What reasons did the Athenians give for rejecting this option?

What reasons did the Athenians give for rejecting this option?

Pericles rejects the Spartan Ultimatum because he thinks that if they accept it they will soon be met with a much larger demand. If they stand firm and reject it, then it shows their strength. The more strong they appear to Sparta, the less willing Sparta will be to start the war.

What did the Athenians do to the melians when they asked to remain neutral during the Peloponnesian war?

Though the Melians had ancestral ties to Sparta, they were neutral in the war. Athens invaded Melos in the summer of 416 BC and demanded that the Melians surrender and pay tribute to Athens or face annihilation. The Melians refused, so the Athenians laid siege to their city.

Why did Athens help corcyra?

Athens offered Corcyra a defensive alliance under which Athens would lend aid only if Corcyra was attacked. The Athenians had decided that if war with Sparta was necessary, it was better to have Corcyra’s navy than allow it to fall into the hands of the Peloponnesian League.

In what ways would adding the island state of Melos to their empire have been advantageous for the Athenians both militarily and commercially?

By attacking Melos, the Athenians would alienate neutral states and thus add to the number and power of their own enemies. You just studied 8 terms!

Why were the Athenians unable to win the Peloponnesian War?

The Athenian Empire, although based in the peninsula of Attica, spread out across the islands of the Aegean Sea; Athens drew its immense wealth from tribute paid from these islands. Athens maintained its empire through naval power. Thus, the two powers were relatively unable to fight decisive battles.

Why did city states in the Delian League revolt against Athens?

Why did city-states in the Delian League revolt against Athens? They resented not having a say in the government. They wanted to establish a representative democracy. They feared that Athens could not protect them from Persia.

How do the Athenians justify their actions against the melians?

In the dialogue the Athenians justify their actions in the most brutal terms. The Melians’ very weakness forces them to attack. Their own credibility would suffer if they allowed the Melians to remain neutral.

Why did city-states in the Delian League revolt against Athens?

Why did Athens and Corinth fight?

The Peloponnesian War was a war fought in ancient Greece between Athens and Sparta—the two most powerful city-states in ancient Greece at the time (431 to 405 B.C.E.). As a Spartan ally, Corinth resumed hostilities toward Athens when Athens threatened Corinth’s interests in the region surrounding Corcyra.

Why was the megarian decree important?

Megara controlled the important routes between Peloponnese and Attica, making it crucial for both Athens and Sparta. The ban strained the fragile peace between the two states. The Peloponnesian War began after Megara appealed to Sparta, its ally, for help.

Why was the Delian League often referred to as the Athenian League?

The League’s modern name derives from its official meeting place, the island of Delos, where congresses were held in the temple and where the treasury stood until, in a symbolic gesture, Pericles moved it to Athens in 454 BC.

Why did the Melians refuse to be neutral?

Melians. So that you would not consent to our being neutral, friends instead of enemies, but allies of neither side. Athenians. No; for your hostility cannot so much hurt us as your friendship will be an argument to our subjects of our weakness, and your enmity of our power. Melians.

What did the Melians do to the Athenians?

The Melians are a colony of Lacedaemon that would not submit to the Athenians like the other islanders, and at first remained neutral and took no part in the struggle, but afterwards upon the Athenians using violence and plundering their territory, assumed an attitude of open hostility.

Why did the Melians remain neutral in the Peloponnesian War?

The Melians, however, remained neutral during the Peloponnesian War, and did not send arms, men, or boats to their Lacedaemonian kin. The Athenians arrive off the coast and demand that the Melians become a tribute state of the Athenian Empire, but the Melians ask to remain neutral.

Why was Melos neutral in the Athenian-Sparta War?

One such state was Melos. Despite being one of the few island colonies of Sparta, Melos had remained neutral in the struggle between Sparta and Athens. Its neutrality, however, was unacceptable to the Athenians who, accompanied by overwhelming military and naval power, arrived in Melos to pressure it into submission.