THE PERSIAN WAR
- New Technology
- During the Dorian age, only the rich could really afford to but the bronze weaponry and armor.
- Iron later replaced bronze and allowed the common man to be able to arm himself and fight battles. Also a new formation was formed in battle call the phalanx.
- The Start of the Persian War
- War between Greece and Persian Empire
- It first began in Ionian on the coast of ANatolia
- Greeks were settled there but Persian conquered it around 546 BC.
- The Ionian Greek revolted
- Athens Sent soldiers to help in the revolt
- Darius the Great defeated the revolt and vowed to destroy Athens.
- In 490 BC, the Persian fleet of 25,000 men landed in an area called Marathon.
- 10,000 Athenians meet them there
- After several hours of fighting
- Persians fled the battlefield
- 6000 Persian lives were lost
- 200 or less Athenian lives were lost
- Why such a victory?
- The Athenians were using this new fighting formation called the phalanx
- The Persians were not well trained in this type of land fighting
- The Persians also wore very light armor compared to that of the Athenians. Athenians would fight on their homeland
- Battle of Marathon
- Even though Athenians had won, they left their city without much of an army
- According to tradition, army leaders would send a runner to alert Athens of the battle
- Pheidippides was that runner
- He ran 26 miles from Marathon to Athens (where marathon comes from)
- Persians tried to quickly attack Athens after their defeat at Marathon, but the Athenians had already returned, so the fled once again
- Ten years later
- Xerxes, Darius the Great's son, had become the successor of the Persian army.
- He brought an enormous army with him to complete the job, to burn Athens, that his father once vowed.
- Greek Issues
- The Greeks were very divided on how to handle the Persian situation
- Some city-states thought that they should fight them and defend their city of Athens
- Some city-states thought it wasn't worth it, and they should just allow them to burn it
- Some even fought with the Persians
- The Greeks were very divided on how to handle the Persian situation
- Thermopylae
- A narrow mountain pass was the setting of this battle
- 7000 Greeks and 300 Spartans stood in the way of Xerxes and his huge army on this push to get to Athens
- Xerxes underestimated the Greeks and Spartans, however, they stood up tor three days to them
- 300
- A traitor went to Xerxes and informed him of a secret path around the pass. Fearing defeat, the Spartans fought the Persians so that the Greeks could flee to fight another day
- All 300 were killed including Leonidas
- Lasting effects of the Spartan sacrifice
- Made a great impression on the Greeks
- Allowed the remaining Greeks to retreat and fight the Persians again
- Showed Xerxes what he was up against
- Battle of Salamis
- Greeks abandoned Athens, because they thought that fighting at sea was their best chance.
- They were right, Xerxes watched as a 1/3 of his fleet was sunk. Truly diminishing to his army
- Lasting effects of Persian War
- The Delian League was created. (Like the UN)
- Athenians was the head of the league and moved the headquarters to Athens.
- This gave the Athenians a lot of power and helped push them into their golden age.
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