PERICLES AND ELPINICE
Athens was at first the leader of the Delian League; she soon became
its ruler.
Many of the allied cities offered to send, as their contribution to the
league, money instead of ships. To this Athens agreed gladly, and with
the money she added ship after ship to her own fleet. So the navy of
Athens continued to grow while that of the other states dwindled until
they possessed only a few vessels.
The treasury of the league, which had been kept in the small but sacred
island of Delos, was moved to Athens with the consent of the allies.
But after a time the other cities grew discontented. They complained
that the money they sent to the league was not spent on ships alone.
Some of it, at least, was used to build beautiful temples for the city
of Athens.
So dissatisfied were they that they declared that they would leave the
league. But they soon found that it would be difficult to carry out
their threat, for Athens was too anxious to receive their contributions
of money to let them go.
When the people who lived on the island of Samos revolted, Pericles
went with an army to besiege their capital town, and after nine months
the Samians were forced to surrender. The walls of the city were
pulled down, the ships belonging to the island were seized, and the
inhabitants were forced to pay a heavy fine.
On his return to Athens, Pericles was welcomed by his own party, but
Elpinice, the sister of Cimon, was indignant that the citizens should
rejoice at a victory gained over their own countrymen.
One day, soon after his triumphant return, Elpinice waylaid Pericles
as he was walking along the streets, and said to him, ‘These are brave
deeds, Pericles, that you have done, and such as deserve our chaplets,
who have lost us many a worthy citizen, not in a war with Phoenicians
or Medes, like my brother Cimon, but for the overthrow of an allied and
kindred city.’
Elpinice hoped to make Pericles ashamed that he had fought with people
of his own race.
And now for two years, from 447 B.C. to 445 B.C., loss after loss
befell Athens. While she was struggling with her other enemies, the
king of Sparta marched into Attica with an army. Athens herself was in
danger.
But before the army reached the city, it was ordered to halt, and soon
after it withdrew from Attica.
No one knew what had made the Spartans spare Athens, but it was said
that Pericles had paid their king a large sum of money on condition
that he took his army back to his own country.
In 445 B.C. Athens signed a Thirty Years’ Truce with Sparta, and at the
same time peace was made with Persia.
Pericles was now able to devote himself to the work which was his
greatest pleasure. He spent fourteen years in making Athens so
beautiful that it became the wonder city of the world.