing more members for the Delian league. Initially the members of the Delian League contributed men, ships, and money to be used for their defense, however, eventually Athens would only collect money from its members. All of these preparations made Sparta nervous, because they thought Athens was preparing for war. This ultimately did lead to the first Peloponnesian War in 460
Although at first it seems like it is empowering to women, it seems to me to instead be implying that it would take something so incredibly ridiculous to bring an end to the war. During the play the women are very critical of what is going on and although the play is a comedy it condemns the war and shows that the people are sick of the real war and they just want their family members to come home so they can live in peace. It is also an interesting insight to think not only of the play but the people watching it and the times that it was performed in. It is not surprising that a comedy would do so well at this time as opposed to a tragedy, when people were tired of the constant war in real life and going to a play could have been a nice escape from

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