1. Persian and Peloponnesian Wars

2. Persian War 490-479 BCE ● Causes o Persia takes over Ionia o Athens aids Ionia: angers Persians o Persia (under Darius) puts down revolt: vows revenge against Greece

3. Persian War ● Major Players o Darius, king of Persia o Xerxes, son of Darius, who took over in 480 BCE o Persia v. the mostly united Greek city- states

4. Persian War – Major Battles ● Marathon o 25,000 Persians defeated by 10,000 Athenians. o Marathon sent runner to warn city of Athens o Pheideppides ran 26 miles, collapsing as he enters city

5. Persian War – Major Battles ● Thermopylae- Dramatized in the Movie 300 o Xerxes meets Greek soldiers in narrow mountain pass o Smaller Greek armies hold off Persians for several days o 300 Spartan soldiers defend pass as others retreat o Spartan soldiers sacrifice to save fellow Greeks

6. Persian War – Major Battles ● Battle at Salamis o Athenians convinced to battle Persians on Sea o After burning Athens, Xerxes sent warships to block narrow sea passage o Smaller, more maneuverable Greek ships defeat Persian navy o Persians defeated by combined efforts of Greek city-states

7. Consequences of the Persian War ● Greeks gain sense of Nationalism ● Athens becomes leader of a new alliance = Delian League ● Athens enters ‘Golden Age’ ● Tensions between Athens & Sparta grow

8. The Peloponnesian War 431 – 404 B.C.

9. Peloponnesian War - Causes ● Athens gains power through Delian League ● Sparta resents Athens’ influence: forms alliance (Spartan Alliance) of like- minded city-states ● Hostilities grew until war declared

10. Peloponnesian War – Major Players ● Athens & Members of Delian League ● Sparta & her allies ● Peloponnesian War is an Ancient Greek equivalent of a Civil War

11. Peloponnesian War – the Beginning ● Sparta = superior military ● Athens = superior Navy ● Because of wealth, Athens had nearly unlimited supplies ● Sparta needed HELP !! Athens Sparta

12. Sparta gains an advantage ● Sparta turns to – Persia ● Navy > Ionia ● Athens falls prey to plague = kills 1/3 population ● Spartan navy defeats Athens in two major battles: o a battle near Sicily o final defeat near the city- state of Syracuse.

13. Peloponnesian War - Consequences ● Sparta defeats Athens, however… ● Sparta unable to rule Greek –city states ● Other city-states will attempt to rule but fail ● Greece conquered by Philip II, king of Macedonia & by his son, Alexander the Great