Question

state-building: the greek polis grew intolerable to the other city-states. when athens sent troops to help sparta put down a helot rebellion, the spartans refused the gesture and sent the athenian force back home in dishonor, thus provoking the war which had long been brewing. later, when athens sent their fleet to help defend its ally corcyra (corfu) against a corinthian invasion during the battle of sybota in 433 bce, their action was interpreted by sparta as aggression instead of assistance, as corinth was an ally of sparta. based on the information provided, which of the following statements would the author most likely agree with? choose 1 answer: a even war with persia could not unite the city-states of greece, even temporarily. b athens was a unified empire but problems with diplomacy caused friction with sparta. c sparta established a powerful hegemony in response to the persian wars, controlling much of attica. d being part of the delian league allowed the other poleis of the aegean to keep athenss power in check.

Explanation:

• Option A: The passage focuses on conflicts between Athens, Sparta, and other city - states (like Corinth) over Greek - Greek issues (Helot rebellion, Corcyra - Corinth conflict). There is no mention of the Persian War and its effect on Greek city - state unity, so this is not supported.
• Option B: The text shows Athens' actions (sending troops to help Sparta, sending fleet to help Corcyra) were misinterpreted by Sparta, leading to friction. This aligns with the idea that diplomatic - related issues (misinterpretation of Athens' actions as aggression) caused problems between Athens and Sparta. Also, Athens was a powerful city - state with influence (sending troops, fleet), so the idea of it being a unified entity (in terms of its own power and actions) with diplomatic friction with Sparta makes sense.
• Option C: The passage has no information about Sparta's response to Persian Wars or controlling Attica, so this is not supported.
• Option D: The passage does not mention the Delian League or how other poleis kept Athens' power in check, so this is not supported.

Answer:

B. Athens was a unified empire but problems with diplomacy caused friction with Sparta.