Persian War(Greco-Persian)
Fought between the Persian Empire and Greek city-state(Athens, Sparta, Thebes, etc.)
Problems started when Persian leader Cyrus the Great took over Ionia in Greece in 546 BC
The Ionians(Greeks) led a revolt against the Persians after Cyrus the Great died
Ionian Revolt
Led by athenian General Miltiades
Ionia asked Athens to help them which they did
Darius quickly suppresses the Ionian Revolt but is very angry at the Greeks
Darius the Great vowed to burn Athens to the ground before he died
Miltiades Escapes
Miltiades escapes back to Athens and tells the Athenians that the Persians are coming to burn Athens
This sets up the beginning of the Great Persian War
Ancient Greece vs Civilizations of Persia
Persia was the largest empire in the world at the time and consisted of millions of people
Ancient Greece was about 500,000 total people
It was truly a David vs. Goliath battle
Athens and Sparta united
Athens and Sparta had been fighting for hundreds of years
They now fought nor for Athens or for Sparta but for Greece
Battle of Marathon
25,000 Persians
10,000 Athenians
Who won
Athenians
Deaths
Persians 6,400
Athenians 192
How did the Athenians Win
Battle formations
The Phalanx
The Persians were lightly armored and not prepared
Pheidippides
After the battle ended, he ran from Marathon to Athens to tell the Athenians of the victory over Persia
About 26 miles
Battle of Thermopylae
Ten years after the Battle of Marathon, Persia once again invaded Greece
Darius the Great’s son, Xerxes, made it goal to destroy Athens
The Persians won the Battle of Thermopylae but not before the Spartan soldiers held out of days allowing many Greek troops to retreat
The movie 300 is based on this battle
Battle of Salamis
At the naval Battle of Salamis, the Greeks destroyed the Persian Navy
The Persians were never the same after and they were eventually driven out of Greece
After the Persian Wars, the Delian League was established setting up an alliance between the Greek city-states
Starting around 470 BC Greece, and Athens specifically, entered a golden age
OCTOBER- 3-7
Monday-
Democracy and Greece's golden age
The golden age of Athens
477-431 BC
Came after greece defeated the persians
Drama, sculpture, poetry, science flourished
Known as “ age of pericles
Led athens in the peloponnesian war
Pericles’ plan for athens (461-429 BC)
Three goals for Athens
Strengthen athenian democracy -(increased the number of paid government jobs which benefitted people who were not wealthy. Instituted direct democracy )
Hold and strengthen the empire- (Helped established and eventually led the Delian league after the persian wars. Alliance of greek city-states. Grew athens navy. Started dominating other city-states which led to conflicts)
Glorify athens- (used money from the Delian league to buy gold, marble, and ivory. Used money from the league to hire artists, architects, and workers to build building and sculptures. Phidias was hired to build the Parthenon. Greek sculptors focused on beauty, not realism.Classical art focused on simplicity and being well proportioned
Greek drama- Tragedy and comedy
A tragedy was a serious drama about common themes such as love, hate, war, or betrayal
The hero usually was an important person and often gifted with extraordinary abilities
A tragic flaw usually caused the hero’s downfall, usually excessive pride
Comedy contained scenes filled with humor
Playwrights often made fun of politics and respected people and ideas
Aristophanes was a famous writer of comedies
The fact that athenians could listen to criticism of themselves showed the freedom
The start of the greatest subject in recorded history
History
Herodotus pioneered the accurate reporting of events
Thucydides believed that certain types of events and political situations recur over time
Studying those events and situations would aid in understanding the present
The approaches thucydides used in his work stull guide historians today
Peloponnesian war
Fought between athens and sparta
Came about as a result of sparta not like athens growth of wealth and power in the area
Athens was like a bully
Sparta had a better army
Sparta won
Tuesday
Rise of philosophers
A philosopher is someone who tries to explain the nature of life
After losing to sparta in the peloponnesian war, people in Athens turned
Socrates - 470-399 BC
Socrates was a philosopher of ancient greece
Socrates taught by asking questions
This method of questioning is still called socratic method
Put on trial and found guilty for “corrupting the youth of athens
“There is only one good knowledge there is only one evil ignorance.”
Plato- 427-347 BC
Student of socrates
Started a school called the academy that lasted 900 years
Wrote the republic
Aristotle 384-322 BC
Student of plato
Wrote about science, art, law, poetry, government, etc
Taught alexander the great
“He who studies how things originated will achieve the clearest view of them.”
King Philip II of Macedon 382-336 BC
Goal was to take over all of greece and then to get revenge by taking over the persian empire
Became the king of Macedon in 359 BC
Macedonians
Lived in mountainous villages, not city- states
Considered themselves to be greek but were looked down upon by the big city-states
Philip II built up his military and eventually invaded and defeated the greek city-states
Used the phalanx and cavalry to great effect
Alexander and III of Macedon 356-323 BC
Took over for his father, Philip
Was assassinated at his daughter's wedding by former bodyguard
Ruled greece for 13 years
Wednesday-
Watched movie
Thursday-
Alexander and III of Macedon 356-323 BC
Taught by aristotle
Died from a fever
After taking power, he eliminated his opponents to the throne and then moved to consolidate greece
Alexander then turned east to take over the persian empire and achieve the goal of his father
After losing some battles, darius III retreated quickly and offered alexander all lands west of the Euphrates river
Alexander refused darius III’s offer and announced he would take the entire Persian Empire
332 BC, alexander moved into egypt
After conquering egypt, alexander moved into mesopotamia and finished the job of defeating Darius III and the Persians
He would continue east to India where he eventually ran into a strong indian war
Troops were tired after fighting for 11 years and travelled more than 11,000
Died from disease not long after turning back
Alexander the great's Legacy
Greek empire split into 2 sections
Greek city-states led by Antigonus
Egypt led by Ptolemy
Former Persian Empire ruled by Seleucus
Leaders all ruled with absolute power
Culture diffusion between east and west
The spread of Hellenistic Culture
Hellenistic culture became common all throughout the greek empire
greek , Egyptian, Persian, and Indian cultures mixed
Language- Koine
Trade
Cities were developed
Science and technology
Philosophy, art and architecture
Friday - Gone
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