Page:History of Greece Vol VI.djvu/25

Rh the confederacy, and thus to acquire the benefit of protection at the cost of the remainder : so that when Naxos and other members actually did secede, the step was taken as a revolt, and Athens only did her duty as president of the confederacy in reducing them. By every such reduction, as well as by that exchange of personal service for money-payment, which most of the allies voluntarily sought, the power of Athens increased, until at length she found herself with an irresistible navy in the midst of disarmed tributaries, none of whom could escape from her constraining power, and mistress of the sea, the use of which was indispensable to them. The synod of Delos, even if it had not before become partially deserted, must have ceased at the time when the treasure was removed to Athens, probably about 460 B.C., or shortly afterwards. The relations between Athens and her allies were thus materially changed by proceedings which gradually evolved themselves and followed, one upon the other without any preconcerted plan: she became an imperial or despot city, governing an aggregate of dependent subjects, all without their own active concurrence, and in many cases doubtless contrary to their own sense of political right. It was not likely that they should conspire unanimously to break up the confederacy, and discontinue the collection of contribution from each of the members : nor would it have been at all desirable that they should do so : for while Greece generally would have been a great loser by such a proceeding, the allies themselves would have been the greatest losers of all, inasmuch as they would have been exposed without defence to the Persian and Phenician fleets. But the Athenians committed the capital fault of taking the whole alliance into their own hands, and treating the allies purely as subjects, without seeking to attach them by any form of political incorporation or collective meeting and discussion, without taking any pains to maintain community of feeling with the idea of a joint interest, without admitting any control, real or even pretended, over themselves as managers. Had they attempted to do this, it might have proved difficult to accomplish, so powerful was the force of geographical dissemination, the tendency to isolated civic life, and the repugnance to any permanent extramura obligations, in every Grecian community : but they do not ap