War, Glory, and Decline 4 iv. The Persian Wars 546 B.C the Persian armies led by Cyrus II conquered...
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Transcript of War, Glory, and Decline 4 iv. The Persian Wars 546 B.C the Persian armies led by Cyrus II conquered...
War, Glory, and Decline 4 iv
The Persian Wars
546 B.C the Persian armies led by Cyrus II conquered the
Greek city-states of Ionia in Asia minor.
"I am Cyrus, who founded the empire of the Persians. Grudge me not therefore, this little earth that covers my body." (Inscription on the tomb)
499 B.C. the Ionians revolted against the Persians, but Darius I of Persia defeats them and decides to
punish them for revolting.
Marathon
• Darius’s first try fails due to storms.
• In 490 B.C. sent fleet directly across the Ægean to Marathon (25 mi. North of Athens).
• Wait for the Athenians but seeing they are outnumbered 2 to 1, Athens does nothing.
Marathon
• Persians decide to attack so they begin loading their cavalry and infantry into ships.
• Athens strike not letting Persia take the offensive.
Persian Cavalry
Persian Immortal
Marathon
• Athenian foot soldiers are ordered to charge down a hill and attack Persians in the shallow water waiting to board ships.
• Persians are taken by surprise and defeated losing 6,400 men to only 192 Greek casualties. The Persians withdraw from Greece.
Greek
soldier
fighting
a
Persian
soldier.
Phidippedes
run to
Athens.
480 B.C. Darius’s son, Xerxes, invaded Greece from the north with
200,000 soldiers.
Offshore supply ships accompanied them to supply their large army.
Battle of Salamis
The oracle at Delphi predicted that Greece would be safe behind
a wooden wall.
The Athenian general Themistocles convinced Greece that a “wooden wall” meant a fleet of ships. The Greeks would have to defeat the
Persians at sea.
A delaying action on
land at Thermopylae (a mountain pass north of Athens) was
needed.
7,000 Greeks led by King Leonidas of Sparta stood firm against the
Persians for three days.
A Greek traitor showed the enemy a trail where they could attack
from behind.
Realizing he would be surrounded, Leonidas sent off most of his troops while he and 300 Spartans fought to the death to buy Themistocles time
to carry out his plan.
Themistocles drew the Persian fleet into the strait of Salamis,
a narrow body of water between Athens and Salamis,
causing the heavy Persian ships to crowd together and
be easy targets for the lighter Greek ships.
The Greek navy destroyed the Persian fleet forcing the Persians to
retreat.
With the end of the Persian Wars, Athens emerged as the most
powerful city-state in Greece.
The Golden Age of Athens
The period from 461 B.C. to 429 B.C. when Greek culture reached its peak through achievements in the arts and sciences centered mostly in Athens.
Pericles, an Athenian general, led Athens through the Golden Age
After the Persians burned Athens, Pericles began rebuilding Athens in
447 B.C.
The Acropolis with the Parthenon (temple to Athena) represented all that was best in Athens, making it
the most beautiful city-state in Greece.
Daily Life
• Public buildings were lavish • Homes were simple with two main
rooms–dining room for entertaining–wool room for spinning for the
women• Courtyards contained an alter for
worship, wash basin, a well, and livestock.
Slaves• Mostly were
foreigners or prisoners of war
• Did most of the heavy work such as mining and craft production.
• Worked as teachers and servants in the home.
Men
• worked in the morning
• attended the Assembly or the Gymnasium in the Afternoon
Upper-class Athenian men enjoyed the symposium as a form of
recreation.
A symposium was a drinking session followed by a banquet.
Wives were excluded.
Women• Most women
spent time at home cooking and making wool cloth.
• Poor women worked in the open air markets as food sellers and cloth weaver.
Despite restrictions, many Athenian women were able to participate in
public life and were able to read and write.
Public opinion allowed the greatest freedom in the metic class.
The most famous metic
woman was Aspasia who was
known for her
intelligence and personal
charm.
The Peloponnesian War
After the Persian Wars, Athens
persuaded city-states excluding Sparta to
ally against
any future attack.
This alliance became known as
the Delian League because the treasury was
kept on the sacred island of
Delos.
Athens began to dominate under Pericles’ rule.
• Part of the treasury was used to build the Parthenon.
• Criminal cases were only tried in Athens.
• Other city-states had to adopt Athenian coinage system.
• Athens’s trade and political influence grew, transforming Athens into an Empire.
As a result, Sparta and other rival city-states formed their own alliance
against Athens.
Conflict(431 - 404)
At the beginning of the war, Athens had the superior navy, while
Sparta had no navy.
Sparta made a
deal with Persia to
return Ionia in
exchange for gold to build its
own fleet.
In 430 B.C. a disastrous plague, probably typhus, weakened Athens losing around 1/3 of its population
including Pericles in 429 B.C.
Some Athenians wanted peace while others urged to keep fighting.
War continued deadlocked for many years.
Athenian Hoplite
Spartan Hoplite
Sparta destroyed
the Athenean fleet and
laid siege to Athens, bringing
their surrender in 404 B.C.
Effects of the War• There was a decline in population.• Land was destroyed.• Unemployment was so widespread
that many men became mercenaries, or hired soldiers, in the Persian Army.
• Greece lost their ability to govern themselves.