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.
Alexander the Great Alexander III (later called "The Great") was born in Pella, during the height of the Persian Empire. While growing up, Alexander had many teachers, one of whom was Aristotle. Aristotle was also born in Macedonia. However, Aristotle lived in Greece for a really long time. He loved the Greeks. He believed in the Greek gods. He knew Greek history and the Greek language and Greek theatre. Aristotle spoke of his admiration for the Greeks many times to his student, the young prince, Alexander. Philip II (Alexander's father) was a man of military might and persuasive abilities. During his 23-year reign, he built a formidable army, subdued many Greek city-states, and established a Macedonian kingdom which provided protection for his people. Before his death, he considered invading Persia to further strengthen and solidify his country's position. Wishing his son (then fourteen years old) to study with the best teachers available, Philip sought out Aristotle and invited him to educate Alexander. Scholars believe that Alexander's mother (who reportedly learned to read when she was middle-aged) also favored the selection of Plato's brightest pupil.
Alexander the Great After he arrived in Pella, Aristotle (throughout the ages regarded as one of the best thinkers who ever lived) set up his royal school at Mieza (modern-day Naoussa) where archeologists believe they have uncovered its remains. For the next six years, Greece's greatest mind likely taught Greece's greatest conqueror the following subjects: Greek; Hebrew; Babylonian; Latin The nature of the sea and the wind The course of the stars The life-span of the world The revolutions of the firmament The great teacher also showed his royal student the meaning of justice and the skills of rhetoric. When he was a boy, and a man, Alexander had the same favorite book: The Iliad, by Homer.
Alexanders the Great - Horse of Legend
A rise to power - Alexander In Homer's world, heroes always strive for glory since death is inescapable. In Philip's world, a loss of face could lead to a loss of title - or worse since his power was only earned by his military prowess. Alexander was next in line to be the king but there was some questions if he would since he his mother was not Macedonian. Phillip was killed by one of his guards in a suspicious incident. To this day, no one really knows who plotted Philip's murder. Many scholars point to Olympias who surely had motive. Alexander was soon cleared as a suspect, although scholars have wondered about his involvement. The prince acted quickly, however, to secure his power base and to make sure he would become his father's successor. Alexander - at age 20 - became king of Macedonia. Anyone who thought he was not up to the job would soon learn otherwise. It is often said that Alexander's army made him great, but his murdered father (Philip of Macedon) made the army great.
Alexander the Conqueror/Great While Alexander used the strategies and battle formations developed by his father, his ability to improvise on short notice was just one mark of his outstanding leadership. Alexander first wanted to legitimize his reign by conquering local territory. Alexander sent his army to force a resistant Thessaly to accept his leadership, and other Greek city-states yielded to his authority. Alexander was given the military power to wage a campaign against the Persian Empire under King Darius III. Alexander's armies fought in several battles before Darius was forced to flee as a fugitive. Alexander proclaimed himself king of Persia and went on to conquer Egypt, where he founded the city of Alexandria. He defeated the remaining Persian armies and went on to subjugate the people of eastern Persia. Alexander later defeated King Porus in northern India, but he allowed Porus to remain as king after making a positive impression on him. Alexander wanted to press onward, but his men opposed his plans. He planned a campaign to conquer parts of Arabia during his stay in Babylon, but he died shortly thereafter.
Legacy of Alexander The conquering king soon captured the Mesopotamian capital of Babylon and proclaimed himself King of Babylon, King of Asia, King of the Four Quarters of the World. He was in a lot of ways a world conqueror. Although war often divided the Hellenistic world, the Greek language unified it. Greek became the universal language of government, commerce, education, science, literature, and even religion. Hellenistic culture also spread through art and literature. Painting, sculpture, and mosaics tended to portray ordinary life and decorated private homes as well as public buildings. Hellenistic art was not especially original, but it combined styles from different cultures. Psychological elements became a greater part of Greek drama and poetry. A form of the novel developed in Alexandria. Whether or not Alexander had plans for a world empire cannot be determined. He had accomplished greater conquests than any before him, but he did not have time to mold the government of the lands he had taken. Incontestably, he was one of the greatest generals of all time and one of the most powerful personalities of antiquity. He influenced the spread of Hellenism throughout the Middle East and into Asia, establishing city-states modeled on Greek institutions that flourished long after his death. There are many legends about him, e.g., his feats on his horse Bucephalus and his cutting of the Gordian knot.