Pentecontaetia (Greek, "the period of fifty years") is the term used to refer to the period in Ancient Greek history between the defeat of the second Persian invasion of Greece at Plataea in 480 BC and the beginning of the Peloponnesian War in 433 BC. The term originates from Thucydides, who uses it in his description of the period. The Pentecontaetia was marked by the rise of Athens as the dominant state in the Greek World, and by the rise of democracy in Athens. Since Thucydides focuses his ac… (More on Pentecontaetia)