The main aim of this work is to compare the First (478/7 - 404 B. C.) and the Second (378/7 - 338 B. C.) Athenian Maritime League, which were often put together without paying attention to both literary and epigraphical sources. The First League transformed into the Athenian Empire which exploited its own allies and often set about the violence. The Second League is frequently told to had grown into the "second empire". This work compares the evidence about the organisation, the administrative machinery and the relations within leagues to pinpoint common features and to distinguish the differences. The main focus of this work is financial system of both alliances since it was one of the main reasons for allies to defect.

Cette thèse de doctorat envisage l’histoire des relations entre Athènes et les Cyclades au cours de l’époque classique, des Guerres médiques à l’Indépendance délienne. L’impérialisme athénien est ici étudié dans une perspective nouvelle, inspirée des subaltern studies : la manière dont les Insulaires ont vécu, compris, perçu et, en définitive, réagi face à la domination athénienne est au cœur de cet ouvrage. Cette étude contribue à modifier notre perception de l’impérialisme athénien, jusque-là trop souvent compris dans ses seules ramifications coercitives. Renverser la focale, c’est redonner aux dominés le rôle actif qu’ils ont eu à l’époque classique : les Insulaires, privés des moyens pour lutter contre l’envahissante hégémonie athénienne, l’ont acceptée, profitant des bienfaits que la pax Atheniensis leur apportait. Ce travail offre aussi l’histoire de la création d’un nouvel espace, dont les habitants affirment leur identité commune face à la domination d’Athènes : les “îles” deviennent, aux yeux des Athéniens et des Insulaires de l’époque classique, les Cyclades. / This PhD thesis reveals the story of the relationship between Athens and the Cyclades during the Classical era, from the Persian Wars to the period of Delian Independence. Athenian Imperialism is questioned here from a new perspective, inspired by subaltern studies. Central to this book is the way the Islanders lived under Athenian domination: how they understood and perceived it and, ultimately, how they reacted to it. This study helps change our understanding of Athenian power, which until now has only ever been understood in terms of its coercive ways. Switching the focus is to restore an active role to the subalterns: with no means of resisting the intrusive Athenian hegemony, the Islanders accepted it and enjoyed the benefits of the pax Atheniensis. This work also offers the story of the creation of a new place, in which inhabitants assert their common identity under Athenian domination. In the minds of Athenians and islanders alike, the islands come to be known as the Cyclades.

La tesi riguarda la Seconda Lega ateniese, di cui si studia il periodo, solitamente trascurato, compreso tra la fine della Guerra Sociale (355/4 a.C.) e la sconfitta di Atene a Cheronea (338 a.C.). Fonti principali, come del resto per il periodo precedente, sono le iscrizioni. Vengono quindi analizzate, in ordine geografico e cronologico, diciassette epigrafi di interesse storico (per lo più iscrizioni onorarie e trattati), considerate utili nella ricostruzione delle modalità di intervento ateniese all’interno della Lega. Area geografica privilegiata è la Grecia settentrionale, più immediatamente a contatto con l’espansionismo macedone. Obiettivo della tesi è infatti chiarire se la storia della Lega navale, più che una progressiva perdita di significato, non metta in evidenza un costante e coerente riorientamento degli obiettivi, stimolata dal confronto con Filippo II di Macedonia. / The topic of this thesis is the Second Athenian League during its final, usually underrated period, namely between the end of the Social War (355/4 B.C.) and the Athenian defeat at Chaeronea (338 B.C.). The sources for the history of the League both before and after the Social War are mainly epigraphical. Accordingly, seventeen historical inscriptions are carefully examined and thoroughly commented on: these are mostly honorific decrees and treaties, all of which proved to be useful to investigate how Athens acted within its League. The study, focusing on Northern Greece as the latter became more and more endangered by the growing power of Macedon, tries to ascertain whether the history of the Second Athenian League, far from becoming meaningless, might show a steady and consistent reorientation of its tasks, in and because of the military confrontation with Philip II.