How did Athens take over the leadership from Sparta after the Persian Wars

During the period of Greek history from the last years of the Persian Wars tillthe beginning of the First Peloponnesian War, the primacy of Sparta declined while Athens was gaining increased influence in Greece. The Athenian, Thucydides(460-400 BC), one among few contemporary historians, left behind the mostcreditable records about this period. Although he did not give enough documentation for many events he described, his Histories remained the main resource of the facts from that …

…her authority willingly but was forced into it by Athens’ accession and other circumstances which prevented Sparta’s further expansion for some time. Bibliography: Fornara, C.W. “From Plataea to Potidaea” (1979), Oxford, London Herodotus, “The History” (1987), The University of Chicago Press, Chicago & London Hornblower, S. “The Greek World 479-323 BC” (1983), Methuen, London and New York Meiggs, R. “The Athenian Empire” (1972), At The Clarendon Press, Oxford Thucydides, “The History” - Book I (1979), Arno Press, New York