An Analysis Of The Development Of Athenian Marine Forces

The Athenian empire of the Seas was gradually formed with the sustainable development of the Athens polis in the5th century B.C., which had great influence on the eastern Mediterranean and its surrounding areas. Undoubtedly, it’s one of the most important links in the whole historical process of the Late Classical Greek. To study the situation in the eastern Mediterranean world and the rise of the Athenian empire, the key is to study the development of the Athenian marine forces first. It’s not difficult to find that the powerful navy made Athens such an empire of the seas and some key people, represented by Themistocles, played an important role in the historical process. The ancient Athenians regarded developing the marine forces as their basic state policy, gradually made their polis out from others, led the ancient Greeks to ward off the attack from the Persian empire, and finally achieved the Athenian empire. With the development of the marine forces, Athens controlled the Sea Power of the Aegean area step by step, which enhanced maritime consciousness. The article consists of introduction, text and references. The text is made up by two parts.The first part is the main text. It analyses the background and the building process of the Athenian navy, discusses the importance of some key figures, such as Themistocles, during the building process, and summarizes the effects of all the factors on the formation of the Athenian empire. This part contents three chapters:1. The historical background and advantages of Athens developing marine forces;2.The building process of Athens navy;3.The pioneers and founders.The second part is the extend text. It discusses from the development of Athenian marine forces to the influence of the Athenian empire of the Seas on the Athens and the whole Classical Greek world. Then it summarizes the whole text and gets a conclusion-the Sea Power and the maritime consciousness are significant for development of both civilization and countries in all ages. This part contents two chapters:1. The influence of the development of Athenian marine forces on Greek and Athens;2. The Sea Power and the maritime consciousness.