Beginning of Essay
During the period of Greek history from the last years of the Persian Wars tillthe beginning of the First Peloponnesian War, the primacy of Sparta declined while Athens was gaining increased influence in Greece. The Athenian, Thucydides(460-400 BC), one among few ....

Middle of Essay
.... a naval victory at Mycale. Although the war drugged on for many years, these two victories marked the end of the Persian threat to Europe and the beginning of the period of Greek greatness. The idea of panhellenism - the awareness of Greek unity- appeared as a reaction to the fear of the Persian invasion. This is how Persia helped the Greece to recognise their identity, which gave significance to the year 479 BC to be marked as the beginning of the Classical Greek period. At the other side, the year 479 BC does not represent a vital turning-point in politics. Sparta’s control over her allies was still unbroken. After the Greeks’ triumph on Pl ....