... against Persia especially in the battle of Salamis for which they were held in high regard. It is thought that it was the allies idea to transfer leadership from Sparta to Athens and Thucydides stresses this 'the generals and admirals of the Greek expedition, especially those of Chios, Samos and Lesbos, approached Aristides and pressed him to accept the supreme command an rally around him the allies who had long wished to be quit of Sparta and to transfer support to Athens.' Therefore as it was the idea of the allies to give leadership to Athens then it cannot be said that Athens gained this control by force. Also the Spartans were perfectly content to hand the leadership of the Allies to Athens as they weren't particularly interested in the future of the Aegean and had problems back at home to contend with. The allies led by Athens were known ...

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