The Military and Delian League
Phalanx:
- Used in the battle of Marathon around 500 BC
- One major downside to the phalanx is its use against cavalry
- The horses in the cavalry could quickly ride around the phalanx and attack the weak side
- Athenians used mountains and natural habitat to protect the weak side
Naval Warfare
- Athens used naval warfare during the Peloponnesian War
- Shipped grain and food into the city
- Used ships called trireme
- Fought by ramming and boarding enemy ships
- Major naval force
Key Leaders:
Pericles
- Politician, democrat
- General
- Athenian
- Ruled Athens from 461-429 BC
- Led victories in the Peloponnesian and Persian Wars
Socrates
- Philosopher
- Athenian
- Scrutinized
- Athens, praised Sparta
Plato
- Student of Socrates
- Wrote the dialogues that contain most of Socrates ideas
Aristotle
- Student of Plato
- Teacher to Alexander the Great later in life
Archemides
- Well known mathematician
- First to calculate Pi
Pythagoras
- Developed pythagrium theorem
Delian League
- Coalition of Greek states and Athenians
- Founded in 478 BC
- Free Ionian Greeks from Persia
- Protect Aegean Sea
- Use sea power
- Athens was the leader
- Persia was run out of the Aegean Sea
Famous Battles:
Persian War
- Major battles: Marathon, Thermophylae, and Salamis
- Marathon
- 250,000 Persian met 10,00 Athenians
- Persians fled after hours of fighting
- Around 6,000 Persians died but very few Athenians
Thermopylae
- 7,000 Greeks and 300 Spartans
- Stood up to the Persians for a long time
- Persians found a way around the mountain-
- Spartans let Greeks flee and stayed to fight
- All 300 died
Salamis
- Greeks abandoned Athens
- Fought with their naval forces
- Destroyed most of Persian fleet
- Formed the Delian League
Peloponnesian War
- Broke out in 431 and went until 404
Battle of Pylos
- Athenian naval forces were out attacking Zacynthus
- Spartan troops decided to attacked walled city of Pylos
- Over 2,000 Spartan troops
- Tried attacking sea side wall
- Spartans failed to capture Pylos before the Athenian naval fleet could return
- Tried blocking
Weaponry and Armor
- Swords
- Iron knives to bronze knives
- Arrowheads
- Sling bullets – steel and clay
- Shields – bronze
- Archery
- Spears
Who Participated in Army:
- Male, 18 yrs or older, own land, mandatory 2 yrs military training
- Used to be: if had enough $ to buy weapons, you could fight (small armies)
Soldiers:
- Age 18-60 all physically fit men went to military
- Heavily armored infantry called hoplites, they had attendants: light armored men usually being poor/slaves
- Young ephebes (adolescent males) trained for 2 yrs then went home until duty calls
- Wealthier citizens that raised own horses were part of calvary corp
- If needed small army, only took 20-24 yrs old, but if crisis took everyone
- Hoplite attendants carried shields and supplies
- Peltasts were lightly armored and had javelins and small shields (peltes)
Geography:
Sea:
- Greece borders Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and East Mediterranean Sea
- Thought it was beautiful and gained many things/freedom environment
- Shipping people traveled where they could always see land
Land:
- Longest river in Greece is Aliakmon, riverbeds tend to dry up
- Grew barley - less demanding, more productive
- Olive plantations, grapes popular because of rocky soil
- Houses & wagons made of wood
- Goats, sheep (fur, milk, meat) & chicken, geese (food)
- Oxen were rare - donkeys/mules used for traveling called "dry animals"
Climate:
- Mild, rainy winters
- Warm/dry summers
- Lots of sunshine, mountains adjust to climate changes, mountain winters rigorous and snowy
Trade/Colonization:
- Important!!!!
- Bronze, silver, gold, olive oil, wine, textiles, luxury items, exotic raw materials
- Mediterranean basin enabled foreigners to travel to Greece
Farming:
- Not much farm land - only 20%
- Barley (main crop), grapes, olives - grapes part of Bronze Age in rocky soil
- Planted in Oct and harvested Apr/May
- Diet - based on grains/cereals (barley, durum wheat, millet, wheat)
- Home to many olive drives
- Veggie gardens and orchards
- Small farming villages
Mining:
- Lavrion Mines - narrow passages of mining galleries. Silver production was very high.. decline of mines came during Peloponnesian War.
Natural Resources:
- Iron, bronze, flax, clay, timber, grain (wheat/barley), leather, wool
Land Affecting Battles:
- Battle of Thermopylae - narrow coastal pass with mountains
- "The Hot Gates"
- Battle of Salamis - took place on Salamis Island, in Saranic Gulf, Greeks fought with ships and held off well
- Peloponnesian War - bordering all 3 seas which helped both sides
Jobs:
Farmers: grew enough to support families, some grew enough to sell local market but today grow more than enough to support families/town
Blacksmiths: used iron/ore to create swords, plows, axes, tools using billows made of animal skin and hammers but today create everything besides weapons & work with iron/steel
Craftsmen: family-owned/small, specialize in work, made beds, plows, door frames in small community but in larger would only be in charge of making 1 product.
Doctors/Medicine: Limited to cure diseases, sickness was brought on by 4 "humors" - blood, yellow and blake bile, phlegm. They drew blood and made vomiting/sweating to bring 4 humors back into balance. Today they don't combine religious beliefs with medicine and don't believe in "humors"
Merchants: owned boats or rented cargo space, often foreigners, involved risks, but it's a good profit.
Bankers: changed money from other city-states into local currency, loaned money & rates depended on risk of trading voyages
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