Sorry for the long delay - honestly, I am. School was a mess, but anyway, I'm back with a new installment and hopefully more to come. To answer some questions:
-OTL, Carthage had lost his territories in Sicily after a defeat against a sicilian coalition in the first half of 5th century BC; it was only after the failure of the Sicilian expedition that the Carthaginians, called by Segesta, have recovered a territory in west Sicily.
Quite true, in OTL. ATL, Athens was so wrapped up in its own troubles. Remember, after that Athens was absorbed in a) consolidating its Greek holdings, b) dealing with Kleomenes's rebellion, and c) dealing with Persian successor states, so Carthage could have easily reclaimed some territory. In fact, this helps the TL as it stretches tensions between Athens and Carthage.
-It doesn't seem to me that Tarraco was a greek colony
So I looked it up, and you are correct, but it was a major trading partner to Athens and it isn't inconceivable that it would submit to Athenian rule. If not, the sacking of one of the only cities in Ispania, and a major trading partner at that, would still anger Aronopheses.
Anyway, without further ado…
Greek Athens
A misnomer if there ever was one, many began referring to Zeno II’s reign as the creation of a more “Greek” Athens. With Athens now in control of Greece, many consider this the creation of a more Greek-oriented Athens, unlike the colonization efforts of previous times. In reality, however, Zeno II’s reign was the opening up of Athens to the world. While previously, an Athenian could never be truly integrated to Sparta or Persia, now the Athenians were opening up to the world. Merchants from as far away as Arabia, India, and Africa all sold their wares in Greek markets, the most popular destinations including Halicarnassus, Samos, and, of course, Athens. Athenian culture, which had remained solely greek, opened p to foreign influences. Through Anatolia, Persian ascetics slowly incorporated themselves into Athenian art and architecture. Babylonian glaze began to decorate the floors of Stoas, paradisio gardens began to grace the exteriors of temples, and reliefs in the persian style became prominent in Athenian lands. Likewise, Athenian theater received a massive influx of writings from other cultures. Tales such as The Epic of Gilgamesh and stories of the Egyptian deities found there way into theatrical adaptations. This all led to an extraordinary flowering of Athenian culture.
This blossoming of culture was all attributed, and some consider rightfully, to Baselios Zeno II. “The Architect” travelled from town to town with his powerful retinue, building new courthouses, harbors, stoas, gymnasiums, theaters, and more. Many archeologists today consider Zeno II one of the greatest rulers in history, mainly because of the plethora of work he left them. Zeno’s prodigious building projects may have left his treasuries empty, but most forgave him for the prosperity that he brought with him. On the advice of Alexios, he created a state bank from which money was lent and, ultimately, created. Zeno, however, decided not to use it to stuff his treasuries and instead cut back taxes on the people, winning him love but not riches. It cannot be stressed enough how the reign of Zeno II the Architect proved to be a Golden age of Athens.
In the political spectrum, however, the world was changing. Macedonia, which made up the majority of Athens’s northern border, was rapidly hellenizing. Just as Persian culture crept into Athenian society, Athenian culture crept into Macedonian society. In 366, the entire court of Macedon spoke Athenian Greek, met in Athenian-style senate chambers, and used Athenian currency for trade. This year is important because, at the age of 73, Zeno II the Architect died. Whereas Pericles had caused a week-long mourning around Athens, it is said that Zeno’s death caused a month-long mourning across the entire Athenian Empire. He was buried in a silver coffin and placed next to Pericles below the Parthenon. His right hand, however, was cut off and burned. When it was reduced to ashes, they were set afloat in the Aegean sea, so that the hand that wrought so much for Athens could now drift to all corners of the Earth.
