Wars of the Greeks
Marathon
Battle of Marathon - 490 B.C.E. The Battle of Marathon took place during the first Persian invasion of Greece, fought between the combined forces of Athens and Plataea against King Darius Persian army. Darius attempted to invade Greece as he was angered after the Athenians had sent aid to Ionia in a revolt against the Persians. Once the Persian armies had defeated the Ionian revolt, they turned their attention on Greece, first capturing Eretria (who had helped the Athenian and Ionian forces) and finally sailing into Marathon for vengeance. Though heavily outnumbered, the Greek forces managed to defeat the lightly armed Persian army after five days of stalemate, expelling Darius and his army.
Battle of Marathon - 490 B.C.E. Though Darius worked on rebuilding his army for another invasion, the second invasion didn t occur until his death and was led by his son, Xerxes. The Battle of Marathon was significant in showing the world that the Persians could be defeated. It also led to the eventual Greek triumph in the subsequent Persian wars. More interestingly, the battle also created marathon running, which was inspired by an inaccurate story about a Greek messenger running to Athens from Marathon with news of victory, and was subsequently introduced in the 1896 Athens Olympics.
Phidippides The Athenians, vastly outnumbered, desperately needed help from the Spartans to help fend off the attack of the Persians. They needs a messenger, and turned to Phidippides a professional runner. He ran a 70 miles course that was very mountainous and rugged. Phidippides ran the course in about 36 hours. Sparta agreed to help but said they would not take the field until the moon was full due to religious laws. Phidippides ran back and the Athenians went to battle without them. Then according to Herodotus after the Athenians won the victory Pheidippides ran back to Athens to tell them of the victory and promptly died.
Battle of Salamis 480 B.C.E. Fought in September 480 BC, the Battle of Salamis was one of the most significant naval battles in ancient Greece, between the Greek city-states and their perpetual enemy, Persia. The battle took place in the strait between Piraeus and Salamis Island, near Athens. Although heavily outnumbered, and having lost previous two battles, the Greek Allied navy was urged by the Athenian general, Themistocles, to engage the Persian fleet into battle again. The Persian navy, led by Xerxes, sailed into the strait in an attempt to block both entrances.
Salamis
Battle of Salamis 480 B.C.E. However, the cramped conditions made it hard to maneuver and forced the large Persian fleet to become disorganized. The Greek navy used this to their advantage, forming a line and sinking or capturing most of the Persian fleet. The defeat at Salamis shifted the war in Greece s favor, and led to Persia s ultimate demise. Historians tend to agree that the Battle of Salamis was the single most important battle of ancient Greece and potentially of all human history. They assert that the win influenced the growth and preservation of Athenian democracy and influenced Western civilization s core ideas of freedom and individual rights.
Battle of Thermopylae 480 B.C.E. Another battle against the Persian invasion, the Battle of Thermopylae has become the stuff of legends, cementing the Spartan name in the collective consciousness. It was fought under the guidance of the Spartan King Leonidas and took place simultaneously with the naval battle at Artemisium. While a clash between a 7,000 strong Greek force and a 100,000 to 300,000 strong Persian force ensued, King Leonidas led a small force to block the only road that the Persians could use to enter the area. Two days into the battle, however, the Greek army was betrayed by a local resident who told the Persians about a small secret passage that led behind the Greek lines. When King Leonidas became aware of this plan, he led a small group of fighters to the passage to block the oncoming army. Though Persia won the battle, the heroic deeds of those who fought were cemented in history.
Delian League Around 498 BC, the Greek city-states of Athens and Eretria helped cities in modern-day Turkey rebel against the Persian Empire. After defeating the rebellion, the Persian king Darius the Great decided to punish Athens and Eretria, and began a two-decade invasion of Greece. Eretria was destroyed, but Athens defeated the Persians in 490 BC. Darius' son, Xerxes, returned in 480 BC with large military success. In 479 BC, a large alliance of Greek city-states defeated the Persian invasion of Greece once and for all. The two main Greek powers, Athens and Sparta, began arguing about what to do next. Sparta saw the war was over, and decided not to continue military action. The city-states who left with Sparta became the Peloponnesian League. Athens decided to continue fighting against the Persian Empire in modern-day Turkey. The group of city-states who sided with Athens met at the sacred island of Delos to form a new alliance. This was the Delian League. The League had three goals: to prepare for the risk of future invasions, to get revenge on Persia, and to form a way to divide the spoils of war evenly amongst the members of the Delian League.
Peloponnesian League Sparta was the founder of the Peloponnesian league, it's king at the time Cleomenes I was a superb tactician, and was a key factor in the foundation of the league. With the rising of the Delian league with Athens as the key component, Sparta and king Cleomenes set in motion a rival that would allow them and anyone else like the state of Corinth, who were themselves dissatisfied with the Delian league to form a suitable alliance, for future safety and stability. With the Peloponnesian League being founded in opposition to the Delian, it s no surprise to find that various elements of its structure and membership were different. Firstly the league had no membership costs, the tax of the Delian league was a sore point for various states, and the Spartans were astute to not repeat this mistake. The Peloponnesian League also allowed each member a single vote regardless of the size of the state or the number of its people, in many ways the Peloponnesian league was much fairer and more of a co-operative than the rulership of Athens and the Delian league. In times of war however there was a stipulation to membership for everyone in the league, and this was that when required, each member would be willing to donate a third of its current army to the Peloponnesian League s cause. The need for this was obvious and also fair, no state would have to commit all its forces regardless of size and a sizeable army could still be created should a need for it arise.
Peloponnesian War The Peloponnesian War was a war fought between Sparta and Athens. It lasted 27 years. Sparta and Athens were always in disagreement. They did not get along. But 27 years! It was a terrible war. When war broke out, everyone who lived in the countryside around Athens fled to the city to escape the Spartan attacks. The city was not ready for that many people to move in. They did not have enough food or water or shelter, or a way to handle that much waste and garbage. By the third year of fighting, more than half the population of Athens had died of illness. More died in battle. It was a horrible time. The war dragged on. Other city-states got involved. Finally, Athens surrendered. Sparta was generous in victory. Corinth wanted Athens leveled. They never wanted to put up with this bickering and warring again. But Sparta said no. The Spartan's admired bravery and Athens had shown true bravery. Instead, for the next ten years, Athens was an outpost of Sparta, under Spartan rule. After ten years, Sparta gave Athens her independence.
Peloponnesian War Athens began to regain her former glory. But Athens was never again the shining star of the ancient Greek world. If Athens had had more time, perhaps, the city might have fully recovered. But time was running out for all the Greek city-states. Macedonia, a country to the north of Greece, had eyed Greece's splendor for some time. The king of Macedonia knew the Greek city-states were weakened by the Peloponnesian War, the war between Athens and Sparta. Macedonia would soon move to conquer all the Greek city-states.
Peloponnesian War https://study.com/academy/lesson/history-of-the-peloponnesian-war-and-the-fallof-athens.html These wars greatly weaken Athens and Sparta and they lead to their demise.
Lastly Philip of Macedonia Faster Soldiers in a deeper phalanx and Iphicrates'. A combination of a longer spear and smaller and lighter shield. The Macedonian pike, the sarissa, gave its wielder many advantages both offensively and defensively. For the first time in Greek warfare, cavalry became a decisive arm in battle.