Transcript Classical Greece

Classical Greece
Part Two
The Golden Age
The Persian Empire attacks…twice
About 500 BC the Persian Empire was growing.
It had taken control of Greek colonies on the coasts of
modern Turkey.
These colonies revolted with the help of Sparta and
Athens
The Darius King of the Persians send an invasion
fleet.
Their army was defeated by a smaller Athenian army
at the battle of Marathon in 490 BC.
In 480 BC Darius’ son Xerxes decides to invade again.
The Second Persian Invasion
Xerxes assembles the largest army in History so far.
Estimates run from 500,000 to 2.5 million.
The vast army is halted at Thermopylae, a narrow
place between the mountain and the sea by
300 Spartans, 700 Thespians, 400 Thebans
They held them back for 3days before being wiped out
This gave Athens time so while the Persians burn the
city down, the people escaped
The Greeks then won the naval battle of Salamis thus
cutting the Persian supply line
The Persian Army was then defeated at the battle of
Palataea and retreated.
Athens
After the Persians retreated
Athens was rebuilt
Pericles, a leader of Athens used
taxes from the Delian League to
fund building projects such as
the acropolis
Athens entered a Golden age
Athenian Golden Age
In the 5th Century BC, Athens became a
center for Learning and Art.
• Theater as we know it began:
Sophocles etc. wrote tragedies,
Aristophanes etc. wrote comedies
• Artists in Vase Painting, Architecture,
Sculpture created works that are still
admired today
• Philosophers: such as Socrates,
Plato, Aristotle taught.
• The Modern History, Mathematics,
and Medicine have their roots in
the Golden Age of Athens
The Foundation of Western
Civilization is laid in Athens
Peloponnesian War
During the 400’s BC Athens and Sparta
grew in power finally they clashed
431-404 BC The Peloponnesian War
Sparta and Athens fought, plague
decimated Athens in 430-429…Sparta
won the war
Athens continued as a center of
learning but ceased to be a political
power