Page:History of Greece Vol IV.djvu/336

 818 HISTORY OJ GREECE. hostility as Athens and Eretria, "We see at once the bonds drawn closer between Athens and Sparta. The Athenians, for the first time, prefer a complaint at Sparta against the ^Egine- '.ans for having given earth and water to Darius, accusing them of having done this with views of enmity to Athens, and in order to invade Attica conjointly with the Persian. This they represented " as treason to Hellas," calling upon Sparta as head of Greece to interfere. And in consequence of their appeal, Kleomenes king of Sparta went over to -<Egina, to take measures against the authors of the late proceeding, " for the general ben- efit of Hellas."i The proceeding now before us is of very great importance in the progress of Grecian history. It is the first direct and posi- tive historical manifestation of Hellas as an aggregate body, with Sparta as its chief, and obligations of a certain sort on the part of its members, the neglect or violation of which constitutes a species of treason. I have already pointed out several earlier incidents, showing how the Greek political mind, beginning from entire severance of states, became gradually prepared for this idea of a permanent league with mutual obligations and power of enforcement vested in a permanent chief, an idea never fully carried into practice, but now distinctly manifest and parti- ally operative. First, the great acquired power and territory of Sparta, her military training, her undisturbed political traditions, create an unconscious deference towards her, such as was not felt towards any other state : next, she is seen in the proceedings against Athens, after the expulsion of Hippias, as summoning and conducting to war a cluster of self-obliged Peloponnesian allies, with certain formalities which gave to the alliance an im- posing permanence and solemnity : thirdly, her position becomes 1 Herodot. vi, 49. Iloi^aaai 6i o$t (kiyivrjrais) ravT lTreK.ia.TO, 6oKsovTf im aioi sx ovTa t Toi>c Alyiv^raf dtJuKEvai (yrjv /cat itiup), (if ufia rij) Hepcry inl atyeaf ffTparevuvrai. Kal uaficvoi npoQaffiof faeX-ufiovro (jtocreovTff re f TJ/V Sirup fijv, Karqyopeov TUV A.iyivriTEUV ra KeKoiTjKOiev, irpodovref TTJV 'E/lAaJa. Com- pare viii, 144, ix, 7. TT/V 'EXAada Seivbv noiovfievot Trpodovvai ft new and very important phrase. vii, 61. Tore tie rbv Vi7.fop.ivia, iovra kv rfj Alylvy, Kal to'vtl ri V.AA'idi oyoi?a Trpoae py aZopevov, etc.