Pentecontaetia

Pentecontaetia (Greek: πεντηκονταετία, "the period of fifty years") is the term used to refer to the period in Ancient Greek history between the defeat of the second Persian invasion of Greece at Plataea in 479 BC and the beginning of the Peloponnesian War in 433 BC. The term originates in Thucydides, who uses it in his description of the period. The Pentecontaetia was marked by the rise of Athens as the dominant state in the Greek world, and by the rise of democracy in Athens. Since Thucydides focuses his account on these developments, the term is generally used when discussing developments in and involving Athens.

Shortly after the Greek victory of 479 BC, Athens assumed the leadership of the Delian League, a coalition of states that wished to continue the war against Persia. This league experienced a number of successes, and was soon established as the dominant military force of the Aegean. At the same time, a number of developments led to growing Athenian control over the league. Some 'allies' were reduced to the status of tribute-paying subjects, and by the middle of the 5th century BC - the league treasury was moved from Delos to Athens in 454 BC - the league had been transformed into an Athenian empire. Athens benefited greatly from this tribute, undergoing a cultural renaissance and undertaking massive public building projects, including the Parthenon; Athenian democracy, meanwhile, developed into what is today called radical or Periclean democracy, in which the popular assembly of the citizens and the large, citizen juries exercised near-complete control over the state.

The later years of the Pentecontaetia were marked by increasing conflict between Athens and the traditional land powers of Greece, led by Sparta. Between 460 BC and 445 BC, Athens fought against a shifting coalition of mainland powers in what is now known as the First Peloponnesian War. During the course of this conflict, Athens gained and then lost control of large areas of central Greece. The conflict was concluded by the Thirty Years' Peace, which lasted until the end of the Pentecontaetia and the beginning of the Peloponnesian War.

The eventual breakdown of the peace was triggered by increasing conflict between Athens and several of Sparta's allies. Athens' alliance with Corcyra and attack on Potidaea enraged Corinth, and the Megarian decree imposed strict economic sanctions on Megara, another Spartan ally. These disputes, along with a general perception that Athenian power had grown so great as to become dangerous, led to the breakdown of the Thirty Years Peace; the Peloponnesian War broke out in 431 BC.

Timeline of the Pentecontaetia (480 - 431)

479 - Rebuilding of Athens: Although the Greeks were victorious on the Persian War, there was the belief of a looming threat that the Persians would retaliate. This led Athens to rebuild their long walls that were razed by the Persian Army during the occupation of Attica in 480.

478 - Formation of the Delian League: Athens and other city states form a coalition against the threat of Persia.

477 - The Conquest of Eion: Cimon, the son of Mitiades of Marathon fame, led Athens to numerous victorious campaigns and war profits. In 477, he led an army against the Persian-occupied Eion in northern Greece. Athens was able to benefit from this invasion since the region was rich in timber, which was critical to building Athens' burgeoning naval fleet.

476 - The Conquest of Scyros: The invasions continued with the success of past campaigns led by Cimon. In 476, Athens fought against the pirates of Scyros. The Delian League wanted to reduce piracy around the region and capture all the important materials.

469 - Operation in Asia Minor and the Battle of Eurymedon: From the beginning of 469 to 466, the Delian league led an army to Asia Minor to go against Persia. Cimon was also to persuade Greek settlements on the Carian and Lycian coast to rebel against Persia. This angered the Persian army greatly, and they mobilized an army to fight against Cimon in the Battle of Eurymedon in Pamphylsia, Asia Minor. Cimon was able to swiftly defeat the Persian army and the war profits were used to finance the city-walls of Athens.

465 - Operations in Northern Greece: Athens powers are growing and they have a strong desire for expansion. In 465, after cleruchizing the Chersonese, they continued on their conquest and tried to gain control of Thasos. This was some early signs of animosity between Sparta and Athens, since Sparta was contemplating on invading Attica in order to help free Thasos. However, Sparta endeavors were halted when there was a cohort of helots uprising in Sparta.

461 - The Debate in Athens over Helping Sparta: With a legion of helots rebelling against Sparta, Athens offered their help by sending a force of 4000 hoplites to suppress the rebels. According to Thucydides, Sparta decided to dismiss the Athenian Army led by Cimon because they felt that Athens would convince the Helots on Ithome to form a coalition and besiege Sparta. Spartans did not feel comfortable with such a large Athenian force inside their own city. If the Athenians were to turn their backs on Sparta, the city would not be able to protect itself. At this point, Sparta acknowledges that Athens might be getting too powerful.

460 - Athens' Clash with Corinth over Megara: Megarians decided to join the Delian League under Athens'influence, which angered the Corinthians. Even with Athens weakest soldiers, they were able to win the war against Corinth with ease.

460 - The Athenian Expedition to Egypt: Athens led a coalition with the Egyptians to rebel against Persia. However, their expedition did not lead to much success against Persia, as 100 Athenian ships were destroyed in the Delta region.

