Transcript SOL 5d Wars and Pericles

WHI: SOL 5d, e
Persian and Peloponnesian Wars
Golden Age of Pericles
Importance of Persian Wars
(499–449 B.C. [B.C.E.])
• Persian wars united Athens and Sparta against
the Persian Empire.
• Athenian victories over the Persians at Marathon
and Salamis left Greeks in control of the Aegean
Sea.
• Athens preserved its independence and
continued innovations in government and
culture.
Battle of Marathon
• Persians sought to crush Athens, Persian army
landed at Marathon in 490 b.c.
• Athenians were outnumbered but attacked,
broke through the Persian line and engaged in
hand to hand combat
• Overwhelmed by the fury of the Athenian
attack, the Persians retreated
Battle of Marathon
• Themistocles the Athenian general warned
that the Persians would return and urged the
Athenians to build a fleet of warships
• Legend of the Modern Marathon:
• A runner covered the distance between
Marathon and Athens to report the victory
• Distance was 22-25 miles
Battle of Thermopylae
• Spartans guarded the mountain pass
• Led by the warrior-king Leonidas, the
Spartans held out against the massive Persian
force, but were defeated in the end
Battle of Salamis
• Athenians lured the Persian navy into the
narrow strait of Salamis
• Athenian warships, powered by rowers, drove
into the Persian boats with underwater
battering rams
• Xerxes watched from shore as his fleet sank
Golden Age of Pericles
(mostly occurring between the Persian and the Peloponnesian Wars)
• Pericles extended democracy; most adult males
had an equal voice.
• Pericles had Athens rebuilt after destruction in
the Persian Wars; the Parthenon is an example of
this reconstruction.
• After the Persian Wars, Greece formed an alliance
known as the Delian League, headed by Athens
• Known for the Funeral Oration to commemorate
those who died fighting Sparta in the
Peloponnesian War
Parthenon (Athens, Greece)
Importance of Peloponnesian War
(431–404 B.C. [B.C.E.])
• Caused in part by competition for control of
the Greek world: Athens and the Delian
League versus Sparta and the Peloponnesian
League
• Resulted in slowing of cultural advance and
the weakening of political power