1. 9.3 Persian Wars: Battle of Marathon
Standard: 6.52
Essential Question: Why do conflicts develop? pp

2. Success Criteria: Who were the main opponents in the Persian Wars?
Why did conflict develop between the Greeks and the Persians?
Vocab: Persian Wars, Battle of Marathon, Battle of Thermopylae, Darius I, Xerxes, Leonidas,

3. Success Criteria

9. Persian King Xerxes I
if he conquered Athens, his name would be “held in honor all over the world.”

10. Interactive: Xerxes Bridge

11. King Leonidas leading the Spartan phalanx
"After Leonidas was enclosed by the enemy at Thermopylae, desiring to save two that were related to him, he gave one of them a message and sent him away; but he rejected it, saying angrily, I followed you as a soldier, not as a postman. The other he commanded to go on a message to the magistrates of Sparta; but he, answered, that is a messenger ’s business, took his shield, and returned back to his place in the line". 'On the Malice of Herodotus' by Plutarch, page 7

12. “They (the Spartans) defended themselves to the last, those who still had swords using them, and the others resisting with their hands and teeth…til the barbarians (Persians) … who now had encircled them upon every side, overwhelmed and buried the remnant (remainder)…” -from The Histories by Herodotus

13. Oracle at Delphi

14. Athens

15. Burning of Athens
Herodotus, The Struggle for Greece. Translated by Kenneth Cavander. Fawcett Premier, 1962, page 115.
“They found an empty city. A few Athenians, beggars and stewards of the temple, had barricaded themselves into the Acropolis behind wooden doors, but they could provide only feeble resistance. They had been too poor to go to Salamis, and believed they had solved the puzzle of the Delphic oracle when it talked about the ‘wooden walls’ never being taken. They thought a wooden barricade was meant, not ships, and staked everything on their wooden doors. But the Persians occupied the hill opposite the Acropolis and began a siege. Winding strips of tar round their arrows and setting them alight, they fired into the stockade. Although this defense proved worthless the besieged Athenians refused to surrender; their situation was desperate, but they refused to listen to the offer of the Persians to negotiate a truce…. [The Persians] plundered the temple, destroyed everything in sight and burnt the whole of the Acropolis.”

16. A Greek historian named Herodotus recorded the events of the Persian Wars. He wrote about Artemisia, the ruler of Halicarnassus (located in today’s Turkey, ancient Asia Minor), which was part of the Persian Empire. She was a feared warrior and the Greeks offered a reward for capturing her. She was never captured, however. In the naval battle of Salamis she brought five ships to add to the Persian fleet to fight against the Greeks. She is also known for giving Persian King Xerxes advice when he assembled the leaders of his fleet to discuss fighting the Greeks. According to Herodotus, Artemisia “gave to Xerxes sounder counsel [better advice] than any of his other allies.”
Queen Artemisia

17. The Persian navy outnumbered the Greek ships more than three to one at the Battle of Salamis. Persian King Xerxes I did not realize until it was too late that his fleet had lost its military advantage due to the geography of the narrow Strait of Salamis. Only a limited number of Persian ships could fight in the strait at one time.
Historians consider the Battle of Salamis one of the most important naval battles in world history. In the battle map, the red ships are Persian and the white are Greek.

18. The Greek ships rammed and sank the Persian ships.
The technology superior Greek triremes were lightweight and specially designed to move quickly through the water.
The Greek ships rammed and sank the Persian ships.
Many of the Persian sailors drowned when their ships sank because the sailors wore heavy armor.
Wikimedia/Deutsches Museum, Munich, Germany

19. Xerxes witnesses the Battle of Salamis

20. EXIT TICKET 1. On the next slide look at the three images. 2
EXIT TICKET 1. On the next slide look at the three images. 2. Write a title for each of the three images (Persian War Battles)

21. Persian Wars: major battles
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