The Delian League
Summary
Host Melvyn Bragg discusses the Delian League with historians Leah Lazar, Polly Lowe, and Paul Cartledge. They explore how this 5th-century BCE alliance, formed to resist Persia, evolved into the Athenian Empire. The experts analyze its coercive nature, the suppression of revolts, and its eventual collapse due to over-expansion and Spartan-Persian intervention.
Topics discussed
Intro, ads, and welcome to the programme
Geopolitical landscape: Greece vs Persian Empire
Origins of the Delian League and the Greco-Persian Wars
Purpose of the alliance: Revenge or mutual defense?
Defining the League: Alliance or Empire?
Historical sources: Herodotus and Thucydides
Early campaigns, Egyptian disaster, and internal tensions
Shift to imperialism: Pericles, revolts, and crucifixion
Athenian coinage, the Owl, and building the Parthenon
Satire in Aristophanes' Birds and public perception
Collapse of the League and the Second Athenian Alliance
Bonus: Sparta's economy, navy, and Persian influence
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