Athenians looked upon it as their right, not only to enforce payment, but to prevent any secession from the confederacy. Such a case did not arise for ten years, when Naxos attempted to break off and was forcibly reduced by Athens. But it was inevitable, that the relations between Athens and the other members should gradually change. That change led to the next great disruption in Greece, brought about by the Peloponnesian war, and will be better considered in connection with it. For the present we may conclude our study of the Persian wars by considering how far the confederacy put an end to them.
The confederate fleet was engaged more or less for eleven years in carrying out the great object of freeing all Greek states from the supremacy of the Persians. The work was carried on systematically, for the most part under the direction of Cimon, son of Miltiades. First, the Thraceward cities were freed, with the island of Scyros, and the work was completed by two great victories, one at the mouth of the Eurymedon in Pamphylia over a large Phoenician fleet, and another by land near Aspendus (B.C. 466). From that time the Persian king seems to have agreed not to send ships of war into the Aegean, and not to interfere with Greek towns on the coast.
By this time or soon afterwards the heroes of the second Persian war had disappeared. Pausanias had been convicted of treason and put to death (B.C. 471). Themistocles had been ostracised in B.C. 471, and then being accused of having shared in the treason of Pausanias, had fled to Persia (B.C. 466–5), and at
