The Expansion of Greece Ch. 5 Sec. 5 The Expansion of Greece

The Persian Wars Lasted from 500B.C. to 479B.C. Athens decided to help the Greeks in Asia Minor rebel against the Persians

The Persian ruler, Darius, crushed the Greeks w/ ease, but also wanted to punish Athens for helping 490B.C. Persians invaded Greece & outnumbered the Greeks The Greeks still defeated the Persians at the Battle of Marathon

480B.C. Darius’s son, Xerxes, led the Persians against the Greeks again At the Battle of Thermopylae the Persians had to go through a narrow mountain pass They fought to the last soldier, but the Persians won

It was here that 300 Spartans held their ground for 3 days despite being outnumbered The Persians then went on to Athens, but Themistocles, Athen’s leader, emptied the city & the city was destroyed

Themistocles tricked Xerxes into the narrow straits of Salamis The Persian navy was larger than the Greek fleet, but the Greek ships were more maneuverable & defeated the Persians 479B.C. the Spartans & Athenians defeated the Persians at Platea & ended the Persian Wars

Results Asia Minor was free from Persian rule The Athenians rebuilt their city & entered a period of great cultural achievement The threat of the Persians was still there, so Athens set up the Delian League, which was an alliance of city-states(140) w/ Athens as the leader

The Age of Pericles Pericles was the leader of Athens from 461B.C. to 429B.C.

Athens reached its peak of power & wealth This time period is called the Age of Pericles Democracy reached its height; all male citizens except lower class could hold public office; officholders were paid a salary & were chosen by lot so no one had an advantage

Pericles extended the Athenian empire by establishing colonies in rebellious areas The Athenian navy kept the Persians out of the Aegean Sea The Athenians system of weights & measures became standard throughout the empire

Members of the Delian League reaped the benefits, but lost their independence—Athens made all the decisions for the league Pericles moved the league’s treasury to Athens & used it for the good of Athens Plus, he forced other city-states to join the league

The Peloponnesian War The war began in 431 B.C. Sparta had the stronger army & they advanced first The Athenians stayed inside the city’s walls, but a plague broke out killing many including Pericles

The war went on for 27 yrs. Sparta received help from Persia to cut off food supply to Athens; they did & Athens surrendered in 404 B.C. After the war, Sparta & Thebes tried to control Greece, but they failed as well