Download Greece and Persia - St. Catherine

The Greek World
Quiz on Greece and Persia
1) Who was the first great leader of the Persian
2)
3)
4)
5)
Empire?
What was Zoroastrianism?
What were the Immortals?
Who lost the Battle of Marathon?
How many times did Darius I invade Greece?
The Greek World
 We are going to be talking about Classic Greece
which is part of the larger era known as Ancient
Greece.
 The Classical period lasted only about 150 years from
the end of the Persian Wars (479 BC)to the death of
Alexander the Great(323 BC)
 This is called Classic because Greek civilization
reached its peak at this time.
The Persians
 First we have to talk about the Persians
 Initially (first) the Persians were a nomadic people,
unorganized and far from being a great empire.
 They would occasionally fight other peoples,
sometimes winning sometimes not.
 It wasn’t until Cyrus II took command of the
Persians and defeated the Medes (who had
conquered them earlier) that the Persian Empire
began
Cyrus the Great
The Persians
 Take a look at the map on page 261
 What areas that we have talked about in the past did
Cyrus II and the Persians conquer?
 Cyrus II let those he conquered keep their own
customs. By doing this he was able to keep them
relatively happy and as a result he was able to control
them
 He became known as Cyrus the Great
The Persian Army
 The Persian army under Cyrus the Great became one
of the most powerful in the world
 Led by the Immortals and a large cavalry, they were
able to defeat almost any foe that they came up
against
The Persian Empire Grows Stronger
 Cyrus was followed to the throne by his son
Cambyses
 Although Cambyses expanded the empire by
conquering Egypt among other lands he was an
unpopular leader in Persia and died during an
uprising against him
 Cambyses was followed by a young prince named
Darius I who consolidated his power by killing all of
his rivals and continued to expand the empire
Political Organization
 Darius divided the empire into 20 provinces led by
his hand picked satraps
They, Collected taxes
Served as judges
Put down rebellions
Persian Society
 Darius expanded the empire and made many
improvements to Persian society


The Royal Road (look at the map on page 261)
A new capital city Persepolis
• 3000 carvings on the city walls
• Statues glittered with gold, silver, and jewels

Zoroastrianism

A new religion that taught that there were two forces fighting for
control of the universe. One good and one bad
Persian Expansion
 Darius expanded the empire as far east as the Indus
Valley
The Persians Fight Greece
In 499 BC some Greek cities in Asia Minor revolted
against Persia.
In an effort to help their country men some of the
Greek city-states sent soldiers to help in the battle
against the Persians
Although Persia put down the revolt Darius was angry
at the Greek city-states for fighting against him and
vowed revenge
The Battle of Marathon
 Darius invaded Greece 9 years later and meet the
Greek army on the plains of Marathon near Athens.
 This was the beginning of the Persian Wars
 Although they were outnumbered the Greek army
was victorious and the Persian army had to retreat
back across the Aegean Sea to Asia Minor
 The story of Marathon/Rejoice! We
Conquer/Phidippides
The Second Invasion of Greece
 While planning a second invasion of Greece Darius I
died and was succeeded by his son Xerxes.
 Xerxes led a huge army against the Greeks army
which now included the Spartans as well as the
Athenians.
 A small group of Spartans (about 1400) met the
Persians at a narrow mountain pass called
Thermopylae
The Second Invasion of Greece
 After a traitorous Greek soldier led the Persians
through a secret mountain pass the Spartans were
surrounded and defeated.
 The Persians went on to Athens and burned it to the
ground.
 Soon after this the Greeks tricked the Persian navy
into a narrow strait called Salamis (look at the map
on page 265) and destroyed the Persian navy
The Second Invasion of Greece
 Without the navy to supply the army the Persians
were soon defeated in a major battle at Plataea.
 Defeated, they returned home ending the Persian
Wars