an alliance of ancient Greece, uniting maritime cities and the islands of the Aegean Sea under Athenian hegemony. It came together in 478–477 B.C.
The Delian League arose during the Greco-Persian wars (500–449) as a union of the Greek city-states for the joint struggle against the Persian state of the Achaemenids. Formally, it was a confederation of independent city-states enjoying equal rights. Meetings of the league were held on the island of Delos in the sanctuary of Apollo. The league’s treasury (until 454–453) was also kept there under the jurisdiction often elected treasurers. Actually, from the very beginning the Athenians began to control the league’s affairs. Athenian strategists directed the combined military operations. In addition, they fixed the rates of the monetary assessment, the phoros, and apportioned it among the league’s members. At first, some of the members equipped ships instead of paying the phoros, but the Athenians preferred the monetary payments. By about the end of the 440’s, the only states that did not pay the phoros but instead supplied ships and troops were Lesbos, Chios, and Samos (the last furnished ships until the revolt of 440–439). The remaining member states went into three tax districts. In 443–442, the number of tax districts was increased to five: Ionia, Caria, Hellespont, Thrace, and the islands. The Carian district was merged with the Ionian around 437. An Athenian representative, or episkopos (literally, observer), was put at the head of each tax district. In a number of cases, the Athenians placed temporary or permanent garrisons in the cities and set up military-agricultural settlements on land confiscated from the local citizens. The Athenian popular assembly by legislative order determined the rates and apportioned the phoros every four years (the rates changed: for example, Aristides first set it at 460 talents; in 425, it was 1,300 talents). At its height, up to 200 cities were members of the Delian League.
In 454–453, on the pretext that it was dangerous to keep the treasury on Delos, the Athenians moved it to Athens. From that time on, the Athenian government disposed of the treasury as it wished. Displaying an obvious aim to subordinate the member states to its own continuous control, Athens began to interfere in their domestic affairs and establish an order that would be advantageous for itself. The attempts of the individual members to get out from under Athens’ guardianship and leave the league were quickly suppressed: revolts were put down on the islands of Naxos (467–466) and Thasos (465–463), in Chalcidice (446–445), and elsewhere. All the commercial activity of the member cities was placed under Athenian control. Athenian coinage was declared compulsory, and in 434 league members were forbidden to issue their own silver coinage. The Athenian system of weights was introduced everywhere. The jurisdiction of the league members was also restricted: all matters that concerned their relations with Athenians, and later all the most important matters of the citizens of the member cities, began to be considered in the Athenian court. Thus, the Delian League turned into an Athenian maritime empire. During the Peloponnesian War, from 431 to 404 (especially after the unsuccessful Sicilian expedition of 413), the mass defection of members began. In 404, Athens, having suffered defeat in the war, was compelled to liquidate the Delian League at the demand of the Spartans and their allies.
D. P. KALLISTOV