Sparta and Her Allies in the Sixth Century

This chapter examines accounts of Sparta and its allies in the sixth century. Among these is Thucydides's account in History about the Peloponnesian League and the decision of Spartans and allies that Athens had broken the Thirty Years' Peace. It argues that there is no reason to think that the sort of League encountered in Thucydides was in existence during the Persian Wars or indeed before the early part of the First Peloponnesian War. The Persian invasion, however, forced Spartans, the Peloponnesians, and the Greeks to face the possibility of war far away from their home bases. The Hellenic League was the result — an instrument that served Sparta's purposes well enough and enabled her to call on Athenians as well as Aeginetans to help quell the Messenian Revolt of the late 460s.

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