The years from c. 462 BC to 431 BC (from the establishment of a radical democracy to the outbreak of the Peloponnesian war) were the best years for Athens. Abroad, the Delian League, an Alliance of city-states and directed against the common Persian foe, became a mighty alliance under Athenian leadership.
The prosperity and democracy of Athens led to an ambitious building program and the Parthenon on the Acropolis is just one of the many splendid legacies.
The model’s success also paved the way for its downfall, however. Economic and cultural success and democracy not only encouraged foreign enemies and internal opposition but also led to financial mismanagement.
The comic poet Aristophanes (446-386 BC) introduced in his play “Birds” (414 BC) the expression ‘carrying owls to Athens’, what means to do something useless. The coins of the League carried an owl, not only the bird of wisdom, but also the symbol of Athena, the Goddess of Athens.
This use of the owl as a symbol of the Goddess Athena symbolised the supremacy of Athens. The members of the League sent too much money to Athens, and Athens began issuing too many coins to finance the ongoing war with Sparta.
It was the beginning of inflation, and finally bankruptcy and defeat were only a matter of time (404 BC). Aristophanes had already predicted this process in his comic play in 414 BC. It is the irony of history that the euro coin of Greece depicts an owl.
(Source: R. Barrow, Athenian Democracy, London 1999).