The Second Athenian League was a maritime confederation of Greek city-states that existed from 378 to 355 BC under the leadership (hegemony) of Athens. The alliance represented a partial revival of the Delian League, which had been disbanded in 404 BC following the defeat of Athens in the Peloponnesian War. The new League was centered in the Aegean and included over 60 states,[1] among which were Kos, Mytilene, Rhodes, and Byzantium. It was primarily formed as a defensive alliance against Sparta and secondly the Persian Empire. The new League's main objective was to preserve peace in Greece and counterbalance Sparta's growing hegemony and aggression.[2][3] The League largely revived Athenian influence in the Greek world, reestablishing it as the strongest naval power in the eastern Mediterranean.[1] This time, Athens made conscious efforts to avoid the strict terms that had eventually rendered the previous Delian League unpopular.[1] The alliance lasted until 355 BC, when most of the allied cities became independent following the Social War that broke out in 357 BC.[4]
- ^ a b c Engen, Darel Tai (2010). Honor and Profit: Athenian Trade Policy and the Economy and Society of Greece, 415–307 B.C.E. University of Michigan Press. p. 58. ISBN 978-0-472-11634-8.
- ^ Armstrong, Jeremy (2016). Circum Mare: Themes in Ancient Warfare. Brill. p. 173. ISBN 978-90-04-28485-2.
- ^ "Delian League". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
- ^ Engen, Darel Tai (2010). Honor and Profit: Athenian Trade Policy and the Economy and Society of Greece, 415–307 B.C.E. University of Michigan Press. p. 59. ISBN 978-0-472-11634-8.