Cimon's Ghosts: How an Athenian War Hawk Forged an Empire

The History of Greece: Philosophy, Empire, and Endless Reinvention — Fexingo History · Jul 21, 2026 · 10m · transcript

Long before Pericles turned the Delian League into an Athenian empire, another man laid its foundations — and then tried to make peace with Persia. Cimon, son of Miltiades, was Athens's most successful general of the early 5th century BCE. He crushed the Persian fleet at the Eurymedon River, expanded Athenian power across the Aegean, and brought back enough plunder to build the south wall of the Acropolis. But his fervent admiration for Sparta eventually cost him everything. This episode of The History of Greece follows Cimon's rise from ostracism to triumph, his controversial…