Explain the Origins and Activities of the Delian Leagu

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Explain the origins and activities of the Delian League The origins of the Delian League was to fight the Persians (offensive), to ensure that Greece was not attacked again. The League was slowly transformed into an Empire. The Delian League was established in 477BC. The aim of the League was ‘to compensate themselves for their losses by ravaging the territory of the King of Persia (Thucydides). De Ste Croix believes that the “prosklema” translated by traditional scholars such as Meiggs as simple “aims” actually had an imperialistic connotation, because prosklema was a “professional aim”. This was to cover up the Athenian ambitions of having a large, powerful, active and rich alliance under its control. This would help explain why many of the actions taken by the league were imperialistic. Both Aristotle and Plutarch mention the oath taken by members and Aristotle says that it was Aristides...”who swore the oaths to the Ionians that they should have the same enemies and friends, to confirm which they sank lumps of iron in the sea”. This oath, sworn between the Athenians and allies indicated that the Athens was to be the hegemon (leader) for as long as the League continued, and the League was meant to be permanent. The main aim of the League was to capture Eion as it was of great economic and strategic importance. On the mouth of the Strymon River, it dominated the main east-west land route and was a natural centre of exchange for a hinterland rich in precious ore, timber and corn. Eion had been a supply depot for the Persian forces, and was its strongest garrison west of the Hellespont. Cimon’s actions here removed a potentially dangerous base from which new Persian offensives could have been launched against Greece. The allies would have approved of this action. The conquest of Scyrus in 474BC seems to have had nothing to do with the Leagues stated aims as
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