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This is Sparta!!!!
How the Spartans Saved the World
Background
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In the late 5th century Persians pushed westward
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Conquered a number of semi independent
states (Ionian region / Western Turkey)
The cities asked for help to rebel.
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Sparta declined to help
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Athens agreed to help
After 20 years, the Ionian Revolt was
suppressed and Persia invaded Greece
490 BCE - Athenians and Plataeans met with
the Persians on the coast at the Bay of
Marathon.
The Persians numbered around 20,000 while the
Greeks could only muster 10,000.
Greek generals (Strategoi) took turns every day
leading (Council of Generals)
Athenian General Miltiades
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He argued an immediate attack and his
idea was carried by vote.
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The Greeks rushed at the Persians who
were caught off guard and pushed back
into the sea before they could organise a
real defence.
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The casualties: Greeks = 126
Persians = 6400
Opening Moves
 In 480 BCE, Xerxes, the son of Darius, planned to
finish what his father had started.
 Local governors (Satraps) were ordered to send
forces to Ionia.
 In a few years, Xerxes had at his command an army
some Greek historians claimed to be in the millions.
Most likely it numbered around 120,000 men and
upwards of 1,000 ships.
 This build up was not hidden. The Persian king
wanted to intimidate the Greeks into surrendering, or
at least offering to stay neutral.
 This worked as most of the smaller states secretly
pledged neutrality to Persia. Everyone wondered
about the two biggest states – Sparta and Athens.
Greek Preparations
 Athenians spent the previous decade building a navy.
 Themistocles was the Athenian general who had led
the building of a navy.
 He believed that the Persians would only be defeated if
their navy was destroyed.
 Spartans tried to send envoys to the Persians to tell
they were not interested in this fight. However,
Spartan diplomacy was, at best, rude and so it went
nowhere.
 As word spread of the Persian build up, Spartans
debated what they should do.
The Persians Advance
 Xerxes carried his forces across the
Helespont and moved around the coast
towards Athens. He took his time hoping to
awe the Greeks into submission.
 He needed to stay close to the coast so that
the ships could keep his soldiers fed.
 This move spurred the Spartans to try to
block the Persians north of Athens.
Leonidas
 Not much is really known about the man
 Was supposed to be from a good family
 Was a “king” of Sparta.
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When the Persians invaded he volunteered to
slow the advance as long as possible.
He selected a small number of warriors and
headed for Thermopylae.
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An easily defendable pass that was close to the
coastline – Persians would need to clear it.
Oh yeah… the rest of them
 Legend talks of the “300”.
They were the last stand group.
 The Spartans were joined by several thousand allies.
 Sparta was involved in the Carneian Festival
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Some were getting ready for the Olympics
 Some were waiting to see what happened.
The Persians attacked in wave after wave until finally they located a
local who told them of a trail that led behind the Greeks.
When he heard that his defences had been compromised, Leonidas
evacuated his army accept for the 300 who volunteered to fight on to
delay as much as possible.
Once totally surrounded, the Spartans and their allies were quickly
defeated.
Their sacrifice bought enough time for the festival to conclude and
some fence sitting states to join against the Persians.
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major festival for the god Apollo. No Spartan was allowed
to leave, no wars or military campaigns allowed.
Battle of Salamis
 As the Persians approached Athens, the government
headed Themistocles advice and ordered an
evacuation of the city.
 When the Persians arrived they found the city pretty
much empty.
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They killed all they found and burned the city to the
ground.
The Persians were angry because the Greeks refused
to accept the reality of their defeat.
 When Xerxes heard that the Athenians had sheltered
themselves in the Bay of Eleusis he pounced.
 The Persians concentrated their fleet on the Bay and
waited for the Greeks to make a run.
 The Athenians refused to come out so Xerxes sent
his forces into the narrow channels.
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This is what the Athenians wanted.
In the narrows leading into the Bay they attacked the
Persians with around 350 ships.
Because the size of the attacking force, the Persians
had no room to manoeuvre their 700 ships.
The Athenians used “Greek Fire” which caused panic
among the Persians who began to crash into one
another.
Within hours the Persians had lost just over 200 ships
to the Greek’s 40.
The Rest of the Story
 The Battle of Thermopylae was a set back to
Xerxes.
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It did represent a point for Greeks to rally.
 Within weeks of Thermopylae, Athens was
sacked and destroyed.
 Xerxes marched on Sparta but was defeated
decisively at the Battle of Salamis and at the
Battle of Plataea.
 With this Xerxes returned home.