Sunday, May 18, 2025
The Second Athenian Confederacy
Nicholas Cross
In 378 BCE, thirty-six years after their defeat in the Peloponnesian War and the dismantling of their empire, the Athenians took the bold step of reconstituting their hegemony over the Aegean world.
But contrary to the view that the Second Athenian Confederacy was an attempt to revive Athens’ imperial past, this new organization was a bold experiment in inclusive geopolitics. In its political, financial, and military institutions, the Confederacy differed from its fifth-century predecessor by allowing a greater role for the seventy allies under Athenian leadership.
This presentation will employ an innovative approach to understanding interstate relations in the late Classical period. Through an examination of literary and epigraphical evidence, it will explore the origins of the Second Athenian Confederacy, the mechanisms for its operations, and the reasons for its downfall between the 350s and 338 BCE.
Nicholas Cross is Assistant Professor of Ancient Mediterranean History at the United States Naval Academy.
This event will be held at Pistone's Italian Inn (6320 Arlington Blvd / Falls Church, VA 22042)
Luncheon at 2 pm / Lecture at 3 pm
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