Page:The City-State of the Greeks and Romans.djvu/315

X the formation or concentration of other leagues, whose object was to put an end to Spartan tyranny; and throughout it we have the melancholy spectacle of constant appeal on all sides to the Persian power for aid. The cities are not only getting accustomed to the loss of autonomy at home, but also to the loss of that common feeling of Hellenic freedom which had sprung independently from the same root. A new Athenian league arose in 378 B.C., sheltered at first under the power of Persia; the object was opposition to the tyranny of Sparta, so that the position and policy of the two leading States is now exactly reversed. In this union, which only comprised some seventy cities, and did not last long, the autonomy of each State was guaranteed by Athens. She was leader, but the contributions of the allies were not called or considered tribute, and there was little or no interference with their internal affairs. The significance of this league is not great for our present purpose; but there is one feature in it which is of real interest. We know, not only from historians, but from inscriptions, that the allies were represented by commissioners at Athens. This is clearly an attempt to reproduce the most significant feature in the early constitution of the confederacy of Delos, — that feature which indicates most plainly an approach to a real federation.