Greece at War

 Largest and most powerful in the world  Wanted to conquer Greece

 Darius sent 600 ships and thousands of soldiers to invade Greece  Greeks win at Marathon

 Xerxes led an invasion of 200,000 soldiers and 1,000 ships  Costly victory at Thermopylae  Defeated at sea at Salamis by Athens  Athens becomes leader of the Greeks

 Led by Pericles  Strong Democracy  Athens taxed other cities to build Parthenon  Hundreds of plays produced

 Sparta jealous of Athens  Athens surrenders after 27 years

 Philosophers Question Society  Socrates – executed for corrupting youth  Plato – ideas’ become foundation of education for 1500 years  Aristotle – teacher of Alexander the Great  Liza Strata – Free Press?  Greece weakened and conquered by Macedonia

 Philip II conquers a weakened Greece  Alexander inherits and expands the Empire  Becomes the world’s largest empire to date  Combines Greek, Egyptian, Persian, and Indian culture to form Hellenistic Culture  Leads to another Golden Age

 Alexander decides to come home after years of successful warfare, catches a cold and dies  His Generals fight over his empire and it falls apart