Athens

Athens was a powerful city-state of Hellenistic Greece. In the 3rd century BC, Athens was embroiled in Peloponnesian War against Sparta and its allies. Thanks to a successful campaign against Syracuse led by Athenian general Alkibiades, Athens was able to invade and defeat Sparta.

However, when Alkibiades returned to Athens, he seized the seat of government, disbanded the democratic institutions of Athens, and took absolute power for himself, murdering all of his opposition. With the subjugated Sparta as an ally, Athens turned to its long-standing enemy, Persia