Transcript The Persian Wars - Mr Davidson`s History Class

The Battle of Marathon
Our Plan

5 W’s
 Who (Who was fighting who?)
 Where?
 Why?
 When?
 What happened?
The Battle of Marathon

Who?
 The Persian Army vs. Athenian Army
 King Darius I of Persia
The Battle of Marathon

Where?
 Marshy plains of Marathon outside of Athens
The Battle of Marathon

Why?
 The Persians wanted to invade & conquer
Greece.

When?
 490 B.C.
The Battle of Marathon

What happened?

In 490 B.C.E., the Persian navy sailed
down the coast of Greece and landed at
the bay of Marathon, about 40 miles north
of Athens. The Athenian army, led by
General Miltiades, moved to block the
Persians' advance and trapped them on
the plains around the bay. This led an
Athenian victory and was the first major
victory for Greece in the Persian Wars.
Pheidippedes
The battle is most
famous for the myth of
Pheidippedes. The
story has been told that
he ran 40 miles form
Marathon to Athens in
order to tell the people
of the victory. This led
to the idea of running
marathons today.
The Battle of Marathon

Who won?
 Athens! (The Greeks)
The Battle of Thermopylae
The Battle of Thermopylae

Who?
 Xerxes (Son of Darius) & The Persians
 King Leonidas & 300 Spartans

Where?
 A mountain pass called Thermopylae or the
Hot Gates
The Battle of Thermopylae

When?
 480 B.C.
The Battle of Thermopylae

Why?
 Xerxes was eager to defeat Greece after
their loss at Marathon ten years earlier.

When?
 480 B.C.
The Battle of Thermopylae

What happened?
 10,000 Greeks led by Leonidas met the




Persians at Thermopylae
The Greeks led the Persians into the narrow
pass.
A Greek traitor showed the Persians an
alternate route.
Leonidas and 300 Spartans stayed to
defend the pass.
All of the Spartans and Leonidas were killed.
The Battle of Thermopylae

Who Won?
 The Persians…
 Xerxes burned Athens to the ground
 But…
 The Spartans had held on long enough to
allow many others to get to safety.
The Battle of Salamis
The Battle of Salamis: Who?
Athenian Admiral Themistocles
Persian King Xerxes
The Battle of Salamis

Who:
 Athenian Admiral Themistocles &
the Athenian Navy
 Vs.
 Xerxes and the Persian Navy
Greek Triremes
The Battle of Salamis
 Why:
 Xerxes burned Athens down after
his victory at Thermopylae
 He chased the Athenians
 Greeks were protecting Greece!
The Battle of Salamis
 When:
 480 B.C.
 Where:
 The narrow straights of Salamis west
of Athens (Saronic Gulf)
The Battle of Salamis

What happened:
 Themistocles evacuated Athens and knew





the Athenians were better at naval warfare
Positioned his fleet near the island of
Salamis west of Athens
Themistocles lured the Persians in
The Persians had trouble turning in the
narrow channel
Greek triremes destroyed over 1/3rd of
Xerxes ships
Now the Persians were on the defensive,