World History I SOL WH1.5d Mr. Driskell

World History I SOL WH1.5d Mr. Driskell

A. Persia was the greatest empire of the ancient world, stretching from modern day Iran all the way to modern day Greece. B. Persia was angry at the Greeks because Athens had been helping cause revolts among city-states in the Persian Empire. Darius, the Persian king, decided he had to punish Athens.

A. Darius sent a small Persian army to destroy Athens. The Athenians sent out an army to meet the Persians at the small town of Marathon, 26 miles from Athens.

B. The two armies fought on the beaches at Marathon. The Persians had more soldiers, but the Greeks were better equipped. The Greek soldiers had long spears and heavy bronze armor, while the Persians had short swords and flimsy armor. The Persians couldn t hurt the Greek soldiers, and the Persians were slaughtered and forced to retreat. The Battle of Marathon was a great victory for Athens and an embarrassment for the Persians.

The Greek soldiers were renowned for their battle formation, the Phalanx, which allowed them to inflict great punishment on the enemy while protecting themselves.

We get the modern day term marathon (26 mile race) from the Ancient Greeks. In honor of the Greek messenger who ran the 26 miles back to Athens to announce news of their victory over Persia. Upon reaching his destination and relaying his message he collapsed and died from exhaustion.

A. Darius died a few years later, and his son Xerxes became the new king of Persia. Xerxes wanted revenge on Athens, and he decided to invade Greece with the largest army ever seen to that time. Some estimate that the army was a million soldiers strong. Some Greek city-states joined with Persia, but most stayed loyal to Greece. The two most powerful Greek city-states, Athens and Sparta, joined together to fight against Persia.

B. At the Battle of Thermopylae, 300 Spartans and some of their allies made a stand against the giant Persian army, and managed to hold them off for a few days.

It means the HOT GATES 300 Spartans held off 1 million troops of the Persian Empire Was really a delaying action to stall the Persians so that Athens could be evacuated. Tactical advantage because of choke point in the terrain.

After killing the 300 Spartans the Persians Marched on Athens Athens was deserted; evacuated to the Island of Salamis The Athenians forced a naval battle in the Bay of Salamis

The Athenians set this trap for the Persians luring them into the narrow Salamis straits where there numbers would count for nothing much like the Battle of Thermopylae. There it destroyed the Persian navy. Without a navy, Xerxes could not supply his army, and so he was forced to retreat back to Persia with most of his army.

C. Xerxes left a small force behind to finish the war against Greece, but that force was defeated at the Battle of Plataea. Persia would never seriously threaten Greece again.

A. In some ways, the Persian War is history s first war. That is because it is the first war to ever be written down. B. A Greek writer named Herodotus decided to write the history of the Persian War. His book, called The Histories, became the first ever history book. In fact, you can thank your Herodotus for having history class today, because without him history wouldn t exist.

A. In between the Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian Wars, Athens did very well for itself. A golden age of culture flourished. The person most responsible for this golden age was Pericles, an Athenian politician. B. Pericles helped to extend democracy in Athens. Now, instead of only natural citizens having a voice in government, most adult males gained the vote. C. Pericles helped to rebuild Athens after the Persian wars. During this period of time, Athens most famous temple, the Parthenon, was built.

A. After the end of the Persian War, Athens began to become the most powerful citystate in Greece. They established their own empire, called the Delian League, and they charged other city-states money for protection from the Persians, even though the Persians were no longer a real threat. B. Sparta was angry about Athens new power, and so the Spartans created their own group of allies, called the Peloponnesian League.

A. At the beginning of the war, the Spartans would go to Athens every year and destroy their crops, but they couldn t get into the city itself because the city was protected by a large wall. B. Eventually, the lack of food began to take its toll on Athens, and a giant plague broke out. Many people died, and most of the population was sick. It looked like Athens was going to lose the war.

C. After the plague went away, though, the Athenians came back, and the war became even again. The Athenians couldn t beat the Spartans on land, but the Spartans couldn t beat the Athenians at sea.

D. Finally, a critical mistake by the Athenians ended the war. Athens decided to invade the Italian island of Sicily. They lost badly, and their army was destroyed. Sparta walked into Athens and took over. E. The history of the Peloponnesian War was written down by an Athenian admiral named Thucydides. It is the second history book ever written.