Greece Around 546 B.C., Persian forces attacked and conquered Iona. Iona was a Greek city Greece Persian Empire

Ionian Greeks revolted and Athens sent ships filled with soldiers to aid their fellow Greeks. The Persian King Darius the Great destroyed the rebels and the soldiers sent from Athens He vowed to crush and conquer Athens as well.

In 490 B.C., the Persians launched their attack on Athens A fleet carrying 25,000 Persians crossed the Aegean Sea and landed in Marathon Marathon was 26 miles away from Athens

When the massive Persian fleet arrived in Marathon, there were 1,000 Athenians waiting for them. The Athenians arranged their forces into many phalanxes and attacked the Persians. The Persians had lighter armor The Persians were not well trained in land combat

The Persians lost more than 6,000 men in the battle The Greeks lost fewer than 200 The Persians fled the battlefield Though the Athenians won the battle in Marathon, the city of Athens was defenseless The army leaders sent a young soldier named Pheidippides to run back to Athens and tell the city’s forces  26 miles *Why we call it a marathon*

When Pheidippides reached Athens he told the news of the Persian forces He fell dead after he delivered the message The Athenian forces prepared for the arrival of the Persians The forces from Marathon raced back to help defend Athens

When the Persians arrived to attack Athens, the Athenians were waiting and ready. The Persians didn’t risk attacking the heavily defended city. Turned the ships around and retreated

Ten years later, King Darius the Greats’ son, Xerxes decided to finish what his father couldn’t  conquer Athens. Xerxes created an enormous army to invade and conquer Athens *Remember: Greece was NOT united Many different city-states Some Greek city-states joined the Persians

There, he was met by a group of three hundred Spartans. In August, 480 B.C. Xerxes set out to conquer Athens, he had to cross a narrow mountain pass in Greece called Thermopylae. There, he was met by a group of three hundred Spartans. Led by King Leonidas I

Persian forces had 2.5 million men and the Spartans had only 300 men. *Remember: The Spartans’ military training* The Spartans did not retreat

The Spartans’ use of the phalanx prolonged the Persian victory. King Leonidas I and all 300 Spartans met their death. The Spartans’ sacrifice left a great impression on the other Greek states Greek Respect

During the battle of Thermopylae, an Athenian military leader created a plan to defend Athens from the Persians. Themicostles convinced the Athenians to flee the city and fight the Persians at sea. Set up a Greek base on an island near Athens, Salamis The Battle of Salamis

Xerxes took advantage of an empty Athens Set fire to the city After burning the city, Xerxes sent Persian ships to block any Greek forces. The Persian ships were too big for the small Greek waterways. The Greek ships were built for the small waterways.

The tinier Greek ships were equipped with battering rams. Rammed and put holes in the Persian ships Xerxes couldn’t do anything but watch the smaller Greek ships destroy the immobile Persian ships. Xerxes’ massive force had to retreat

After the battle of Salamis, several of the Greek city-states formed an alliance. The Delian League The headquarters was located on Delos Island The Delian League successfully pushed the Persian forces out of Greece.

The Delian League created a new sense of confidence amongst the Greek city-states. More than 200 Greek city-states joined the league Eventually, Athens emerged as the leader of the Delian League Moved the league’s headquarters to Athens.

Athens’ Golden Age For close to fifty years (477 – 431 B.C.), Athens experienced a growth in intellectual and artistic learning. This time period is referred to as Athens’ Golden Age

During the golden age, drama, sculpture, poetry, philosophy, architecture and science reached new heights in ancient Greece.

Greek Drama The Greeks wrote two kinds of dramas Tragedy A tragedy was a serious drama about common themes such as love, hate, war, or betrayal Featured a main character or a tragic hero Comedy A comedy contained scenes filled with slapstick situations and crude humor. Usually ridiculed made fun of politics and other respectable people.

From 461 – 429 B.C., a politician named Pericles led the Athenian government. The Age of Pericles Pericles had three goals: Strengthen the Athenian democracy 2. Strengthen the Athenian empire 3. Glorify Athens

1. Stronger Democracy To strengthen the democracy, Pericles increased the number of public officials. Made being a public official a paid job Was an unpaid profession before Pericles Before only the rich could serve in office, now it was possible for the poorest person to become a public official. Many voters Athens became one of the most democratic governments of all time

Athens was a direct democracy *Direct Democracy- A form of government in which citizens rule directly and not through representatives Direct Democracy spread from Athens to most of the Greek city-states

2. Strengthening the Empire Pericles realized that the Athenian navy was a big factor in the defeat of the Persians. He used money from the Delian League’s treasury to strengthen Athens’ navy Increased overseas trade to increase Athens’ economy

3. Glorifying Athens Pericles also used money from Delian League to beautify Athens. Did this without the League’s approval Hired artists and architects to work allover the city. Structures made out of Gold Ivory Limestone

The Peloponnesian War As Athens grew in wealth, other city states became dissatisfied. There was a lot of tension between Athens and Sparta Athens was the leading city-state of the Delian League Sparta was the leading city-state of the Peloponnesian League

After much disagreement and tension between the two states, Sparta declared war on Athens in 431 B.C. Athens had a stronger navy Better on water Sparta had a stronger army Better on land Pericles wanted to avoid battle on land, but Sparta was too far inland to have sea battles.

Athens Sparta

The Spartans marched onto the Greek main lands and attacked the surrounding villages outside of Athens The Spartans burned the countryside Burned massive amounts of crops Pericles brought in all of the surrounding citizens into the Athens’ city walls Safer Larger food supply

Disease struck Athens during the siege. Massive plague killed one third of the population Pericles died as well Athens continued to fight. In 421 B.C., both sides signed a truce

The peace lasted for only six years. In 415, Athens sent a fleet of 20,000 soldiers to attack Syracuse. Syracuse was Sparta’s allies on the island of Sicily Athens’ forces in Sicily were crushed by the Spartans In 404, Athens surrendered to Sparta. Athens lost everything that Pericles created Empire, power, and wealth.