Challenge: Pax Athena

I challenge anyone to compose a credible TL starting before the Peloponnesian War (431BC) in which the Athenian Empire continues to thrive and even takes Rome's place as the political and cultural centre of the known world.
 
The Sicily campaign was a disaster, and a massive waste of resources. Perhaps it would have been wiser for Athens to concentrate it's fleet closer to the Greek mainland. I was thinking that the plague of Athens in 430BC was a major contributing factor to it's defeat in the long term. The plague cost Athens one quarter of it's population, and therefore manpower.
If the plague had not occurred, or even better struck Sparta, Athens would have been significantly stronger. I know it seems all too easy to attribute Athens' defeat to such a simple event, but most of history's major turning points have been determined by such things.
However, any creative and original POD's would be welcomed. I must admit that I didn't put a lot of effort into mine. Bonus points for plausable descriptions of how the Classical known world might look under an Athenian hegemony.
 
An Athenian Empire would probably be more like the Carthagian Empire then the Roman Empire.

Yes, Athens' empire was predominately a maritime-commercial empire like that of Carthage. The British Empire started the same way, but they were soon imposing their laws, language and customs upon the inhabitants of the lands they conquered. I wonder whether the Athenians would and could make the Greek language the Lingua Franca of the known world. And would they also replicate their demokritas within their client states, vassals and colonies, or would they simply expand their own democracy on a massive scale and embrace all their subjects as 'citizens'?
 
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