Why did Athens become more influential than Sparta after the Persian Wars

Sparta proposed evacuating the Greeks who lived in Asia Minor toprevent continuing strife with the Persian Empire. Athens proposedleading a consortium of 180 Greek city-states to keep the Persiansaway. Losing the argument, Sparta went home to solve its problemsof a restive serf population. When the Persian Empire finallyagreed to leave the Greek cities alone, Athens turned theanti-Persian alliance into an empire of its own, and used the moneyand the troops of the empire to promote its own prosperity andinterests.