Greek and Persian Wars | Campaigns of the Delian League (Lecture 12)

Lecture 12: Impressed by the honorable conduct of Aristides the Just, the Ionians formally allied themselves with Athens and vowed to maintain everlasting enmity with Persia. Under the leadership of Cimon, the Delian League began its operations with seasonal campaigns against Persian positions, proving wildly successful and ultimately enrolling some 150 cities and islands as members. The league’s campaigns reached a high point in 466 B.C., when the Greeks squelched Persian hopes for recovery by defeating a large army and fleet at the Eurymedon River. Following the Battle of Salamis, the Ionian Greeks, those from Asia and the Aegean Islands, saw a chance to ensure their permanent freedom from the Persians with the sworn protection of the mainland Greeks. Rebuffed in this appeal by the Spartans, the Ionians turned to the Athenians, led by Aristides the Just, to serve as their hegemon. In 478 B.C., the Athenians and Ionians met on the island of Delos and created the Delian League. Under the leadership of Cimon, the league began its operations with seasonal campaigns against Persian positions, liberating Greek cities that remained in Persian hands and adding to its own treasury with captured booty. The campaigns of the league reached a high point in 466 B.C., when the Greeks squelched Persian hopes for recovery by defeating a large army and fleet at the Eurymedon River.

Recommended Reading:
Bengtson, The Greeks and the Persians: From the Sixth to the Fourth Centuries.
Blamire, Plutarch: Life of Kimon.