Ancient Greece (CYCLE OF WARFARE) Persian and Peloponnesian War and the Legacy of Alexander

Objectives Students will explore how Greeks won the Persian Wars. Students will discover what led to the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War and the wars consequences. Students will investigate Alexander the Great and his empire. Students will discover what life was like in the Hellenistic world and their many cultural achievements.

The Persian Wars Causes of the Conflict Revenge In the early 400s BC, the Greek city-states came into conflict with the vast Persian Empire, a larger, stronger opponent. Roots of Persian Wars lay in region of Ionia, in what is now Turkey Ionian city-states founded as Greek colonies, fell under Persian rule, 500s BC Ionian Greeks unhappy with Persian rule Wanted independence Rebelled, 499 BC Causes of the Conflict Ionian Greeks asked fellow Greeks for help Athens sent aid, ships Persians put down revolt Revolt made Persian emperor Darius angry enough to seek revenge Planned to punish Ionians’ allies, especially Athens, by attacking Greek mainland Revenge Ionian Revolt – 27:14 – 29:00 http://youtu.be/ka12FNcTwh4

First Invasion (Battle of Marathon) The First Persian Invasion 490 BC, Persians set out to fulfill Darius’s plans for revenge Fleet carrying tens of thousands of Persian troops set out for Greece Came ashore near town of Marathon, not far from Athens Persian Retreat Warned in advance, Greeks arrived at Marathon, caught Persians unloading ships, charged in phalanx, tight rectangle formation Persians counterattacked, more Greeks closed in, Persians retreated

Preparations for a Second Invasion Greek victory at Marathon shocked both Greeks, Persians Athenians could not believe they had defeated stronger foe Persians humiliated, furious Darius planned second invasion, but died before invasion launched Son Xerxes vowed revenge, continued to plan attack on Greece 480 BC, 10 years after first invasion, Xerxes set out for Greece Hundreds of thousands of soldiers, sailors, animals, weapons, supplies Greek accounts say Persian army so huge took week to cross bridge built into Greece Xerxes Faced with invasion, Athenians called on other Greek city-states to help fight off Persians Athens, bitter rival, agreed to help Had recently built large navy, took charge of Greek fighting ships Sparta took charge of Greek armies Athenians

Second Invasion and Aftermath The Greeks worried that they would not have time to prepare their troops for battle. To slow down the Persians, a group of Spartans and their allies gathered in a mountain pass at Thermopylae, through which the Persians would pass to get into Greece. Spartans held off entire Persian army for several days Persians shown alternate path through mountains; were able to surround, kill Spartans Spartans’ sacrifice bought time for Greeks’ defense The Second Persian Invasion Persians marched south to Athens, attacked, burned city; needed fleet to bring additional supplies Athenian commander lured fleet into narrow strait at Salamis Greek warships cut them to pieces After Thermopylae Persian army with no supplies no longer a match for the Greeks; and within a year the Greeks had won the Persian Wars.

The Golden Age of Athens As leaders in the Persian Wars, Athens and Sparta became the two most powerful, influential city-states in Greece. After the wars, Athens entered a golden age as the center of Greek culture and politics. After Persian Wars city-states banded together to defend each other, punish Persia Largest, richest of alliance members was Athens Alliance Alliance’s treasury kept on islands of Delos Alliance known as Delian League Athens controlled ships, money League grew in membership, power Delian League Some members resented Athenian dominance Members who tried to quit attacked by league fleet, forced back into alliance League became Athenian empire Increased Influence

The Age of Pericles Pericles Patron of the Arts Much of the rebuilding of Athens was due to one man—Pericles, a skilled politician and gifted public speaker. 460s, elected one of Athens’ generals, became Athens’ most influential politician Great champion of democracy Introduced payment for those who served in public offices, on juries Encouraged Athenians to introduce democracy elsewhere Pericles Commissioned building Parthenon, other monuments Hired artists, sculptors to decorate them Wanted Athens to be most glorious city in Greece Believed it had best government, noblest people, monuments to prove superiority Patron of the Arts

The Peloponnesian War was a protracted struggle, and attended by calamites such as Hellas had never known within a like period of time. Never were so many cities captured and depopulated-some by barbarians, others by Hellenes themselves fighting against one another; and several of them after their capture were repeopled by strangers. Never were exile and slaughter more frequent whether in the War or brought about by civil strife. (Thucydides qtd. in Botsford 196)

The Peloponnesian War As the leader of the Delian League, Athens was the richest, mightiest polis in Greece. Being rich and mighty brought many powerful rivals, the greatest of which was Sparta, which wanted to end its dominance. Peloponnesian League Sparta head of Peloponnesian League, allied city-states Formed 500s BC, to provide protection, security for members Tensions built between Delian, Peloponnesian Leagues Mutual fear led to war between Athens, Sparta Tension Built Athens feared military might of another league Sparta feared loss of trading 431 BC, the two declared war Lasted many years War

