1. Persian Wars
B.C.E

2. Persians Led by king Cyrus I
Began creating one of the world’s largest empires
Cyrus began expanding into Asia Minor
Conquest focused mainly on Ionia (Greek colony)
Cyrus I died, leaving Darius I in command
Fully conquered Ionia & sets up a governing system (510 B.C.E)

4. Ionian Revolt ( B.C.E)
Ionians began revolting against the Persian tyrants
Realized they needed help, so they call on the Spartans
Spartans rejected them to focus on internal problems
Next they called the Athenians
Athens &Eretria agreed and sent 25 ships to Ionia
Burned Sardis (Persia’s Ionian capital)
Began leaving but were attacked & defeated by the Persians
Results = Greek failure
Athens now became a threat to Persia

6. Battle of Marathon (490 B.C.E)
Darius I decides to plan an attack on Athens
First stop = Eretria
Persians burn it down
From there, the Persians move into the Bay of Marathon to attack Athens
As the Persians approach Athens, the Athenians send out their outnumbered Hoplites
Hoplites charged the Persians, catching them by surprise
Results = Persians were defeated
Returned to their ships & sailed back home

8. Battle of Thermopylae (480 B.C.E)
Darius I dies, leaving Xerxes I in command
Xerxes begins planning a new attack on Greece
New force = 10x larger than previous force
Athens begins preparing for an imminent attack from the Persians
Begin building a larger navy to defend the mainland
New navy = 250 ships
Peloponnesian League is formed to provide Greece with defenses against the Persians
City-states become allies
Leader = Sparta

10. Battle of Thermopylae Persians planned to enter Greece from the north
Greeks set up a defense in the narrow land passage of Thermopylae
7000 Greeks were sent to defend Thermopylae under the command of King Leonidas (Spartan)
Athens sends a naval fleet to Artemisia
Artemisia = narrow water passage
Used to prevent the large Persian naval fleet from attacking

11. Battle of Thermopylae
Most of the Greek allies fled Thermopylae once the fighting began
Leonidas was left with his 300 men to fight against the Persians
Eventually, the Spartans & their remaining allies were overwhelmed and killed by the Persians
Hearing of the defeat, Athens decided to pull their ships from Artemisia
Returned home to prepare for another attack
Results = Persians began moving into Greece & sacking towns/cities
Athenians began evacuating to the island of Salamis

12. Battle of Salamis (480 B.c.E)
Persians arrive in an empty Athens & burn it down
Persians then move their fleet to the Strait of Salamis to attack the Athenian fleet
Athenians lure the Persians into the narrows of the strait
This way, the large Persian fleet would have difficulty maneuvering in such a tight space
Made it easier for the Athenians to attack
Results = Greeks win & Xerxes returns to Persia

14. Battle of Plataea (479 B.c.E)
Greeks, led by Sparta, crush the remaining Persian forces

15. What would have happened if Greece had lost the Persian Wars?

16. Would the world still have democracy
Would the world still have democracy? Would the Greek influence have spread throughout the world?