1. Persian and Peloponnesian Wars

2. Rise of Persia Anatolia, Asia Minor Cyrus (559-530) Darius (521-489)
Took over surrounding peoples
Conquered Lydian king Croesus, taking control of the entire Asia Minor territory and turning it into an Empire – unification
Benevolent and talented ruler
Darius ( )
Seized power
Centralized government and moved capital
Divided into provinces
Absolute power
Paid taxes, gave king gifts, and paid him tribute for his protection
Forced labor and mandatory military service
Considered subjects slaves

3. Beginning of Persian War
Ionian Revolt (499 BC)
Greeks on coast of Asia Minor
Conquered by Persians
Set up puppet tyrants
Resented them and revolted
Revolt suppressed
Darius invades Greece
First expedition, conquers Thrace, Thasos, and Macedonia

4. Battle at Marathon (490 BC)
Darius returns to Greece
Athens meets them at Marathon
Asks for Spartan aid, but they cannot come until end of a religious festival
Miltiades leads Athenians
2:1, but Athenians win
Herodotus reported that Greeks were killed, and 6, Persians died
Darius leaves Greece

5. Aftermath of Marathon Xerxes Rise of Themistocles in Athens
Successor of Darius
Had heralds came to Greece demanding earth and water to show submission – many complied
Marches on Greece
Rise of Themistocles in Athens
Building of Triremes in Athens
Light, fast, maneuverable warships with three banks of oars
Hellenic League
31 city-states

6. Battle at Thermopylae (480 BC)
Leonidas, one of the two kings of Sparta
Marched in with 7000 men to Thermopylae
Greek traitor revealed the existence of a hidden road over mountain pass
Leonidas dismissed most of his troops
300 Spartans, 100 Thebans and Thespians
Act over heroism, but victory for the Persians (opening up central Greece for the enemy)
Delayed Persians some

7. Battle of Salamis (479) Persians march on Athens
Athenians have already fled city
Persians burn the city
Themistocles tricks Xerxes into attacking the Greeks awaiting in the narrows at Salamis
Greeks use smaller, faster ships to their advantage
Destroy 200 Persian ships - win the battle

8. Initial Aftermath Xerxes leaves and returns to Persia
He left Maridonius in Greece
Later that year the Persians faced the largest Greek army yet
Greeks are led by Spartan, Pausanias
Persians are defeated and leave Greece

9. After the Persia War Hellenic identity formed in Greece Athens
Ship rowers (the lowest class) are now important, so hard for aristocrats to keep power away from them
More democratic reforms
Equality among men of Athens
Became a major cultural center
Drama in Athens

10. Delian League To prevent a 3rd invasion of the Persians
Led by the Athenians
Located at the island of Delos
Annual contributions in ships or money
Athenian controlled the treasury
Goals:
a) containment of Persia
b) gathering of booty as compensations
c) simple revenge
Fought Persians for 25 years
Led by Cimon (Miltiades’ son)
Against more democratic reforms, pro-Sparta
Expelled Persians from Europe and Ionia

11. Athenian Empire Treasury transferred to Athens
Athens began forcing cities to join the League
When Naxos wanted to leave, Athens forcibly prevented them from withdrawing
Revolt of 465
Tensions rising against Sparta
Pericles rose to power in Athens
Elected one of the ten strategoi (military leaders) repeatedly
Full-blown democracy in Athens
Treasury transferred to Athens
Use money for building programs (Parthenon)

12. First Peloponnesian War (460-445)
Athens builds long walls
Athens fighting against Corinth, Sparta (ally) joins in
Cimon returns from exile
negotiates 5 year truce (451)
Athens abandoned alliance with Argos
30 Years Peace (445)
neither state was to interfere with the allies of the other
neutrals were free to join either side
no allies were permitted to switch sides

13. Peloponnesian War (431-404) Source: Thucydides’ History
Tensions began to rise again
Athens was the aggressor
Sparta declares war

14. Beginning of the War (431-421)
Pericles refused to engage Spartans in hoplite war
Had all of the farmers living outside of the walls to come into the city
Spartans ravaged the land outside of Athens
Athens thought the Spartans would get tired of ravaging, and Spartans thought the Athens would not stand for their land being ravaged, would become frustrated and either seek Peace or overrule Pericles and come out and fight
Both sides were wrong
Next year – horrible plague in Athens (1/3 died), including Pericles
Spends next years rebuilding strength in Athens

15. Invasion of Sicily ( )
Three generals: Nicias, Alcibiades, Lamachus
Neither could agree
Alcibiades was called to trial (Herms incident), Lamachus was killed, leaving Nicias in charge
Nicias suffered from kidney disease and asked to be recalled, instead they sent another commander, Demosthenes (who advocated immediate withdraw once arriving)
Syracusans took Nicias’ army
Athenians lost 10,000s men

16. War in the Aegean ( )
Athenian naval superiority shattered after Sicily
Subjects began revolting
20,000 slaves left Athens for Sparta
Athens began swinging back to Oligarchy (411)
Council of 400 in Athens (turns into the 5000), democratic fleet (the assembly) stationed at Samos
Athens recalls Alcibiades
Wins battles with the fleet  democracy restored
Spartans loose their admiral-in-chief

17. War in Aegean continues
Sparta
set about building a new naval force and negotiating for Persian support
Sold out the freedom of the Greek cities of Ionia for Persian gold
Spartans offer peace, on the basis of status-quo
Athens refuses

18. Final Years of the War (407-404)
Alcibiades puts Antiochus in charge with orders not to engage the Spartans
He does and they loose
Alcibiades’ career in Athens is finished for good
Battle of Arginusae (405)
Athenians offered freedom to slaves who would join the navy
Huge naval battle which they sunk 75 Peloponnesian ships
20,000 Greeks lost their lives
Sparta again offer peace on the basis of status-quo
Athens declined

19. Final Years continued Battle of Aegospotami (405)
Decisive Spartan victory
Captured 171 ships
Cut Athens off from their source of grain near the black sea
Lysander accepts surrender of allies of Athens
replace democracies with oligarchies
Athens agree to treaty
Destruction of Long Walls
Surrender all but 12 ships
Exiles would be recalled (oligarchy friendly)
Sparta’s ally
30 Tyrannts
30 delegated by Sparta to run Athens as an oligarchy

20. After the War in Athens 30 Tyrants
Spartan-friendly oligarchic body
Critias is one of the most important of them
Murdered hundreds democratic supporters
3000, friendly to the oligarchy who they protected
Many went into exile - dangerous group building outside of Athens
March on Athens and over throw the city
Sparta intervened, got rid of the 30 and gave amnesty to all others
Socrates’ trail – found guilty and forced to drink Hemlock