458 - The Long Walls: The construction of the long walls gave Athens a major military advantage by forming a barrier around the city-state and the harbors, which allowed their naval ships to access waterways without the threat outside forces. Two walls were constructed going from the city to the sea, one to Phaleron and the other to Piraeus. Athens would rely on these long walls to protect itself from invasion, while sending off their superior vessels to bombard opponent’s cities.

458 - The Battle of Tanagra: According to Thucydides, Spartans aided the Dorians by invading Greece, because they were motivated by ethnic solidarity. Sparta sent out 1500 hoplites and an additional 10,000 from their allies to suppress the Phocians' Army that was invading Doris.

450 - The Peace of Callias - Although this peace treaty is subjected to scholarly debate, there are some who believed that Athens and Persia agreed to cease fire.

446 - The Peloponnesian Invasion of Attica: Athens continued on with their indirect war with Sparta by attempting to gain control of Delphi. At around the same time, their forces were defeated in 447 at Coronea which caused the Athenian army to flee Boeotia. City-states such as Megara and Euboea began to rebel against Athens and the Delian League when the Spartan Army invaded Athenian territory.

445 - The Thirty-Year Peace Between Athens and Sparta: After losing Attica, Boeotia and Megara, Athens agreed to sign a thirty-year peace in return for all the conquered areas in Peloponnesian region. From this point on, all future conflicts between Athens and Sparta should be resolved under arbitration.

447 - Athenian Colonization and the Colony of Brea: With the 30-year peace treaty, Athens was able to concentrate their attention towards growth rather than war with the Spartans. From 445-447, the Delian League was able to influence city-states near Mediterranean to join and pay tribute (phoro). This was great for the region because the tributes paid by each and every city-state were reduced with the increasing number of members joining the league.

441 - The Samian Revolt - Athens decided to besiege Samos after their revolt in 441. However, Persia decided to take the opportunity to support Samos even though they have signed the Peace of Callias with Athens. Athens would eventually spend 1200 talents to fund the war through the Delian League's treasury. Some scholars believed that Sparta might have aided Samoas as well, but decided to pull out of their operation since they signed the Thirty-year peace treaty.

437 - The Foundation of Amphipolis: With vast amount of resources, especially timber which was used for ship building, Athens founded the city of Amphipolis on the Strymon River. Amphipolis was immensely important to Athens since it controls many trading routes.

432 - The Potidaean Affair: Athens was threatened by the possibility of Potidea revolting under the influence of Corinth. Athens demanded Potidaea to tear down their long walls and to banish Corinth ambassadors in Potidaea’s city state. However, by the time Athens reached Potidaea, they already rebelled and were prepared to fight Athens with the support from the Corinthian army. The Corinthians was also able to influence the Spartans to join the cause since Sparta didn't want to lose such an affluent ally.

432 - The Megarian Decree: Megara with the aid of Sparta,, wanted Athens to drop their decree against them since it was hurting their economy; they were forbidden to use Athen's markets and harbors. Athens claims that Megarians insulted them by trespassing on land sacred to Demeter and also murdering one of the ambassadors that were sent to Megara. However, most scholars believe it was an act of vengeance when Megara revolted during the early parts of the Pentecontaetia.

432 - Peloponnesian War - This marked the end of the Pentecontaetia, with Athens and Sparta engaged in an all-out war, which will eventually lead to the demise of the Athenian Empire.

Democracy in Athens during the Pentecontaetia

After the exile of Cimon in Athens, his rivals Epilates and Pericles implemented democratic social reforms. In 462, Epilates challenges the Aeropagus, claiming that they were abusing their powers. Part of the reform is to introduce "graphe paranomon" or public against illegal decrees. Any citizens would have the rights to challenge a previous degree instilled by the Aeropagus and claim it as unconstitutional. The assembly would have to conduct a "dokimasia" or examination on all state officials before they can enter office. Opportunities for citizens to join the office were increased tremendously when 500 new members were elected annually. By transferring the powers of the Aeropagus to all of Athenian citizens, it paved the road to a more democratic society.

After the death of Epilates, his younger partner Pericles continued on with more reforms, transforming Athens into the most democratic city-state of all of Ancient Greece. During 450, he implemented a state salary of two obols per day for jurors to increase public action from citizens. However, this type of payment system caused an outrage from the elites, claiming that the poor were uneducated and incapable of governing the state.

References

• Hornblower, Simon, and Anthony Spawforth ed., The Oxford Classical Dictionary (Oxford University Press, 2003) ISBN 0-19-866172-X
• Roisman, Joseph, and translated by J.C Yardley, Ancient Greece from Homer to Alexander (Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2011) ISBN 1405127767

Thucydides.  History of the Peloponnesian War. Trans. Richard Crawley. Wikisource.