Page:A General Sketch of Political History from the Earlist Times.djvu/68

 56 THE GLORY OF GREECE AND RISE OF ROME partly by the development of the tributary system, partly by the punishments inflicted on the cities which endeavoured to Jealousy break away from her ascendency, and partly by of Athens. establishing colonies of her own in new territories, and within the territories confiscated from rebellious states. She grew so strong that her supremacy was hardly shaken by the total annihilation of a large Athenian army and fleet, which had been sent to help Egypt in a revolt from the Persian dominion. After this, however, Greek hostilities against Persia ceased. Athenian ascendency was not producing Greek unity. Within the League, what had once been a leadership acknow- ledged as hers by moral right, in the struggle with the barbarians, had been turned into a sort of despotism of which the first object appeared to be the individual aggrandisement of Athens. Outside the confederacy, every state was watching the aggressive policy of Athens with jealousy and alarm. All the states which were anxious to check her power looked to Sparta as their chief, and it was certain that before long a determined attempt would be made to overthrow the Athenian Empire. At last a Congress was held of the states who were opposed to Athens, including nearly all the principal cities on the 5 Peiopon- mainland where Athens had hardly extended her nesian War, sway. The Congress resolved to call upon Athens 431-404 B.C. t0 liberate the subject states and to banish Pericles, who was held responsible for her aggressive policy. Athens refused to accede to the demands, and so began the famous Peloponnesian War, which continued for nearly thirty years. We have a very full record of most of the war from the great Athenian historian Thucydides. To the Greeks themselves this war, which was really a struggle for supremacy among the Greeks between Greek states, appeared to be of immense im- portance ; of more importance even than the Persian War, which had been settled in half a dozen engagements, with the loss of comparatively few Greek lives. To the history of the world at large, it mattered very much more whether the Greek civilisa- tion should be swamped by the oriental, than whether one or another Greek city should hold the first place among the