Ancient Greece

Persia Attacks the Greeks

The Persian Wars

Both Sparta and Athens played roles in defeating the Persians.

As the Greeks set up colonies in the Mediterranean area, they often clashed with the Persians. By mid-500s, Persia controlled the Greek cities inside Asia Minor. 499 – Athenian army helped the Greeks in Asia Minor rebel --- it failed but King Darius decided the mainland Greeks had to be stopped from interfering in the Persian Empire. Have you and a rival ever set aside your differences to work for a common cause? This is an example.

The Battle of Marathon

• In 490 B.C. a Persian fleet landed 20,000 soldiers on the plain of Marathon (MAR• uh • THAHN), only a short distance from Athens.

For several days, the Persians waited there for the Athenians to advance. The Athenians, however, did not take the bait. They had only 10,000 soldiers compared to the Persians’ 20,000. They knew that attacking was too dangerous. Instead they held back in the hills overlooking the plain.

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• Tired of waiting, the Persian commander decided to sail south and attack Athens directly. He ordered his troops back onto the ships, and it was then that he made a big mistake. The first to board, he decided, would be the horsemen in the cavalry, the strongest part of the Persian army.

• As soon as the cavalry was out of fighting range, the Greeks charged down from the hills and onto the plain of Marathon. They caught the Persian foot soldiers standing in the water, waiting their turn to board the ships. Unable to defend themselves, the Persians were easily defeated.

• According to legend, the Athenians sent a messenger named Pheidippides (fy •DIHP•uh • DEEZ) home with the news. The runner raced nearly 25 miles (40.2 km) from Marathon to Athens. He collapsed from exhaustion and, with his last breath, announced, “Victory.” Then he died. Modern marathon races are named for this famous run and are just over 26 miles long.

Statute of Pheidippiedes along Marathon Road

Another Persian Strike

• After Darius died in 486 B.C., his son Xerxes (ZUHRK • SEEZ) became the Persian king. Xerxes vowed revenge against the Athenians. In 480 B.C. he launched a new invasion of Greece, this time with about 180,000 troops and thousands of warships and supply vessels.

• To defend themselves, the Greeks joined forces. Sparta sent the most soldiers, and their king, Leonidas (lee • AH • nuh • duhs), served as commander. Athens provided the navy. An Athenian general, Themistocles (thuh • MIHS • tuh • KLEEZ), created a plan to fight the Persians.

• The Greeks knew that as the huge Persian army marched south, it depended on shipments of food brought in by boat. Themistocles argued that the Greeks’ best strategy would be to attack the Persians’ ships and cut off food supplies to the army.

• To ready their fleet for battle, the Greeks needed to stall the Persian army before it reached Athens. The Greeks decided the best place to block the Persians was at Thermopylae (thuhr •MAH• puh • lee). Thermopylae was a narrow pass through the mountains that was easy to defend. About 7,000 Greek soldiers held off the Persians there for two days.

• The Spartans in the Greek army were especially brave. As one story has it, the Greeks heard that Persian arrows would darken the sky. A Spartan warrior responded, “That is good news. We will fight in the shade!”

• Unfortunately for the Greeks, a traitor exposed a mountain path to the Persians that led them around the Greeks. As the Persians mounted a rear attack, King Leonidas sent most of his troops to safety. He and several hundred others, however, stayed behind and fought to the death. The Greeks lost the battle at Thermopylae, but their valiant stand gave Athens enough time to assemble 200 ships.

Thermopylae

• Narrow pass through the mountains that was easy to defend
• 7,000 Greek soldiers held them off for 2 days

• The Greek fleet attacked the Persian fleet in the strait of Salamis (SA•luh •muhs), not far from Athens. A strait is a narrow strip of water between two pieces of land. The Greeks expected to have the upper hand in the battle because their ships could maneuver well in tight spaces. Greek ships were smaller, faster, and easier to steer than the big Persian ships, which became easy targets.

Salamis

• Strait - a narrow strip of water between 2 pieces of land.
• Greek ships - smaller, faster, and easier to steer
• Greeks destroyed almost the entire Persian fleet

• The Greek plan worked. After a ferocious battle, the Greeks destroyed almost the entire Persian fleet. Still, the Persian army marched on. When their troops reached Athens, the Greeks had already fled.

• The Persians burned the city. This only stiffened the resolve of the Greek city-states. In early 479 B.C., they came together to form the largest Greek army ever assembled. With solid body armor, longer spears, and better training, the Greek army crushed the Persian army at Plataea (pluh•TEE•uh), northwest of Athens.

• The battle was a turning point for the Greeks, convincing the Persians to retreat to Asia Minor. By working together, the Greek city-states had saved their homeland from invasion.

Plataea

• Greeks crushed the Persian army here.
• Turning point
• Saved Greece from invasion

Ancient Greek warships --- triremes

Scythians

• Grassland north of the Black Sea
• Hit-and-run tactics

Fall of Persian Empire

• When the Greeks defeated the Persian army, they helped to weaken it. The empire was already affected by internal problems. As these problems worsened, the empire would gradually lose its strength.

• Persia remained intact for almost 150 more years. However, after Darius and Xerxes, other Persian rulers raised taxes to gain more wealth. They spent the gold and silver that flowed into the treasuries on luxuries for the royal court.

• The high taxes angered their subjects and caused many rebellions. At the same time, the Persian royal family fought over who was to be king. Many of the later Persian kings were killed by other family members who wanted the throne.

• Persian kings had many wives and children. The sons had little, if any, power so they were constantly plotting to take over the throne. As a result of such plots, six of the nine rulers after Darius were murdered.

• All of these problems made Persia vulnerable to attack. By the time a young Greek conqueror named Alexander invaded the empire in 334 B.C., the Persians were no match for his troops.
• By 330 B.C., the last Persian king was dead and Alexander ruled over all his lands.

• The Persian Empire united its many lands under a single government.
• The Persian Empire attacked Greece several times. Despite their rivalry, Athens and Sparta joined forces to defeat the Persians.

Review

Why was Cyrus considered a fair ruler?

He treated new subjects well.

The End