Persian Wars

In 546 BC Persian armies conquered Greek city-states of Ionia in Asia Minor Ionians, with Athenian help, revolted in 499 BC but were defeated Darius I of Persia decided to punish Athens for helping Ionian revolt

Battle of Marathon 490 BC Plain of Marathon is 25 miles north of Athens Athenians charged Persians as they boarded ships Persia defeated Marathon race gets name from soldier who ran 26.2 miles back to Athens to tell the victory, then died

Battle of Salamis 480 BC Occurred 10 years after Marathon Xerxes invaded Greece from the north with 200,000 soldiers Under leadership of Sparta, Greeks held off the Persians Themistocles, Athenian general had convinced Athenians to build small ships Drew the Persian ships into the Strait of Salamis where the heavy Persian ships were defeated Persians lost, Athens emerged powerful

Battle of Thermopylae The accounts of the battle come from the writings of Herodotus, who is regarded as the ‘Father of History’ At the battle, the Spartans held back the Persians for three days in one of history’s most famous last stands. The Spartan resistance gave Athens time to prepare for a decisive naval battle that would come to determine the outcome of the war. The Greek victory at the Battle of Salamis left much of the Persian navy destroyed and Xerxes retreated to Asia, eventually ending the expansion of the Persians into Europe When the body of Leonidas was recovered by the Persians, Xerxes ordered the head be cut off and the body crucified. Forty years after the battle,Leonidas’ bones were returned to Sparta where he was buried again with full honors.

Golden Age of Athens 461-429 BC Named Golden Age because most Greek achievements in arts and sciences took place Pericles rebuilt Athens to most beautiful city in Greece Parthenon on the Acropolis still exists

The following is me speaking if I could. Don’t write, -just read. After Persia loses its ability to invade Greece, Athens becomes the next Super-Power of the region. They had 30 years of glory where they were at their peak -Golden Age. But like many Super-Powers before them, power went to Athens’ head. They persuaded other city-states (not Sparta) to form an alliance, league, with them to remain on the defensive with Persia.

Eventually this Delian League was dominated by Athens. At the beginning of the Iraq war many historians compared the US to Athens and Sparta to France. During this current war, France kept ‘checking’ US power and being uncooperative partly because of the perceived influence of the US as today’s current, domineering Super-Power. Eventually war breaks out between Sparta and Athens and the Peloponnesian War begins.

Peloponnesian War 431-404 BC After Persian War, Athens persuaded most of city-states, except Sparta, to form an alliance against Persia -this alliance called the Delian League

Delian League Athens provided principal naval and land forces -other city-states provided money and ships Over several decades Delian League freed Ionia from Persian rule and cleared Aegean of pirates Overseas trade expanded grew rich

Athens gradually began to dominate league Athens used league treasury to build Parthenon Insisted criminal cases be tried only in Athens Other city-states had to adopt Athenian coinage Sent troops to support commoners against aristocrates in other city-states Delian League became an Athenian Empire

Conflict As Athens’ trade and political power grew, city-states began to form an alliance with Sparta against Athens Sparta made deal with Persia to return Ionia in exchange for gold to build fleet against Athens Plague kills 1/3 of population of Athens, including Pericles Sparta destroys Athens’ navy and lays seige -Athens defeated

Athens and others broke with tradition and formed a permanent union, the Delian League (green areas), to prevent further Persian attacks. In a few years, the more powerful Athens turned the league into its own empire, which changed forever the ancient Greek political ideal. Sparta and its allies (yellow areas) looked on such a coalition as a threat to their safety which, according to the Athenian historian Thucydides, "drove them to war." The result was a drain on the resources of both sides, and the beginning of a series of destructive wars. The weakened cities easily succumbed to King Philip of Macedon when he invaded Greece in 338 B.C.

Athens

Effects of War All city-states: -Lost populations -Land destroyed -Unemployment made soldiers enter Persian army -Lost faith in democracy -Believed “Might makes Right”