1. Persian Wars
Powerpoint Templates

2. Persian Wars – 490 B.C.-479 B.C. Persians Darius I
Aegean Sea to Marathon
Persians > Athenians
Rain of arrows
Hand-to-hand combat
Persians retreated
Themistocles – Athenian leader – urged Athenians to build warships

3. Persian Wars Darius died – Xerxes, his son, sent in much larger force
Athens persuaded Sparta to join fighting
Thermopylae – small force of 300, led by Leonidas, held off Persian forces, but all died
Persians then marched south and burned Athens
Relied on fleet of ships Themistocles urged them to build
Athenians lured Persians into Salamis, driving into the boats with underwater battering rams

4. Persian War Greeks defeated Persians on land
Felt that the gods protected their superior form of gov’t – city-state – against invaders
Athens now = most powerful city-state in Greece
Formed Delian League – alliance with other Greek city-states

6. Peloponnesian War Many Greeks resented Athenian power
To combat the Delian League, Sparta and other enemies of Athens formed Peloponnesian League
DL = democracy
PL = oligarchy
P. War went on for 27 years

7. Peloponnesian War Athens – geographic disadvantage
Pericles – allowed people to move inside the city walls
Overcrowded, plague broke out, killed 1/3 of population
Sparta even sided with the Persians, and with the help of their navy, Sparta captured Athens, but did not destroy it out of respect

8. Aftermath
Athens’ economy revived and still was cultural center of Greece, even though fighting occurred in most of Greece

9. Now create a Headline for the Peloponnesian War!

10. Now create a Persian poem/picture and a Peloponnesian poem/picture