alternatehistory.com

Hello all! My previous thread died out, mainly because I didn't like a. where it was going and b. some nitpicks in the story. So, I'm reviving it. The story will mainly follow the same TL until around where I stopped, but with more detail. However, here are a couple of things you won't see:
- An Athenian wank. Although it might seem like one at first, I promise it won't be.

- Shameless advertising. Except for Xamm Anim, Isaac's Empire, Apple products, and AH.com in general. And, without further ado...

Chapter 1 - The Peloponnesian War

In 429, the Spartan armies under Archidamus II returned to Attica. They plundered the rich peninsula again, but this time they were lucky enough to strike while the Athenian navy and their leader, Pericles, was off on a naval expedition. Seizing the opportunity, the Spartans laid siege to Athens. Brokering a deal with Artaxerxes of Persia, the spartans sold their Asian holdings in exchange for a navy to blockade the Port-city of Piraeus, cutting Athens off from her overseas colonies and preventing and extra food from being shipped in. Athens was under siege.

Pericles received word of the siege while he was off the coast of Crete. He immediately packed up his men and sailed off to relieve his city, picking up Cretan and Ionian warriors along the way. As Pericles sailed around to Athens, his worst fears were realized: the Spartans had sealed off the city from all outside contact. He managed to sail around to the opposite side of Attica before the Spartans discovered his presence, but rumors of approaching Athenians spurred the Spartans into action. On April 9th, they stormed Piraeus. Battering their way inside, the Spartans managed to take the port, but they failed to get into Athens before they closed the gates. The siege was only memorable for one man, an Athenian captain who facilitated the retreat and evacuated most of he Athenian army once he knew the battle was lost. For now he remained unknown, but one day, Persians and Greeks alike would tremble at the name Zeno of Piraeus.

Operating out of his base on the coast of Marathon, site of a great Athenian victory 61 years earlier, Pericles was beginning to formulate a plan. While lesser men would have retreated or thrown their men in a last-ditch charge, Pericles crafted a devastatingly cunning plan. Aware that if Athens fell, the Delian League would crumble, Pericles played all his cards in a desperate gamble. In the early hours of May 13th, 429, his plan was set in motion.

Around midnight, a force of about 400 Cretan mercenaries surrendered to the Spartans at the gates of Piraeus. Tired and inattentive, the Spartans allowed their prisoners to hold on to their swords as they led them inside. Once the gates closed behind them, the Cretans killed their Spartan experts and spread out across the port. They systematically slaughtered the sleeping Spartans, and opened the gates for the rest of the Athenian army. Euboean raiders stormed the Spartan ships, capturing them too. By the time the sun rose, Pericles had brought his full armed might into Piraeus.

Athens was no longer cut off from her allies and Pericles had returned at the head of the full armed might of the Delian League. Bewildered, the Spartans turned around and retreated to the Peloponnese. Pericles, however, was not in a forgiving mood.Gathering the armies of Athens, he sailed around to Corinth, which he promptly stormed and captured. He had arrived before the Spartans, and it was there that he would lay his trap.

While leading his army to Sparta's ally, corinth, Archidamus II was approached by a breathless messenger only a mile out of Corinth.The messenger told him that the Athenians had captured the city, but the populous had rise up against them and that, if he hurried, Archidamus could drive out the Athenians and kill Pericles. The Spartans ran to Corinth, where the gates were promptly thrown open. The spartan contingents spread out sweeping through the city. However, there was no fighting going on. One by one, the spartans were picked off and killed. By the time Archidamus figured out what was going on and managed to pull his army out of the city, only a fifth of the Spartan force remained. Realizing the peril he was in, Archidamus continued his retreat to Sparta, but was cut off by a newly raised force from Knossos, Samos, and Rhodes blocked his path. Trapped between the two Delian armies, the spartans attempted to fight their way out, but the tired, bloodied, outnumbered Spartans were no match for the fresh Delian troops. After a brief display of resistance, Archidamus was captured, and the rest of the Spartans surrendered. In the wreckage of famed Spartan courage, Archidamus was brought before Pericles, who executed his great rival.

Now desperate and leaderless, Sparta forged a last-ditch alliance with Persia, promising all conquered Athenian land in exchange for military assistance. Persian Shah Artaxerxes agreed, and gathered an army at the Satrap of Sardis. Compared to the previous Persian armies that had entered Greece, Artaxerxes's was relatively small and undertrained. Perhaps it was all Artaxerxes could scrape together for an external operation, but many believe that he had learned the lessons of Darius and Xerxes, and was wary of sending large armies to Greece. Sparta sent their remaining armies over to Sardis, and prepared for an invasion of Greece.

It is unknown how Pericles got word of the invasion plan, but in September 429, he gathered his armies and sailed over to Sardis. He surprised the gathered Spartan-Persian army, and in a bloody, 8-hour battle, smashed all resistance. The Persians tried to retreat into Sardis, but in the confusion the Athenian took control of the gates and sacked the city. Pericles now reigned victorious.

The terms of peace imposed on Sparta were harsh. All of the helots were to be freed, and each was to receive 50 drachmas. All military leaders were to be exiled or killed, and Spartan men were to be available, at any time, to assist the Athenian strategos. Finally, all territories north of Corinth were to be ceded to the Delian League. Spartans cried out in protest, and a pretended set up a new Spartan kingdom in Syracuse, but in early 428, when Syracuse was sacked, the Spartans realized that Pericles's offer was better than continued war. Pericles could congratulate himself on a job well done crippling Sparta.

His terms of peace with the Persians were much more generous. A bit of gold and far-reaching trade concessions were all that was needed for peace. It is unknown why Pericles chose to be so lenient, but maybe it was because he had been fighting his whole life, and hoped for a lasting peace. At 67, Pericles's health was in decline, and he was able to live out his last year in peace. Before he expired, however, Pericles would leave two more marks on Athens.

First, he adopted Nike as his personal patron Goddess. In her honor, Pericles constructed a great temple, called the Niketheon, on the Acropolis. Although it was only about half the size of the Parthenon, Pericles made sure that it was no less beautiful. Built in the shape of a six-pronged marble star, it housed beautifully rendered sculptures in five of the "prongs". Each was a bronze statue of a famous Athenian victory, those being Marathon, Salamis, Piraeus, Corinth, and Sardis. In the center, there was a silver statue of Nike, with a statue of Pericles bowing beneath her. Pericles poured gold and workers into his final project, and it was finished within the year.

Pericles's second contribution was less of his own devices. In 427, Zeno of Piraeus was elected Strategos to replace aging Pericles. While construction of the Niketheon was going on, Pericles instructed Zeno on every matter of state that Athens needed him to guide. 68-year old Pericles tutored 27-year old Zeno right up until the day the Niketheon was completed. Upon seeing his two great temples, the Niketheon and the Parthenon, he exclaimed "Wisdom and Victory bless the Athenians!" And with that, he passed away.
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