Download Greece – Persian and Peloponnesian Wars

Greece
–
Persian and
Peloponnesian
Wars
5-7
The Persian War

Athens helped some
of the city-states in
Asia Minor revolt
against the Persian
Empire.


This made the
Persians mad
Darius was the leader
of the Persian Army.
He decided he wanted
to take over main
land Greece.
Battle of Marathon

The Persians invaded
at Marathon, about
26 miles from Athens.
The Athenian army,
although
outnumbered, held
off the Persian army.

The Persians gave up
their attempt to
conquering Greece for
a few more years.
Battle of Thermopylae


Darius’ son, Xerxes,
picked up where his
father left off and
decided to try to take
over Greece one more
time.
The Greeks got word
of the pending
invasion.
Battle of Thermopylae

Sparta and Athens united
together to defeat the
Persians. Athens was to
block the sea, Sparta the
land. 300 Spartan soldiers
blocked the pass at
Thermopylae. They held
their ground for two days,
but the Persians found
away around the pass, and
all 300 soldiers died.
Battle of Salamis

Athenian leaders
tricked the Persians
into attacking them in a
narrow straight. The
Persians had bigger
ships and in greater
numbers. However
they couldn’t maneuver
in the small area and
many Persian ships
were sunk. Ultimately,
the Greeks won.
Leagues
Delian League
Peloponnesian
League
- An alliance headed by - An alliance headed by
Sparta with many other
Athens with over 140
city-states.
other city-states.
Peloponnesian War

Athens and Sparta
didn’t get along for to
long after the Persian
War.


They were rivals
So they fought a war
against each other,
for control of Greece.
- VS -
Peloponnesian War

They fought each other for 27 years.
Fighting was off and on. Athens had a
strong navy, and Sparta the stronger
army. Sparta laid siege to Athens, but
Athens could bring in supplies. Finally,
the Spartans bought a navy and stopped
Athens’ supplies from coming in. Athens
then surrendered and became a second
rate power in Greece.
Conquering Greece


Many city-states like Sparta and Thebes
tried to conquer Greece after the
Peloponnesian War with no luck.
Many thought only a foreign power could
unite Greece.