... after victory against the Persians, the league split into two. The Peloponnesian league, with Sparta as leaders, and the Delian league, with Athens as leader or Hegaemon. This is an important point. History could have been completely different, and we may never have heard of the Athenian Empire if not for the actions of Pausanias, the Spartan king. He used the fleet for self profit and he treated the allies with disdain. It has to be said that Sparta at this time was an unwilling leader, and they also had their own domestic problem of the Helots. The allies actually wanted Athens to be their leader, so from the outset Athens was regarded as the Hegaemon of the Delian league, although all states were to be considered equal. "At this time our allies came to us of their own accord and begged us to lead them." (Thucydides Book 75) Athens was ...

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