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More Western Imperialism.
By Hidari, Section Iraq-Iran-Syria
It was the Second Athenian Empire (and isn't it interesting that that's not a phrase that exactly trips off the tongue in the 'West'?) and its increasingly aggressive foreign policy that brought Macedonian into the picture.
'The Social War, also known as the War of the Allies, was fought from 357 BC to 355 BC between Athens with its Second Athenian Empire and between the allies of Chios, Rhodes, and Cos as well as the independent Byzantium. Provoked by Athens' increasingly dominating stance over its Second Athenian Empire, Chios, Rhodes, and Cos overthrew their democratic governments and broke away from the league, assisted by Byzantium.'
'The Athenian generals Chares and Chabrias were given command of the Athenian fleet.During midsummer of 357 BC Chabrias's fleet was defeated and he was killed in the attack on the island of Chios. Chares was given complete command of the Athenian fleet and withdrew to the Hellespont for operations against Byzantium. The generals Timotheus, Iphicrates and his son Menestheus were sent to help him during an oncoming naval battle between the sighted enemy fleet on the Hellespont. Timotheus and Iphicrates refused to engage due to a blowing gale but Chares did engage and lost many of his ships. Timotheus and Iphicrates were accused by Chares and put on trial, however only Timotheus was condemned to pay a fine, and escaped.
In 356 BC, the revolting allies ravaged the Athenian-loyal islands of Lemnos and Imbros but were only able to lay siege to Samos because it was defended by cleruchs. Chares commanded the Athenian fleet at the Battle of Embata lost decisively. King Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great, used the war as an opportunity to further the interests of his Macedonian kingdom in the Aegean region. In 357 BC, Philip captured Amphipolis, a depot for the gold and silver mines from Mount Pangaion and the approach to it, as well as for timber, securing Macedon's economic and political future. He secretly offered Amphipolis to the Athenians in exchange for the valuable port Pydna but when they complied, both Pydna and Potidaea were conquered over the winter and occupied; Amphipolis wasn't surrendered anyway. He also took the city of Crenides from the Odrysae and renamed it Philippi. The leading city of the Chalkidian League, Olynthus, had been allied with Philip until she became fearful of his increasing power. Despite many attempts by Philip to keep the alliance intact, which included presenting the city of Potidaea to her, Olynthus forged an alliance with Athens. In 349 BC Philip besieged and razed the city to the ground, and then subjugated the other cities of the Confederacy.Chares was in need of money for his war effort but frowned upon asking it from home so, partly compelled by his mercenaries, he entered the service of the revolted Persian satrap Atrabazus. The Athenians originally approved this collaboration but then ordered it to be dropped due to the Persian king Artaxerxes III Ochus's complaint and their fear of Persian support for the revolting confederates. Furthermore, as a result of increasing Athenian operations near the Persian empire, in 356 BC Persia asked Athens to leave Asia Minor, warning war. In 355 BC Athens, not in any shape for another war, complied and withdrew recognizing the independence of the confederate allies.' So what was the upshot of all these imperialistic maneuverings? In 'our' propaganda, they brought about the Athenian 'golden age', and were a 'victory' of 'democracy' over (Persian, Iranian) totalitarianism. As the stories above show, however, another way of looking at it is that they was a prolonged exercise in pointlessness that began with the Athenians provoking the Persians, leading to a war which the Greeks won but which solved nothing. The Athenians lost their 'soul' in becoming open imperialists. This in turn led to a disastrous and pointless war with Sparta, and more Athenian imperialism, which in turn led to Athens' eventual decline, and the Greeks being kicked out of Asia, which was probably the long term Persian goal anyway. Moreover, by their over-clever machinations, the Athenians dragged the Macedonians into Greek affairs, with startling long term consequences, none of them favourable to the Athenians or the Spartans. And so one must ask: all these wars, all that fighting: what did it really achieve except disaster, failure, and death? What does any war achieve?
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