Download War, Glory, and Decline 4 iv The Persian Wars

War, Glory, and Decline
4 iv
The Persian
Wars
546 B.C the
Persian armies
led by Cyrus II
conquered the
Greek citystates of Ionia in
Asia minor.
"I am Cyrus, who founded the empire of the Persians.
Grudge me not therefore, this little earth that covers my body."
(Inscription on the tomb)
499 B.C. the Ionians revolted
against the Persians, but Darius I of
Persia defeats them and decides to
punish them for revolting.
Marathon
• Darius’s first try fails due to storms.
• In 490 B.C. sent fleet directly across
the Ægean to Marathon (25 mi. North
of Athens).
• Wait for the Athenians but seeing
they are outnumbered 2 to 1, Athens
does nothing.
Marathon
• Persians decide to attack so they
begin loading their cavalry and
infantry into ships.
• Athens strike not letting Persia
take the offensive.
Persian Cavalry
Persian Immortal
Marathon
• Athenian foot soldiers are ordered
to charge down a hill and attack
Persians in the shallow water
waiting to board ships.
• Persians are taken by surprise and
defeated losing 6,400 men to only
192 Greek casualties. The Persians
withdraw from Greece.
Greek
soldier
fighting
a
Persian
soldier.
Phidippedes
run to
Athens.
480 B.C. Darius’s son, Xerxes,
invaded Greece from the north with
200,000 soldiers.
Battle of Salamis
Offshore supply ships accompanied
them to supply their large army.
The oracle at Delphi predicted
that Greece would be safe behind
a wooden wall.
The Athenian general Themistocles
convinced Greece that a “wooden
wall” meant a fleet of ships. The
Greeks would have to defeat the
Persians at sea.
A delaying
action on
land at
Thermopylae
(a mountain
pass north of
Athens) was
needed.
7,000 Greeks led by King Leonidas
of Sparta stood firm against the
Persians for three days.
A Greek traitor showed the enemy
a trail where they could attack
from behind.
Realizing he would be surrounded,
Leonidas sent off most of his troops
while he and 300 Spartans fought to
the death to buy Themistocles time
to carry out his plan.
Oh stranger, tell the
Lacedaemonians that
we lie here, trusting their
words.[
Themistocles drew the Persian
fleet into the strait of Salamis,
a narrow body of water
between Athens and Salamis,
causing the heavy Persian
ships to crowd together and
be easy targets for the lighter
Greek ships.
The Greek navy destroyed the
Persian fleet forcing the Persians to
retreat.
With the end of the Persian Wars,
Athens emerged as the most
powerful city-state in Greece.
The Golden Age of Athens
The period from 461 B.C. to 429 B.C.
when Greek culture reached its peak
through achievements in the arts and
sciences centered mostly in Athens.
Pericles, an Athenian general, led
Athens through the Golden Age
After the Persians burned Athens,
Pericles began rebuilding Athens in
447 B.C.
The Acropolis with the Parthenon
(temple to Athena) represented all
that was best in Athens, making it
the most beautiful city-state in
Greece.
Daily Life
• Public buildings were lavish
• Homes were simple with two main
rooms
–dining room for entertaining
–wool room for spinning for the
women
• Courtyards contained an alter for
worship, wash basin, a well, and
livestock.
Slaves
• Mostly were
foreigners or prisoners
of war
• Did most of the heavy
work such as mining
and craft production.
• Worked as teachers
and servants in the
home.
Men
• worked in
the morning
• attended the
Assembly or
the
Gymnasium
in the
Afternoon
Upper-class Athenian men enjoyed
the symposium as a form of
recreation.
A symposium was a drinking
session followed by a banquet.
Wives were excluded.
Women
• Most women
spent time at
home cooking
and making
wool cloth.
• Poor women
worked in the
open air
markets as
food sellers
and cloth
weaver.
Despite restrictions, many Athenian
women were able to participate in
public life and were able to read and
write.
Public opinion allowed the greatest
freedom in the metic class.
The most
famous
metic
woman was
Aspasia
who was
known for
her
intelligence
and personal
charm.
The Peloponnesian War
After the
Persian
Wars,
Athens
persuaded
city-states
excluding
Sparta to
ally
against
any future
attack.
This alliance
became known
as the Delian
League because
the treasury
was kept on the
sacred island
of Delos.
Athens began to dominate under
Pericles’ rule.
• Part of the treasury was used to
build the Parthenon.
• Criminal cases were only tried in
Athens.
• Other city-states had to adopt
Athenian coinage system.
• Athens’s trade and political
influence grew, transforming
Athens into an Empire.
As a result, Sparta and other rival
city-states formed their own alliance
against Athens.
Conflict
(431 - 404)
At the beginning of the war, Athens
had the superior navy, while
Sparta had no navy.
Sparta
made a
deal with
Persia to
return
Ionia in
exchange
for gold to
build its
own fleet.
In 430 B.C. a disastrous plague,
probably typhus, weakened Athens
losing around 1/3 of its population
including Pericles in 429 B.C.
Some Athenians wanted peace
while others urged to keep fighting.
War continued deadlocked for many
years.
Athenian Hoplite
Spartan Hoplite
Sparta
destroyed
the
Athenean
fleet and
laid siege to
Athens,
bringing
their
surrender in
404 B.C.
Effects of the War
• There was a decline in population.
• Land was destroyed.
• Unemployment was so widespread
that many men became
mercenaries, or hired soldiers, in
the Persian Army.
• Greece lost their ability to govern
themselves.