Page "Delian League" Paragraph 10

The loose alliance of city states which had fought against Xerxes's invasion had been dominated by Sparta and the Peloponnesian league.

With the withdrawal of these states, a congress was called on the holy island of Delos to institute a new alliance to continue the fight against the Persians ; hence the modern designation " Delian League ".

According to Thucydides, the official aim of the League was to " avenge the wrongs they suffered by ravaging the territory of the king.