Download Ancient Greece

From Cyrus the Great
to the Persian War
Events leading to the
Battle of Marathon
• Construct a timeline or chart in your notes
of events leading to the Persian War using
chapter 9, section 1.
Dates
People
Events
• Herodotus (484-425 BC)
– founder of historical writing
– “The Father of History”.
– In his greatest work, “The Persian War”,
he describes the crucial battle of
Marathon between the Greeks and the
Persians.
550 BC
• Cyrus the Great unites Persia
– Unites Persian aristocrats to revolt
against the Medes
– Gains independence for Persia
– Begins building an empire
• Conquers Lydia (in Asia Minor)
– Herodotus Histories, 1.53, p. 21. King Croesus of Lydia consults the
oracle of Delphi when contemplating an attack on the Persians. The oracle
responded that Croesus' attack would "destroy a great
empire." Unfortunately for Croesus, the great empire that was destroyed
was his own empire of Lydia.
– Herodotus Histories, 1.80, p. 33. Cyrus instructed the Persians to "kill
without mercy every Lydian they met--except Croesus”
• Conquers Babylon
– Ends “Babylonian Captivity” of the Israelites
Dates
People
Events
•550 BC
•529 BC
•Cyrus the Great
•Revolt against the Medes
•Cyrus dies
• The Persian Empire
– 2500 miles from east to west
– Look at the map on pg. 261
• Which modern-day countries?
• Cyrus dies
– His son
Cambyses
takes over
529 BC
Dates
People
Events
•550 BC
•529 BC
•525 BC
•Cyrus the Great
•Revolt against the Medes
•Cyrus dies / Empire
•Conquers Egypt
•Cambyses
525 BC
• Cambyses conquers Egypt
– Herodotus Histories, 3.30-2, p. 165-7. Cambyses murders
his brother Smerdis and his sister, who was also his wife.
– Insanity !!!!!
• Cambyses dies
in 521 BC
– Darius takes over
• Darius controls Asia; wants to be master of
Europe too
Dates
•550
•529
•525
•499
BC
BC
BC
BC
People
Events
•Cyrus the Great
•Revolt against the Medes
•Cyrus dies / Empire
•Conquering Egypt
•Revolt in Asia Minor
•Cambyses
•Darius
499 BC
• Ionians (Greeks in Asia Minor) declare a
revolt against the Persians
– Ionians seek assistance from Sparta and Athens
• Sparta says “no”
– Athens sends help, but not nearly enough
• Athens sent 20 ships, but they were crushed by the
Persians
• Athens angered a giant
Dates
•550
•529
•525
•499
BC
BC
BC
BC
People
Events
•Cyrus the Great
•Revolt against the Medes
•Cyrus dies / Empire
•Conquering Egypt
•Revolt in Asia Minor
•Cambyses
•Darius
• 490 BC - Persia seeks to punish Athens for
assisting the Ionians
– Darius sends a fleet of warships to attack Greece
at the port city of Marathon.
Dates
•550
•529
•525
•499
•490
BC
BC
BC
BC
BC
People
Events
•Cyrus the Great
•Revolt against the Medes
•Cyrus dies / Empire
•Conquering Egypt
•Revolt in Asia Minor
•Battle of Marathon
•Cambyses
•Darius
490 BC
• The Battle of Marathon
– Herodotus Histories, 22.109-110.
– 109. Now the opinions of the generals of the Athenians were divided,
and the one party urged that they should not fight a battle, seeing
that they were too few to fight with the army of the Medes (Persians),
while the others, and among them Miltiades (a Greek general), advised
that they should do so……Miltiades … said as follows: "With thee now it
rests, Callimachos (a Greek general), either to bring Athens under
slavery, or by making her free to leave behind thee for all the time that
men shall live a memorial … For now the Athenians have come to a
danger the greatest to which they have ever come since they were a
people; and on the one hand, if they submit to the Medes (Persians), it
is determined what they shall suffer…
– 110. Thus speaking Miltiades gained Callimachos to his side; and the
opinion of the polemarch (leader of Athens) being added, it was thus
determined to fight a battle.
Dates
•550
•529
•525
•499
•490
BC
BC
BC
BC
BC
People
Events
•Cyrus the Great
•Revolt against the Medes
•Cyrus dies / Empire
•Conquering Egypt
•Revolt in Asia Minor
•Battle of Marathon
•Cambyses
•Darius
• Battle of Marathon not going well
– Persia is clobbering Athens
Dates
•550
•529
•525
•499
•490
BC
BC
BC
BC
BC
People
Events
•Cyrus the Great
•Revolt against the Medes
•Cyrus dies / Empire
•Conquering Egypt
•Revolt in Asia Minor
•Battle of Marathon
•Cambyses
•Darius
• Pheidippides is sent from Athens to Sparta
to ask for help
– Herodotus Histories, 22.105.
– 105. First of all, while they were still in the city, the generals
sent off to Sparta a herald, namely Pheidippides an Athenian
… runner of long day-courses and one who practiced this as
his profession. …
1896 Olympic marathon
Dates
•550
•529
•525
•499
•490
BC
BC
BC
BC
BC
People
Events
•Cyrus the Great
•Revolt against the Medes
•Cyrus dies / Empire
•Conquering Egypt
•Revolt in Asia Minor
•Battle of Marathon
•Cambyses
•Darius
• Sparta doesn’t help, but a storm does
– A strong storm trashes the Persian navy
• Athens wins the
Battle of Marathon
– The score:
Greece 1, Persia 0
Dates
•550
•529
•525
•499
•490
•480
BC
BC
BC
BC
BC
BC
People
Events
•Cyrus the Great
•Revolt against the Medes
•Cyrus dies / Empire
•Conquering Egypt
•Revolt in Asia Minor
•Battle of Marathon
•Battle of Thermopylae
•Cambyses
•Darius
•Xerxes
480 BC
• Battle of Thermopylae
– Xerxes inherits the Persian throne
– Wants to finish what Darius started
10 years ago
– Land Battle
• Outnumbered Greeks are doomed
• 300 Spartans led by Leonidas buy time to regroup
• Persian army wins but suffers heavily
– Naval Battle
• Outnumbered Greeks are doomed
• Themistocles convinces Greece to build ships
• Greek navy wins
• Persians quit the war in defeat
– The score: Greece 2, Persia 0