1. Mr. Dixon
Persian Wars
490 BCE – 479 BCE

2. Ionian Revolt
In 546 BC the Persians conquered wealthy Greek settlements in Ionia
After many years of Persian rule, the Greek settlers in Ionia had had enough of the Persians.
The Ionians knew they could not defeat the Persians on their own. They asked mainland Greece for help.

3. Map of Persia

4. Athens to the Rescue
Athens sent soldiers and a small fleet of ships to Ionia.
The Athenians quickly had success. They left the Ionians to defend themselves against the Persians

5. What Happened Then?
Some citizens were sold into slavery and the Ionian army was crushed.
At this point King Darius wants to extend his empire into mainland Greece.
King Darius sent a representative to ask for “gifts” of earth and water from the ancient Greek mainland.
These “gifts” would be sign of that the Greeks agreed to Persian rule.

6. Here is What Happened…Well, Sort of

7. Who Fought? The Persians fought against the Greeks
Persia was ruled by Darius and Xerxes
Greeks – Athenians, Spartans, Ionians

8. What caused the Persian Wars?
Persia controlled Ionia but Greeks were already living there.
In 499 BCE when Persian King Darius raised taxes, the Ionian Greeks got mad and revolted
Athens backed them up
Persians crushed the revolts

9. Who was fighting and where?

10. Major Battles
1. Battle of Marathon: Athens leads the defense; Sparta stays out of it
Persia – 25,000 soldiers
Greeks – 10,000 soldiers
Phalanx battle formation gave the Greeks the victory
6,400 Persians died
192 Greeks died

12. He wore a bronze helmet with a tall crest on his head.
A Greek foot soldier was called a hoplite. His shield was a hopla. Get it?
He wore a linen shirt with metal armour plates on the shoulders. A bronze breastplate covered his chest and stomach, and greaves (shin guards) covered his legs.
He wore a bronze helmet with a tall crest on his head.
The hoplite carried a shield and a spear.
Around his waist was a belt with a short sword.
Hoplites fought in close formation called the phalanx.
Greek soldiers had to pay for their own armour and weapons.  If you could not afford to buy armour and weapons you could still serve in the army as a stone-thrower or archer.

13. Hoplites carried 16-foot long spears
Hoplites carried 16-foot long spears. The first, second, third, fourth, and fifth rows of hoplites lowered their spears all at the same time. As soldiers fell, those in the rear ranks moved forward. Think porcupine!

14. Phalanx Formation
Mr. Dixon

15. Spear Padded Jacket Quiver of arrows Bow
A Persian Soldier – the cloth armour was not much use against the Greek phalanx!
Spear
Padded Jacket
Quiver of arrows
Bow
A modern drawing of a Persian soldier from Investigating History, Ancient Greece by Peter Kent and Sue Cosson (ISBN )

16. Pheidippides Ran to Athens from Marathon in his armor = 26.2 miles
Told them of the victory
Died after giving the news
* This is why marathons are now 26.2 miles!

18. Which factor do you think explains why the Greeks won the battle of Marathon?
A. They were joined together as allies.
B. They had better fighting equipment.
C. They knew the geography of the area.
D. They used clever military strategy.

19. The Persian Wars, Pt. 2 10 years later
Xerxes, son of Darius vowed revenge.
Brought between 100, ,000 troops to a narrow mountain pass

22. Battle at Thermopylae
3,300 Greeks led by the Spartans held them off at a narrow pass in Thermopylae.
A traitor told Persians of another way around.
Many Greeks retreat but 300 Spartans stood strong.
They all died.

23. What factor do you think best explains why the Persians won the battle of Thermopylae?
A. They were joined together as allies.
B. They had better fighting equipment.
C. They knew the geography of the area.
D. They used clever military strategy.

24. Mr. Dixon

25. Mr. Dixon

26. Battle at Salamis
Athens is evacuated and now fights at sea (ships = walls of wood)
Athenians have a powerful navy
Greeks fight with new ships called a trireme.
Triremes punch holes in Persian ships and sink a third of them.

28. Trireme
Mr. Dixon is steering!

30. Which factor do you think explains why the Greeks won the battle of Salamis?
A. They were joined together as allies.
B. They had better fighting equipment.
C. They knew the geography of the area.
D. They used clever military strategy.

31. Battle of Plataea
While Athens crushes the Persians at sea, Spartans are on the plain of Plataea and crush the rest of the Persian army.
Xerxes retreats.

33. What factor do you think best explains why the Greeks won the battle of Plataea?
A. They were joined together as allies.
B. They had better fighting equipment.
C. They knew the geography of the area.
D. They used clever military strategy.

34. Battle Summary: Greeks 3 – Persians 3
Winner
Ionia (Asia Minor)
Persia
Eretria (Greece)
Marathon (Greece)
Greece
Thermopylae (Greece)
Salamis (Aegean Sea)
Plataea (Greece)

35. Effects of the Persian Wars
Greece victory creates a sense of unity.
Athens has control of what is left of Greece through leadership of the Delian League.
Delian League – an agreement that the remaining Greek city states would help each other.

36. Effects of the Persian Wars
This control of the Delian League and Athens acting like she ran Greece leads directly to the third series of wars fought by Greeks during this period: the Peloponnesian Wars
Peloponnesus – the Greek peninsula; hence, the name Peloponnesian Wars.