THE RISE OF PERSIA

Objectives• How did Persia’s empiric rise impact

ancient Greece?• What was the general outcome of the

Persian Wars?• How did Greece respond after the

end of the Persian Wars?• What was the immediate causes of

the Peloponnesian Wars?

The Expanding Persian Empire

• Greeks spent great deal of time fighting one another

• At the same time, Persia was growing in power

• By 520 BCE Persian Empire encircled Greek city-states & have conquered former Greek colonies – Zoinks!

The Persian Alliance • 507 BCE: Athenians sent

ambassador to Persian King Darius I to create protective alliance against Sparta– Ambassador made alliance– BUT Athenian assembly

eventually rejected deal–Why would the Athenian

process confuse the Persians?

We’ll vote on it and get

back to you!

WHAT?!?

Ionian Revolt• 499-493 BCE: Greek cities

throughout Asia Minor rise up against Persian rule.

• 498 BCE: After pleading for an alliance with the Persians, the Athenians back the Ionian Revolt– Help Ionians to sack Persian

city of Sardis– Result: Persians are

ANGRY!!!

Me so angry

Help!We’re on the way

AGH!Those Greeks

will pay for this

The Three Battles of the Persian Wars

• 490 B.C. - King Darius sent 600 ships and 20,000 soldiers to invade Greece; wanted to punish Athenians for helping Ionian rebels

• Persian army landed at Marathon, north of Athens – Athenian force had no horses or archers, only

fierce foot soldiers (hoplites; 10,000)– Athenians bravely (or stupidly) lined up their men

and attacked (after 4 day standoff)– Center of the line breaks, but the flanks engulf

the Persians• Casualties – Persians 6,400, Athenians 192

• Key Individuals:–King Darius I of Persia–Overthrown king of

Athens, Hippias who fled to Persia after he was ousted–Miltiades led Athenian

troops against the Persians at Marathon

• After standoff, the remaining Persians decided to attack Athens by sea

• While they were preparing their ships, Athenians attacked and defeated them

• Persians retreated…holla!

Myth of Marathon• Greeks sent their fastest runner

Pheidippides to carry home news of victory.– Sprinted 26.2 miles from battle site to

Athens• Arrived and said, “Rejoice, we

conquer,” and died from exhaustion• This is where we get the 26.2 miles

in the contemporary marathon race!

Finish like somebody

else!

Review…• Explain the causes of the Persian Greco

War.• Who was the King of Persia in 480 BCE?• Describe the “match-up” between the

Persian army and the Greek army at Marathon.

• What fatal flaw did the Persians make leading to their loss at Marathon?

• What is the “Myth of Marathon”?

2.Thermopylae

• The Greek ruler Themistocles knew Marathon was a temporary victory. He encouraged the Athenians to build up their naval fleet and prepare for battle with the Persians.

• In 480 B.C. Darius’ son Xerxes sent a larger force to conquer Greece.

• He sent 200,000 soldiers and nearly 1,000 ships.

• By this time Athens had convinced Sparta to join them in battle along with 30 other Greek city-states– Sparta took charge of the army.

                                                                                  

2. Thermopylae• Persian moved through northern

Greece easily• Came to narrow mountain pass

called Thermopylae where 300 Spartans waited for the Persians led by King Leonidas– The only road between Thessaly and

Central Greece

2. Thermopylae• Spartans held out heroically against

the enormous Persian force for 3 days.

• Spartans betrayed when someone (Ephialtes) told the Persians how to get in behind the army.

• Spartans defeated, but won valuable time for the rest of the Greeks.

The Battle of Thermopylae

3. Salamis• Persians march south after victory at

Thermopylae; destroyed city of Athens• But REWIND… in 483 Athens suddenly

became very rich when a large vein of silver was discovered in the mines it owned– They use this money to build a new fleet

of 100 war-ships in a new style, "triremes" with 200 men rowing 150 oars arranged in three tiers

3. Salamis• Knowing the Persians were en route to

crossing the isthmus to Peloponnese the Athenian fleet moved and was lying in wait behind the island of Salamis

• More than 800 Persian ships attacked Athenian navy near the island, but the large Persian ships could not maneuver the water; smaller Greek ships destroy them

Thermopylae

Marathon

Salamis

Result: Persian Wars

• The Greek sense of uniqueness was increased

• Athens emerged as most powerful city-state in Greece

• Athens organized the Delian League, an alliance with other Greek city-states

After the Persian War• Ironically, Athens did not support

democracy in other city-states• Forces other city-states to pay tribute

for protection• Moved the Delian League treasury

from Delos to Athens and begin to abuse the access to the Leagues’ money

• Many Greeks resented Athenian domination

• Greek world split into rival camps.– Result: Sparta forges an alliance with the

other city states and forms the Peloponnesian League

– Declares war on Athens, which eventually leads to the down fall of Athens

A 27 year war broke out

in 431 B.C. engulfing all

of Greece

Peloponnesian War

Peloponnesian War

• Athens at a disadvantage:– Geography– Navy = no good against Spartans

located inland– After Spartan invasion, Pericles allows

people from countryside to move inside city• Result: Overcrowding leads to a plague ;

killed 1/3 of the people– Internal struggles undermined

Democratic government

Peloponnesian War• Sparta allied with Persia, their

old enemy, against the Delian League.

• 404 B.C., with the help of the Persian navy, the Spartans captured Athens and stripped it of its fleet and empire

Aftermath of War• The Peloponnesian war ended Athenian

greatness• In Athens Democratic government suffered:

corruption and selfish interests replaced order• Fighting continued to disrupt the Greek world• Sparta itself suffered defeat at the hands of

Thebes, another Greek city-state• Greece was left vulnerable to invasion (hello

Alexander the Great…we’ll meet you soon!)• Cultural development was halted