Unfortunately for the Empire, Zeno II hadn’t left a clear heir. He had a legitimate son, Calisthenos II, but it was widely believed by the Athenian population that he would move the capital to Halicarnassus and forsake the true Greeks. Unwilling to submit to a half-Anatolian, the people of Greece threw their support behind another man: Xenophon. Xenophon was the nephew of the famed general Nicephorus, and had studied at the feet of his great uncle. It could be said that Xenophon didn’t have the brilliance or panache of his uncle, but he did have a grim determination that few other generals could match. The night after Calisthenos II was crowned, 25-year old Xenophon took control of the city guard and burst into the Baselios’s palace. Demanding that 23-year old Calisthenos come out and surrender the crown to him, Xenophon was forced to battle the palace guards. It was a bloody battle, but within the hour Xenophon and his men were advancing on Calisthenos’s bedroom. The young Baselios was taken into custody, and Xenophon proclaimed himself Baselios, Strategos, and Hegemon of Athens. Some of the people welcomed his rule, but others, particularly the immigrants and lower classes that Zeno II had endeared himself to, howled in rage. Across the Aegean sea, the people of Anatolia were doing the same. If this Greek pretended could replace an election with an army, they reasoned that they could too. The anatolians sailed under the equally gifted general Andreas.
The two armies met on the island of Euboea, where they met in an indecisive battle. Andreas fell back to a hill-top fortress, where Xenophon put him under siege. Constructing a counter-wall around the hill, Xenophon and his army settled down for the siege. For three weeks, Andreas managed to keep morale up, until late in 358 Calisthenos II arrived at the head of an army he purchased from Macedonia. Outmaneuvered, Xenophon was forced to retreat into the hills. However, in the night Xenophon’s fleet picked up his army and sailed back to mainland Greece. Resupplying, Xenophon returned to Euboea, where he outflanked the Anatolian and Macedonian armies and managed to crush Calisthenos’s force. Andreas, however, was able to salvage the battle just in time to save Calisthenos, despite the battle being a Greek victory.
Frustrated that he hadn’t caught his rival, Xenophon engaged in a vicious guerrilla war against Andreas and Calisthenos II. Crops were burned, scouts were killed, and the armies were struck at every turn. By the time the Anatolians reached their ships, their bloodied force was badly outnumbered by Xenophon’s army. Forcing a battle on the beach before the ships, Xenophon went in for the kill in May 357. The huddled, scared, and outnumbered Anatolians and Macedonians formed up for a last stand. Andreas, however, hadn’t lost any of his skill. Pulling his forces back to dry, loose sand, Andreas managed to prevent Xenophon from using his superior cavalry. Xenophon tried to compensate by sending his cavalry around the Anatolian lines, but the loose sand caused many horses to crash, forcing the rest to pull back. Meanwhile, Andreas had him men move much like the Athenians at Marathon so long ago, and the outflanked Greeks surrendered. Xenophon was exiled to Italy, and Calisthenos was returned to the throne, with Andreas as the master of the army.
When he returned to Greece, however, Calisthenos found that he was no longer welcome. The gates of Athens, Corinth, and Thebes were all promptly shut in his face. Enraged, Calisthenos declared that he would conquer any city that didn’t submit, but the badly bloodied Anatolian army was no match for the Athenians’ formidable defenses. Finally, 32-year old Calisthenos abdicated his throne in an act of peace making. Taking his place would be his son, a 9-year old boy named Pericles. His mother had been Greek, so he was allowed the throne as “three-quarters Greek”. Until he came of age, Pericles would have the regent Demosthenes, the same man that served his grandfather so faithfully. One of the first acts of Demosthenes was to assist in a civil war that was occurring in Macedonia. One side was a group of pro-Greeks, led by Phillip II, the right king of Macedon. The other side was a group of anti-Greeks, led by a usurper named Antiochous. Sweeping in on Phillip’s side, Demosthenes’s armies destroyed Antiochous’s and saved Phillip’s crown. Rather shrewdly, Demosthenes demanded that Phillip either submit to Athenian rule or pay massive reparations to Athens for lost soldiers and other, minor grievances. Like his Hellenophillic self, Phillip agreed to submit to Athens’s rule.
Philip himself was a notorious womanizer, with at least a dozen children. However, he was a military and political genius, and quickly rose through the ranks in Athenian politics. His smart policies, combined with his quick wit and charming personality, made him the darling of Athenian society. While in Epirus, Phillip met a charming young princess named Olympias, and soon they had a son. Born on July 21st, 356, this boy would be raised alongside Phillip’s other favorite bastard son, Ptolemy, in the Macedonian court. The boy’s name was Alexander.