The Course of War War in Greece Initially neither side gained much advantage Sparta, allies dominated land; Athens, allies dominated sea Athenians avoided land battles; neither side won more than minor victories Plague and Peace 430, 429 BC, plague struck Athens, changed course of war Pericles, Athens’ leader through beginning of war, among dead After plague, fighting heated up until truce in 421 BC Sparta’s Victory 415 BC, war broke out again; Sparta took to sea as well as land, destroyed Athenian fleet; Athens surrendered 404 BC Peloponnesian War almost destroyed Athens; Sparta also exhausted by war

That the Long Walls and Fortifications of Piraeus should be destroyed; that the Athenian fleet, with the exception of 12 vessels should be surrendered; that the exile should be restored; and lastly, that the Athenians should acknowledge the headship of Sparta in Peace and War, leaving her the choice of friends and foes, and following her lead by land and sea. (235) Pg 141 in text to complete graphic organizer

Cycle of Warfare After victory, Sparta’s army tried to act as Greece’s dominant power Sparta’s wealth, resources badly strained, power worn down Spartans could not keep control of Greece City-state of Thebes defeated Sparta, could not maintain control either Struggle for power led to long cycle of warfare that left all Greece vulnerable to attack 340s BC, Macedonia, Greek-speaking kingdom to north, swept in, took control of all Greece led by Phillip II

Rise of Macedonia The Rise of Macedonia Army Reorganization Macedonia rose to power and took control of Greece in the years that followed the Peloponnesian War. Most Greeks considered Macedonians backward Lived in villages, not cities Spoke form of Greek unintelligible to other Greeks 359 BC, Macedonia’s fortune changed when Philip II took throne The Rise of Macedonia One of Philip’s first actions as king Adopted phalanx system, but gave soldiers longer spears Included larger bodies of cavalry and more archers Set out to conquer Greece Faced little opposition Quickly crushed armies Conquered all but Sparta Army Reorganization

Philip II turned to Sparta; he sent them a message: "If I win this war, you will be slaves forever.“ the Spartans' iconic reply was one word: "If"

Alexander Becomes King Philip’s conquests might have continued, but he was assassinated Title, plans for conquests fell to son, Alexander the Great Alexander only 20, but had been trained to rule almost from birth Learned warfare and politics from father, mother, and Aristotle Alexander’s Conquests Alexander faced almost immediately with revolts in Greece Set out to reestablish control Used harsh measures to show rebellion not tolerated Crushed Theban army and sold people into slavery, burned city

Conquered – Persia, Phoenicia, Egypt Led army to the Indus River where his troops forced in him to turn back

End of the Empire Death at Early Age Power Struggle Alexander’s empire largest world had ever seen Did not rule very long 323 BC, Alexander fell ill while in Babylon Died a few days later at age 33 Alexander died without naming heir Death at Early Age Generals fought each other for power In the end, the empire was divided among three most powerful generals Called themselves kings Antigonus became king of Macedonia and Greece Seleucus ruled Persian Empire Ptolemy ruled Egypt Power Struggle

The Hellenistic World By bringing together a number of diverse peoples in his empire, Alexander helped create a new type of culture. It was no longer purely Greek, or Hellenic, but Hellenistic, or Greek-like. Appointed officials from various cultures to help rule Built dozens of new cities, encouraged Greek settlers to move into them Most new cities named Alexandria New Cities Alexandria, Egypt Located at mouth of Nile, where it met Mediterranean Ideal location for trade Harbor once busiest in world Most Famous City End Notes

Life in the Hellenistic World Shift from Hellenic Greece to Hellenistic world brought drastic changes to lives Most obvious change, how people were governed City-state no longer main political unit, replaced by kingdom Traditional Greek democracy gave way to monarchy Drastic Changes

Science and Technology Tremendous advances in science, technology during this period Among great Egyptian scholars, Euclid formulated many ideas about geometry we still learn about today Egypt also home of Eratosthenes, who calculated size of the world Other Hellenistic scientists studied the movement of the stars; the makeup and inner workings of the human body Archimedes, one of world’s greatest inventors, used knowledge of math, physics to create devices Developed compound pulley to lift heavy loads; also invented mechanical screw to draw water out of ship’s hold, out of deep well Inventors Other inventors not as ambitious as Archimedes, but clever in own right One built tiny steam engine, used to power mechanical toys Such devices representative of Hellenistic fascination with mechanics, technology Mechanics