Download The Persian Wars

World History
Classical Civilizations
Ancient Greece
Chapter 5 Section 2: Warring City-States
Read pages 127-133 to complete the following:
1. Describe the following forms of government
Form of Government
Description
Aristocracy
Oligarchy
Tyrants
Democracy
2. Describe the role of the following reformers in developing democracy in Athens?
A. Draco
B. Solon
C. Cleisthenes
3. Briefly describe education in Athens. What types of subjects were taught? How did education differ in Athens for
boys and girls?
4. Why did Sparta develop a military state around 650 BC? What officials ruled over the military forces?
5. Describe Spartan daily life? What did they value more than intellectual pursuits? Why did girls and women have more
freedoms in Sparta than in Athens?
The Persian Wars: Last Stand of the 300 - Video
Introduction to the Persian Wars
1.
Who was the Persian king that invaded Greece in 480 B.C.? Who was the Spartan leader chosen by the Greek
alliance of city-states to defend the pass at Thermopylae?
2. In addition to his army, what else was Xerxes planning to use in order to surround and defeat the Greeks at
Thermopylae? Who was the Athenian military leader charged with stopping this strategy?
3. What would happen if either Leonidus or Themistocles failed to defend against the Persians?
Spartan Youth and Training
4. What was the first thing that was decided about a Spartan infant immediately after birth? What would happen to them
if it was felt they had any weaknesses or defects?
5. At what age were Spartan boys taken from their families to begin military training? What was one of the final tests of
all young Spartans? What happened when they completed their training at age 18?
6. Who did Leonidus consult for advice on whether to join with the other Greeks against Persia? How many Spartan
warriors was he allowed to choose to go into battle with him?
Background of the Persian Wars
7. What had happened in 499 BC that set the stage for the Persian Wars? What mistake did the Athenians make that
ultimately led to the wars? Who was the Persian king that vowed revenge?
8. What happened to the Persian Army at Marathon in the first Persian War in 490 BC? What happened to the Greek
soldier that ran back to Athens to announce the great victory?
9. What happened to Persian Emperor Darius before he could seek revenge? Who did it fall upon to carry out the next
attempt at revenge?
10. How many Persian forces did Xerxes bring into northern Greece in 480 AD?
The Battles of Thermopylae and Artemesium Strait
11. What military formation was used by the Spartans? What were Spartan soldiers called?
12. What was the Spartan’s primary and most deadly weapon? Why was it important that the hoplites worked together in
unison?
13. What had happened by the end of the first day of battle at Thermopylae? What was also happening at the same time
on the Artemesium Strait? Who was the mastermind of the Greek strategy?
14. What group did Xerxes send into battle at Thermopylae on the second day? What happened to them?
The Final Stand
15. What did Leonidus order most of the other non-Spartan Greeks to do when he found out that they were surrounded?
Why did he not withdraw and save his own forces?
16. What happened once the Greek phalanx was finally broken on the third day? How were the remaining Greek forces
finally killed? What did the Persians find when they arrived in Athens two months later?
17.
In what battle masterminded by Themistocles was the fate of the Persian defeat finally decided?
18. What Greek leader finally attacked and defeated the Persians on their own territory over a century later? What would
have likely been the fate of democracy if not for the Battle of Thermopylae and the ultimate Greek victory over the
Persians?