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Persian Wars (400-449 BC)
Fought between Persian Empire and Greek city-states (Athens, Sparta)
Problems started when Persian leader Cyrus the Great took over Ionia in Greece in 546 BC
Ionian Revolt (499-493 BC)
Ionians (Greeks) led a revolt against the Persians after Cyrus the Great died
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 angry at the Greeks
Darius the Great vowed to burn Athens to the ground before he died
Miltiades Escape
Escapes back to Athens and tells the Athenians that the Persians are coming to burn athens
Sets up the beginning of the Great Persian War
Ancient Greece vs. Civilization of Persia
Persia was largest empire in the world at the time
Consisted of millions of people
Ancient Greece was about 500,000 total people
Truly a David vs. Goliath battle
Athens and Sparta Unified
Athens and Sparta had been fighting for hundreds of years
They now fought not for Athens or for Sparta but for GREECE
Battle of Marathon (490 BC)
25,000 Persians
10,000 Athenians
6,400 dead Persians
192 dead Athenians
Athenians won because of Phalanx
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
Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC)
10 years after the Battle of Marathon, Persia once again invaded Greece
Darius the Great’s son, Xerxes, made it a goal to destroy Athens
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
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
- Pericles’ Plan for Athens
Stronger Democracy
Increase 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 by 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 Delian League 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
Tragedy was a serious drama about common themes such as love, hate, war, or betrayal
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 of the time
Aristophanes was a famous writer of comedies
Fact that Athenians could listen to criticism of themselves showed the freedom that existed in democratic Athens
Started the history of 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
Approaches Thucydides used in his work still guide historians today
Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC)
Fought between Athens and Sparta
Came about as a result of Sparta not liking Athens growth of wealth and power in the area
Athens was acting like a bully
Sparta had a better army, Athens had a better navy
With the help of a plague that hit Athens, Sparta eventually won
Alexander’s Empire
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 King of Macedon in 359 BC
Macedonians
Lived in 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
Alexander the III of Macedon (356-323 BC)
“Alexander the Great”
Took over his father, Philip, in 336 BC
Philip was assassinated at his daughter’s wedding by a former bodyguard (Pausanias)
Ruled Greece and its empire for only 13 years (336-323 BC)
Due to his great accomplishments, became known as Alexander the Great
Was taught by Aristotle
Died from high fever- possibly from typhoid
- After taking power, Alexander eliminated his opponents to the throne and then moved to consolidate Greece
- Made his army shave their beards so enemies couldn’t grab them
- Pharaoh at age of 24
Came to power after father died
Died from disease
East to India
Wanted to take over the Persians
After taking power, Alexander eliminated 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 the Great refused Darius III’s offer and announced he would take the entire Persian Empire
In 332 BC, Alexander the Great moved into Egypt and “liberated” Egypt from the Persians
Egyptians crowned Alexander pharaoh
Founded the Egyptian city of Alexandria
After conquering Egypt, Alexander moved into Mesopotamia and finished the job of defeating Darius III and the Persians
Capital city of Persian Empire, Persepolis (in Iran), was burned by Alexander as possible revenge for the Persians burning Athens
Rise of Philosophers
A philosopher is someone who tries to explain the natural life
After losing to Sparta in the Peloponnesian War, people in Athens turned to Philosophers for answers
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle
Socrates (470-399 BC)
Philosopher of Ancient Greece
Taught by asking questions
Method of questioning is still called the Socratic method
Put on trial and found guilty for “corrupting the youth of Athens”
Put to death-hemlock
“There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance”
Plato (427-347 BC)
Student of Socrates
Started a school called The Academy
Lasted 900 years
Wrote The Republic
Book talked about a perfectly governed society- not a democracy
In his ideal society, all citizens would fall naturally into three groups: farmers and artisans, warriors, and the ruling class
The person with the greatest intellect from the ruling class would be chosen king
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”
Alexander the Great’s Legacy
Greek empire split into three sections
Greek city-states led by Antigonus
Egypt led by Ptolemy
Former Persian Empire ruled by Seleucus
- Leaders all ruled with absolute power
Cultural diffusion between east and west
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
Ancient library at Alexandria
Astronomy
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