1. Greece and Persia Collide

2. Persia
Largest empire to date, stretching from modern day India to Egypt and Turkey
Largest armies seen to date, with hundreds of thousands serving when mobilized
Technologically advanced
Tolerant of other
cultures and religions
Absolute Monarchy

3. Persian Empire 500 BC

4. Greece Despite common language, divided into city-states (poleis)
Advanced tactics with hoplite infantry
Great contributions to art and science
Political structure
varied from partial
democracies to
absolute monarchies

5. Greece in the Persian Wars

6. What Started it All
Persia conquered Ionia where Greeks lived (west coast modern Turkey)
In 499 BC when Persian King Darius raised taxes, the Ionian Greeks got mad and revolted
Athens backed Greek city of Miletus
Persians crushed the revolts but also wanted to punish Athens for interfering

7. Battle of Marathon 490 BC
After burning Eritrea to the north, the Persians land at Marathon, NE of Athens
Athenians and
Plateans are
outnumbered
25,000 to 10,000
Greeks chose to
attack to pick the
ground they would
fight on

8. Thermopylae 480 BC
Xerxes, wants revenge for his father’s defeat at Marathon and invades Greece
300 Spartans and thousands of allies held
Persian army of
150,000 at pass
for a week
The last stand
saw the Spartans,
700 Thespians,
and 300 Thebans
face the Persians

9. Salamis 480 BC
Oracle told Athenians to put their faith in the wooden wall, in other words, their fleet [half Greek fleet is Athenian]
Greeks feign retreat
near Salamis and
when Persians pursue
the Greeks turn and
defeat them in the narrow
channel
Despite being
outnumbered by 800 to
400 triremes, the Greeks
win

10. Platea 479 BC
With fleet defeated at Salamis, Persians could not supply army
Xerxes left Greece and his general Mardonius
commanded the
remnants of the
Persian army
Combined Greek
force of 40,000
defeats 80,000
Persians at Platea,
ending Persian
threat

11. Myths You Will Hear
Greeks (West) fought for freedom against oppression of Persians (East)
Persians outnumbered Greeks 10 to 1 in many battles but were defeated due to being essentially slaves

12. Outcomes of the Wars Greek victory creates a sense of unity
Persian threat removed permanently – next serious threat comes from Rome 300 years later
Athens had control of
what was left of Aegean
Greece through
leadership of the Delian
League
Peloponnesian League
formed by Sparta to
counter power of Athens