Download Wars in Ancient Greece

Wars in Ancient Greece
Persian Wars
Causes –
Danger of a helot revolt led to Sparta becoming a military state
Danger of revolution among poverty-stricken farmers led to Athens becoming a democracy
Danger of being invaded by Persians moved Sparta and Athens to their greatest glory
490 B.C.E. –
Persian fleet of 25,000 men crossed the Aegean Sea, landed northeast of Athens on Marathon plain
10,000 Athenians waited for them, then charged the Persians as they came ashore
After several hours, the Persians retreated, suffering 6,400 casualties
Even though Athenians won, their city was defenseless, so they sent Pheidippides to race back to Athens
He raced back from Marathon to Athens, delivered his message, collapsed, and died
480 B.C.E. –
Xerxes was ruler of the Persians and wanted to destroy Greece
The Persians met no resistance as they marched towards Athens because the city-states were divided
A narrow mountain pass at Thermopylae held 7,000 Greeks, including 300 Spartans
They fought for three long days before a traitor told the Persians about a secret path around the cliffs
The Spartans stayed and fought, and ultimately sacrificed their lives, while the rest of the Greeks fled
479 B.C.E. –
At sea, the Greeks used their battering rams to sink Persian ships
Finally, the Spartans defeated the rest of the Persian Army on the plain of Plataea
Consequences
The Persian threat ended and the Greek city-states felt confident and free
Athens became the leader of the Delian League, consisting of 140 city-states
The Athenians used their new power to control other league members and rebuild their city
Peloponnesian War
431 B.C.E. -- Sparta declared war on Athens, Athens had a better navy and Sparta had a better army
Spartans marched into Athenian territory and burned the food supply
Pericles pulled residents into the city to be protected by the city walls and give them food
415 B.C.E. -- A plague killed roughly half of Athens’ population, including Pericles
413 B.C.E. -- A fleet of 27,000 Athenians were sent to destroy Syracuse, but were terribly defeated
404 B.C.E. -- Athens and its allies finally surrendered and Confidence in democratic government fell