War, Glory, and Decline 4 iv

The Persian Wars

546 B.C the Persian armies led by Cyrus II conquered the

Greek city-states 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.

Offshore supply ships accompanied them to supply their large army.

Battle of Salamis

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.

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.