Persian and Peloponnesian Wars

Who were the Persians? Location: modern-day Iran

Established: one of the largest empires of the ancient world

Conquered: the Chaldeans, Babylon, Lidia, Greek cities in Ionia, Egypt

Built: numerous roads

Longest road was the: Royal Road World’s first long highway, 1,500 miles

Persians con’t Communication consisted of: messengers on horseback

(relay race)

Four main kings: Cyrus the Great, Cambyses II, Darius I, and Xerxes

Cyrus the Great created: the Persian Empire Allowed conquered peoples to: keep their own

customs Many conquered peoples: respected Darius Freed the Jews in Babylon

Cambyses II was known for conquering: Egypt

Persians con’t Darius I

Reformed the: army and created a permanent army Highly trained soldiers called: the Ten Thousand

Immortals Conquered parts of: India Failed to conquer: Greece Surrounded himself with: symbols of power Minted: first coins in Persia High point of: Persian culture

Xerxes tried to conquer what area like his father: Greece

The Persian Wars (490 BC - 479 BC)

Greeks in Ionia rebel against Persian rule, ask for help from other Greeks Persian emperor Darius decides to get revenge on the Greeks

First Persian Invasion – 490 BC Battle at Marathon – Athenians attack the Persians

while they are unloading and the Persians retreat An Athenian messenger runs 26 miles from

Marathon to Athens to announce the victory He dies after delivering the message

Darius is furious over the humiliating defeat and starts to plan another invasion However he dies and his son Xerxes vows to get

revenge for his father

Second Persian Invasion – 480 BC Battle at Thermopylae

Greeks are afraid they won’t have enough time to prepare

A group of 300 Spartans decide to hold off the entire Persian army at the mountain pass of Thermopylae

Are successful for several days until a local shows the Persians an alternate path through the mountain and they kill all the Spartans

The Persians advance and burn Athens Need the Persian navy to bring additional supplies

Battle of Salamis An Athenian navy commander lures the Persian

navy into the narrow Strait of Salamis Persian ships were very large and could not

maneuver well Xerxes watches from a throne on the shore as his

navy is destroyed The Persian army is now stranded in Greece with

few supplies In 479 BC a large Greek army led by the might of

Sparta crushes the Persians, ending the war

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The Golden Age of Athens

Athens and Sparta became the two most powerful city-states as leaders in the Persian Wars Sparta not popular, Athens becomes the leading

city-state – Why were Spartans not as popular?

Dozens of Greek city-states banded together for defense This alliance was to be a league of equals Athens, as the largest and richest, ended up

controlling the entire alliance Became known as the Delian League

As the League’s leader, Athens controlled its ships and money Would not allow unhappy members to quit

Would attack rebelling members with the League fleet

The League more or less turned into an Athenian Empire

Used League funds to rebuild Athens Built the Parthenon = a grand temple dedicated to the goddess

Athena

Pericles Great champion of democracy and most influential politician in

Athens

Commissioned the Parthenon

Introduced payment for those who served in public offices and juries

Believed in the superiority of Athens

Trade brought much wealth to Athens Athens at the time was the heart of Greek culture

Greatest rival was Sparta Had its own allied city-states = Peloponnesian

League Athens fears the military might of Sparta and allies Sparta fears that the Athenian navy would stop

Sparta from trading This mutual fear led to Sparta and Athens declaring

war in 431 BC

The Peloponnesian War War between Athens and Sparta

Sparta and allies dominate the land Athens and allies dominate the sea

Spartans surround Athens hoping for an open battle Athens avoids any battles on land Knowing they can’t compete in open battle, they

hide behind their city walls, relying on supplies from their navy and colonies In 430 BC a terrible plague breaks out in Athens,

killing a third of the people, including Pericles

421 truce, war breaks out six years later when Athens attacks one of Sparta’s allies

This time Sparta destroys the Athenian navy and Athens surrenders - The walls of Athens are torn down and

the Empire destroyed

Costs of the war Weakened major Greek city-states

Athens nearly destroyed, Sparta exhausted as well Sparta tries to act as Greece’s dominant power

Lost too many resources, defeated by Thebes who also can’t maintain control

Struggle for power in Greece led to a long cycle of warfare that left all of Greece vulnerable

Ignored the growing power of Macedonia to the north

Loss of freedom