PNLOPONNESIACUM BELLI/ AI, Jr-tic-U,w bei-/n/n, the famous twenty-eight years' contest between the two great Greek rivals Athens and Sparta, and their respective allies, arose really from the jealousy felt by Sparta of the great power Athens had acquired after the Persian wars, when the latter city became head of "the confederacy of Delos," which was formed, 478 B.c., by the maritime allies, on the recommendation of Aristides, after the recall of Pausanias (x) from the Asiatic coast. The periodical meeting of this confederacy was at Delos, and the members were assessed in ships or money ; but by the removal of the treasury and the synod to Athens, the conversion of its stewards (Hale no thin'ite) into an Athenian board, the mis application of the common funds (now raised from 46o to 600 talents), the transference of all public lawsuits to Athens, the depriving of the constituent states, except Chios, Samos, and Lesbos, of their armaments by requiring the contribution to be in money, and the exactions of Athenian officers, much discontent was caused among the Athenian allies, marked by the revolt of Naxos 466, Thasos 465, Eubma and Megara 445, and Samos 44o. After the reduction of the latter isle, after a nine months' siege by Pericles, Athens was in the height of her glory ; but the members of the league, converted from allies to tributaries, were dis contented, and the Dorian element in Greece, bursting with envy at the success of the Ionian, was ready to take advantage of the first opportunity for a general war ; and this was found in the quarrel between Corcyra and Corinth, 435, when Epidamnus, a colony of Corcyra, on the coast of Illyria, being at tacked by the Illyrians and its own expelled oligarchs, appealed for aid to oligarchical Cor cyra, which refused help ; whereupon Epi damnus applied to Corinth, which was also its metropolis, as Corcyra was a colony of Corinth. The Epidammans were assisted by a Corinthian fleet, which was attacked and de feated by the Corcyreans, indignant at the in terference, off Actium. In 431 the Corinthians
made great preparations for the war, and both they and the Corcyreans sent embassies for an alliance, 433, to Athens, which formed a de fensive alliance with Corcyra, and assisted the latter, in the spring of 432, in defeating the Corinthians. Soon after, Poticixa revolted from Athens ; and in a congress of Pelo ponnesians was held to decide on war with Athens, which broke out in 431. The Allies on each side were: for Athens—Chios, Lesbos, and Corcyra, with their navies, and, with in fantry and money, Messenia, Acar nania, Zacynthus, Carla, Doris, Ionia, the Hellespontines, Thrace, and all the Cyclades except Melos and Them ; for Sliarta —all the Peloponnesians except the Argives and Achaia (i.e., Arcadia, Laconia, and Messenia, with infantry, Corinth, Sicyonia, and His, with navies), and Megaris, Ambracia, Leucadia, with navies, and Locris, Bceotia, Phocis, with cavalry, and Anactorium, with infantry, In spring, 431, the Thebans attacked Platma, and in midsummer the Peloponnesians invaded Attica, and shortly after the Athenians allied with King Sitalces of Thrace. The chief events in the war were the surrender of Po tidma to the Athenians, 429, of Plata to the Spartans, 427, and of Sphacteria to Cleon, 425; the successes of the Spartan Brasidas in Thrace, 424-422; the defeat of the Athenians at Mantinea, 408 ; the Athenian expedition to Sicily, 425, destroyed, 4r3; establishment of the Spartans at Decelea, ; defeat of the Spartan fleet off Cynossema, 4xx, and at Cy zicus, 400, by Alcibiades ; defeat of Alcibiades' lieutenant off NotTum by Lysander, 407, and of Lysander's successor Callicratidas off the Arginasm isles, 406 ; and the great victory of Lysander off ./Egospaarnos, 4o5, by which the war was virtually ended, Athens surrendering, after a blockade of three months, to Lysander, in