Around 546 B.C., Persian forces attacked and conquered Iona.

1

• Around 546 B.C., Persian forces attacked and
  conquered Iona.
• Iona was a Greek city

Greece
Persian Empire
2

• Ionian Greeks revolted and Athens sentships
  filled with soldiers to aid their fellow Greeks.
• The Persian King Darius the Great destroyed the
  rebels and the soldiers sent from Athens
• He vowed to crush and conquer Athens as well.

3

• In 490 B.C., the Persians launched their attack
  on Athens
• A fleet carrying 25,000 Persians crossed the
  Aegean Sea and landed in Marathon
• Marathon was 26 miles away from Athens

4

• When the massive Persian fleet arrived in
  Marathon, there were 1,000 Athenians waiting for
  them.
• The Athenians arranged their forces into many
  phalanxes and attacked the Persians.
• The Persians had lighter armor
• The Persians were not well trained in land combat

5

• The Persians lost more than 6,000 men in the
  battle
• The Greeks lost fewer than 200
• The Persians fled the battlefield
• Though the Athenians won the battle in Marathon,
  the city of Athens was defenseless
• The army leaders sent a young soldier named
  Pheidippides to run back to Athens and tell the
  citys forces
• ? 26 miles
• Why we call it a marathon

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• When Pheidippides reached Athens he told the news
  of the Persian forces
• He fell dead after he delivered the message
• The Athenian forces prepared for the arrival of
  the Persians
• The forces from Marathon raced back to help
  defend Athens

7

• When the Persians arrived to attack Athens, the
  Athenians were waiting and ready.
• The Persians didnt risk attacking the heavily
  defended city.
• Turned the ships around and retreated

8

• Ten years later, King Darius the Greats son,
  Xerxes decided to finish what his father couldnt
  ? conquer Athens.
• Xerxes created an enormous army to invade and
  conquer Athens
• Remember Greece was NOT united
• Many different city-states
• Some Greek city-states joined the Persians

9

• In August, 480 B.C. Xerxes set out to conquer
  Athens, he had to cross a narrow mountain pass in
  Greece called Thermopylae.
• There, he was met by a group of three hundred
  Spartans.
• Led by King Leonidas I

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• Persian forces had 2.5 million men and the
  Spartans had only 300 men.
• Remember The Spartans military training
• The Spartans did not retreat

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• The Spartans use of the phalanx prolonged the
  Persian victory.
• King Leonidas I and all 300 Spartans met their
  death.
• The Spartans sacrifice left a great impression
  on the other Greek states
• Greek Respect

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• During the battle of Thermopylae, anAthenian
  military leader created a plan to defend Athens
  from the Persians.
• Themicostles convinced the Athenians to flee the
  city and fight the Persians at sea.
• Set up a Greek base on an island near Athens,
  Salamis
• The Battle of Salamis

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• Xerxes took advantage of an empty Athens
• Set fire to the city
• After burning the city, Xerxes sent Persian ships
  to block any Greek forces.
• The Persian ships were too big for the small
  Greek waterways.
• The Greek ships were built for the small
  waterways.

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• The tinier Greek ships were equipped with
  battering rams.
• Rammed and put holes in the Persian ships
• Xerxes couldnt do anything but watch the smaller
  Greek ships destroy the immobile Persian ships.
• Xerxes massive force had to retreat

15

• After the battle of Salamis, several of the Greek
  city-states formed an alliance.
• The Delian League
• The headquarters was located on Delos Island
• The Delian League successfully pushed the Persian
  forces out of Greece.

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• The Delian League created a new sense of
  confidence amongst the Greek city-states.
• More than 200 Greek city-states joined the league
• Eventually, Athens emerged as the leader of the
  Delian League
• Moved the leagues headquarters to Athens.

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Athens Golden Age

• For close to fifty years (477 431 B.C.), Athens
  experienced a growth in intellectual and artistic
  learning.
• This time period is referred to as Athens Golden
  Age

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• During the golden age, drama, sculpture, poetry,
  philosophy, architecture and science reached new
  heights in ancient Greece.

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Greek Drama

• The Greeks wrote two kinds of dramas
• Tragedy
• A tragedy was a serious drama about common themes
  such as love, hate, war, or betrayal
• Featured a main character or a tragic hero
• Comedy
• A comedy contained scenes filled with slapstick
  situations and crude humor. Usually ridiculed
  made fun of politics and other respectable
  people.

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• From 461 429 B.C., a politician named Pericles
  led the Athenian government.
• The Age of Pericles
• Pericles had three goals
• Strengthen the Athenian democracy
• 2. Strengthen the Athenian empire
• 3. Glorify Athens

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1. Stronger Democracy

• To strengthen the democracy, Pericles increased
  the number of public officials.
• Made being a public official a paid job
• Was an unpaid profession before Pericles
• Before only the rich could serve in office, now
  it was possible for the poorest person to become
  a public official.
• Many voters
• Athens became one of the most democratic
  governments of all time

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• Athens was a direct democracy
• Direct Democracy- A form of government in which
  citizens rule directly and not through
  representatives
• Direct Democracy spread from Athens to most of
  the Greek city-states

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2. Strengthening the Empire

• Pericles realized that the Athenian navy was a
  big factor in the defeat of the Persians.
• He used money from the Delian Leagues treasury
  to strengthen Athens navy
• Increased overseas trade to increase Athens
  economy

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3. Glorifying Athens

• Pericles also used money from Delian League to
  beautify Athens.
• Did this without the Leagues approval
• Hired artists and architects to work allover the
  city.
• Structures made out of
• Gold
• Ivory
• Limestone

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The Peloponnesian War

• As Athens grew in wealth, other city states
  became dissatisfied.
• There was a lot of tension between Athens and
  Sparta
• Athens was the leading city-state of the Delian
  League
• Sparta was the leading city-state of the
  Peloponnesian League

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• After much disagreement and tension between the
  two states, Sparta declared war on Athens in 431
  B.C.
• Athens had a stronger navy
• Better on water
• Sparta had a stronger army
• Better on land
• Pericles wanted to avoid battle on land, but
  Sparta was too far inland to have sea battles.

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Athens
Sparta
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• The Spartans marched onto the Greek main lands
  and attacked the surrounding villages outside of
  Athens
• The Spartans burned the countryside
• Burned massive amounts of crops
• Pericles brought in all of the surrounding
  citizens into the Athens city walls
• Safer
• Larger food supply

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• Disease struck Athens during the siege.
• Massive plague killed one third of the population
• Pericles died as well
• Athens continued to fight.
• In 421 B.C., both sides signed a truce

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• The peace lasted for only six years.
• In 415, Athens sent a fleet of 20,000 soldiers to
  attack Syracuse.
• Syracuse was Spartas allies on the island of
  Sicily
• Athens forces in Sicily were crushed by the
  Spartans
• In 404, Athens surrendered to Sparta.
• Athens lost everything that Pericles created
• Empire, power, and wealth.