Transcript THE GREEK WARS (499 BC * 404 BC)

THE GREEK WARS (499 BC – 404 BC)
I. The Persian War (499 BC – 470 BC)
A. Battle of Marathon (490 BC)
1. By about 550 BC, Greek city-states were the only
region left for the Persians to conquer.
2. In 546 BC, King Cyrus II sent his Persian armies to
invade the Greek colonies in Asia Minor.
I. The Persian War (499 BC – 470 BC)
A. Battle of Marathon (490 BC)
3. In 499 BC, the colonies with the help of their
parent-cities revolted against the Persians.
4. To punish the Greeks, the Persian King Darius I
invaded the Greek mainland.
I. The Persian War (499 BC – 470 BC)
A. Battle of Marathon (490 BC)
5. The Athenians defeated the Persians at the coastal
plains known as Marathon.
a. Greek army outnumbered 2-1
b. Pheidippides – Greek messenger who ran 25
miles from Marathon to Athens to deliver
news of victory
A. Battle of Marathon (490 BC)
I. The Persian War (499 BC – 470 BC)
B. Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC)
1. 10 years later, the Persians invaded the Greeks again
using foot soldiers on an overland route
2. 300 Spartans (along with other troops) versus
70,000 – 300,000 Persians
3. Spartans held out for 3 days
4. Persians win battle and go on to burn the city of Athens
to the ground.
I. The Persian War (499 BC – 470 BC)
B. Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC)
I. The Persian War (499 BC – 470 BC)
B. Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC)
I. The Persian War (499 BC – 470 BC)
C. Battle of Salamis (480 BC)
1. Led by Sparta and Athens, the Greeks again defeated
the Persians at the Straits of Salamis
2. This defeat marked the end of the Persian invasions
of Greece and by the late 470’s they had retreated to
Asia Minor
I. The Persian War (499 BC – 470 BC)
C. Battle of Salamis (480 BC)
I. The Persian War (499 BC – 470 BC)
D. How did the Persian Wars affect the Greek city- states?
1. The Persian wars caused the Greek city-states
(Sparta and Athens) to unite despite their rivalries.
2. The defeat of the great Persian Empire led to a
Greek Golden Age.
3. Allowed Athens to preserve its independence and
continue innovations in government and culture.
II. The Peloponnesian War (431 BC – 404 BC)
A. Delian League (Led by Athens)
1. After the Persian Wars, a famous general Pericles
became leader of the Athenians and created the
Delian League as an alliance with other Greek city
states to protect Greece from future invasions
2. By early 400 BC, Pericles had made an Athenian
Empire out of Delian league
3. Most northern Greek city-states joined the Delian
League
II. The Peloponnesian War (431 BC – 404 BC)
B. Peloponnesian League (Led by Sparta)
1. To stop the alliance (Delian League), Sparta
developed the Peloponnesian League .
II. The Peloponnesian War (431 BC – 404 BC)
C. The Peloponnesian War
1. Caused by competition by Athens and Sparta for
control of the Greek world.
2. War continued on and off for 27 years.
II. The Peloponnesian War (431 BC – 404 BC)
C. The Peloponnesian War
3. Events
a. Early on Sparta, with their stronger army, put Athens
under siege.
b. Athens, with their stronger navy, resupplied the city
by sea.
1. Plague broke out and thousands of people
died.
c. Each side attack weaker city-states and destroyed
farms, villages, and cities.
d. In 404 BC, with the help of the Persians, Sparta was
able to capture Athens to win the war.
II. The Peloponnesian War (431 BC – 404 BC)
II. The Peloponnesian War (431 BC – 404 BC)
D. How did the Peloponnesian Wars affect the Greek citystates?
1. Decline in population across Greece
2. Destruction of many cities and farms
3. Destruction of Greek democracy
4. Greece left weak and vulnerable