well as the renown, which Pausanias had acquired
at Plataea, had filled him with pride and ambition. After the capture
of Byzantium he despatched a letter to Xerxes, offering to marry the
king's daughter, and to bring Sparta and the rest of Greece under his
dominion. Xerxes was highly delighted with this letter, and sent a
reply in which he urged Pausanias to pursue his project night and day,
and promised to supply him with all the money and troops that might be
needful for its execution. But the childish vanity of Pausanias
betrayed his plot before it was ripe for execution. Elated by the
confidence of Xerxes, and by the money with which he was lavishly
supplied, he acted as if he had already married the Great King's
daughter. He assumed the Persian dress; he made a progress through
Thrace, attended by Persian and Egyptian guards; and copied, in the
luxury of his table and the dissoluteness of his manners, the example
of his adopted country. Above all, he offended the allies by his
haughty reserve and imperiousness. His designs were now too manifest to
escape attention. His proceedings reached the ears of the Spartans,
who sent out Dorcis to supersede him. Disgusted by the insolence of
Pausanias, the Ionians serving in the combined Grecian fleet addressed
themselves to Aristides, whose manners formed a striking contrast to
those of the Spartan leader, and begged him to assume the command.
This request was made precisely at the time when Pausanias was
recalled; and accordingly, when Dorcis arrived, he found Aristides in
command of the combined fleet (B.C. 478).

This event was not a mere empty question about a point of honour. It
was a real revolution, terminated by a solemn league, of which Athens
was to be the head. Aristides took the lead in the matter, for which
his proverbial justice and probity eminently qualified him. The league
obtained the name of "the Confederacy of Delos," from its being
arranged that deputies of the allies belonging to it should meet
periodically for deliberation in the temple of Apollo and Artemis
(Diana) in that island. Each state was assessed in a certain
contribution, either of money or ships, as proposed by the Athenians
and ratified by the synod. The assessment was intrusted to Aristides,
whose impartiality was universally applauded. Of the details, however,
we only know that the first assessment amounted to 460 talents (about
106,000L sterling), that certain officers calle