Oct 3-
Persian Wars
Fought between the persian empire and Greek city-states
Problems started when Persian leader Cyrus the Great took over Ionia in Greece
Phalanx military formation
Ionian Revolt
The Ionians (Greeks) led a revolt against the Persians after Cyrus the Great died
The Ionian REvolt was led by Athenian General Miltiades
Ionia asked Athens to help them which they did
Darius quickly suppresses the Ionian Revolt but is very mad
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
The sets up the beginning of the Great Persian War
Ancient Greece vs. Civilization of Persia
Persia was the largest empire in the world at the time and consisted of millions of people
Ancient Greece was about 500 thousand total people
It was a David vs Goliath battle
Athens and Sparta United
They had been fighting for hundreds of years
They now fought not for Athens or for Sparta but for Greece
Battle of Marathon
25,000 Persians
10,000 Athenians
Athenians won because of better armor and better tactics
Pheidippides
After the battle ended, he ran from Marathon to Athens to tell the Athenians of the victory over Persia
26.2 miles from Marathon to Athens
Battle of Thermopylae
Ten years after the Battle of Marathon, Persia once again invaded Greece
Darius the Great’s son, Xerxes, made it a goal to destroy Athens
The Persians won the Battle of Thermopylae but not before the Spartan soldiers held out for days allowing many Greek troops to retreat
Battle of Salamis
At the naval Battle of Salamis, the Greeks destroyed the Persian navy
The persians were never the same after that and 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
Oct 4-
The Golden Age of Athens
Came about after Greece defeated the Persians
Drama, sculpture, poetry, philosophy, architecture, and science flourished
Also known as the “Age of Pericles”
Led Athens in the Peloponnesian War
Pericles’ Plan for Athens
Three goals
Strengthen Athenian democracy
Increased the number of paid government jobs which benefitted people who were not wealthy
Instituted direct democracy- Citizens rule directly and not through elected representatives
Strengthen the Empire
Helped establish 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 to hire artists, architects, and workers to build buildings 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, betrayal
The hero usually was an important person and often gifted with extraordinary abilities
A tragic flaw usually caused the hero’s downfall
A comedy contained scenes with humor
Playwrights often made fun of politics and respected people and ideas of the time
Aristophanes a was a famous writer of comedies
The fact that Athenians could listen to criticism of themselves showed the freedom the existed in democratic Athens
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 still guide historians today
Peloponnesian War
Between Athens and Sparta
Came about as a result of Sparta not liking Athens growth of wealth and power in the ear
Athens was seen as a bully
Sparta had a better army, Athens had a better navy
Plague hit Athens, Sparta won
Pericles Plan to Win
Stay where we are and build a wall to the sea so they would only had to fight on the sea
This backfired because Athenians were in close quarters and disease spread
King Philip II of Macedon
Goal was to take over all of Greece and then to get revenge by taking over the Persian Empire
Macedonians
Lived in the mountainous villages, not city-states
Macedonians 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
Oct 5- Video
Oct 6-
Alexander the Great
After taking power, Alexander eliminated his opponents to the throne and then moved to consolidate Greece
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
Refused Darius’ offer and announced he would take the entire Persian Empire
Alexander moved into Egypt and “liberated” Egypt from the Persians
The egyptians crowned Alexander pharaoh
Found the city of Alexandria
After conquering Egypt, he moved into Mesopotamia and finished the job of defeating Darius II and the Persians
The capital city of the Persian Empire, Iran , was burned by Alexander as possible revenge for the Persians burning Athens
Alexander continued east into India where he ran into a strong Indian army
Troops were tired- fighting for 11 years and traveled more than 11,000 miles
Even after defeating the Indian army in a battle, the monsoons of India were having an impact
Alexander’s Legacy
Greek Empire split into three sections
Greek city-states led by Antigonus
Egypt led by Ptolemy
Former Persian Empire ruled by Seleucus
Rise of Philosophers
A philosopher is someone who tries to explain the nature of life
After losing the Spara in the Peloponnesian War, people in Athens turned to
Socrates
Socrates was a philosopher of ANcient Greece
Socrates taught by asking questions
This method of questioning is still called the Socratic method
Put on trial and found guilty for “corrupting the youth of Athens”
Put to death by poison
Plato
Student of Socrates
He started a school called the Academy that lasted 900 years
Wrote The Republic
The book talked about a perfectly governed society- not a democracy
The ideal society, all citizens would fall into 3 categories: farmers, and artisans, warriors, and the ruling class
The person with the greatest intellect from the ruling class would be chosen
Aristotle
Student of Plato
Wrote about science, art, law, poetry, government
- Taught Alexander the Great
Oct 7-
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
Science and technology
Philosophy, art, and architecture
Astronomy
- Mathematics
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