Download Fighting the Persian Wars

By: Mr. Tsolomitis
FIGHTING THE PERSIAN WARS
INTRODUCTION
Athens and Sparta were not always enemies
 Common foe: the Persians between 499 and 479
B.C.E.

 Largest
empire the world had ever seen
Greek city-states banded together as allies
(states that agree to help each other against a
common enemy)
 Greeks had fewer men and land than the
Persians
 However, the Greeks fought for a common
purpose…

THE IONIAN REVOLT
King Darius
Went from a small tribe in
present-day Iraq to an empire
that ruled over much of the
known world.
 King Darius divided his kingdom
into 20 states called satraps.



One such satrap was made up of
the wealthy Greek settlements of
Ionia
Ionians were forced to pay
tributes and serve in the
Persian army.
RESULT OF THE IONIAN REVOLT
Ionians could not defeat Persians by
themselves, so they asked for Athenian help.
 Athens sent soldiers and a small fleet of ships.
 Successful for a time, but then the Athenians
went home without finishing the job.
 Ionians were crushed in 493 B.C.E.

 Razing
of Miletus and slavery.
Score
Persians
Greeks
1
0
BATTLE OF MARATHON

Darius was maaaaaaad
 Sets

Gives Greeks a chance to offer presents of
earth and water as a sign of acceptance of
Persian rule.
 Not

out to conquer mainland Greece
a good move
Darius sent an army of foot soldiers (infantry)
and horse-riding soldiers (cavalry) in 490 B.C.E.
across the Aegean Sea and assembled them
on the Plain of Marathon.
SETTING THE STAGE FOR MARATHON

Athenians sent Pheidippides to Sparta for
assistance… 140 miles in 2 days.


Spartans were in the middle of a religious
festival called the Carneia and would be
unable to assist until the next full moon
Troop numbers:

Persians:
 50,000
infantry
 1,750 cavalry

Greeks:
 Between
10,000 and 11,000 Athenian
infantrymen
 Zero cavalry

But the Greeks had Miltiades!
THE BATTLE OF MARATHON
Score
Persians
Greeks
1
1
AFTER MARATHON…
Persians go home to lick their wounds
 Darius I dies in 486 B.C.E.
 His son, Xerxes I, takes control of the empire

 Hungry
to climb out of his father’s shadow
Best way to do this is to do what his father
could not: conquer mainland Greece.
 Marches across the Hellespont (the long,
narrow body of water between Europe and Asia
in modern-day Turkey).

WAIT, HE MARCHED ACROSS WATER?!
THERMOPYLAE
After the Persians crossed the Hellespont, they
overwhelmed several Greek city-states.
 Athens and Sparta joined forces, with the
Spartans taking on the Persian army while the
Athenians attacked the Persian navy.
 Spartans chose Thermopylae as their battle
ground.

THE GOOD…




6,000-7,000
Greek soldiers vs.
180,000
Persians.
Limited room for
fighting, made the
Persian numbers
useless.
Led by Leonidas,
a Spartan king
and brilliant
tactician.
Held out for 3
days.
SPARTAN PHALANX
… AND THE BAD.
Until a traitor betrayed the Greeks…
 Used a secret path through the rocky hills to
flank the 300 Spartans who weren’t ordered to
retreat.
 All 300 were killed quickly.

Score
Persians
Greeks
1
2
Moral victory for the Greeks
SALAMIS
News of the Spartans “defeat” terrified
Athenians, many of who fled for their lives.
 Athens was burned to the ground.
 However, the naval battle was not as hopeless.
 Themistocles knew a way to defeat the Persian
navy.

 Set
a trap similar to the way the Spartans had held
out for so long…
SALAMIS
RESULTS OF SALAMIS
Greek ships rammed Persian boats in a narrow
channel.
 300 Persian ships were sunk, as opposed to
the 40 Greek ships lost.

Score
Persians
Greeks
1
3
PLATAEA
After the defeat at Salamis (and Thermopylae),
Xerxes retreats home.
 Attacks next spring, heads for Athens.
 Greeks banded together once again and met
on the plains outside Plataea.
 80,000 Greeks (mostly Spartans) vs 300,000
Persians.

VICTORY FOR GREECE
After a resounding victory at Plataea, the Persian
Empire fled and didn’t bother Greece again for a
long time…
 Benefits

Kept Persia from conquering all of Europe
 Banded all Greeks together as “Greeks,” not members
of city-states.


But…
Athens was in ruins
 Thousands of Greeks died
