2.4 Greece at war -T-

• History
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 1

AGE 2. The Time of Greeks and Romans

2.4 Greece at war

THEORY

What you can explain /  do after this lesson

• what a professional army is
• why a conflict arose between the Persian Empire and the Greeks
• which battles were fought during the Persian Wars.
• what the effects of the Persian wars were

people in this lesson

Darius I

king

Persia

Leonidas

king

Sparta

Themistocles

strategos

Athens

Xerxes 

king

Persia

Modern armies

An army consists of several branches:

• infantry: common soldiers (foot soldiers)
• cavalry: soldiers on horseback (nowadays tanks and armored vehicles)
• artillery: soldiers who operate large cannons (formerly catapults and archers)
• navy: soldiers at sea on warships
• air force: soldiers in airplanes

Modern soldiers are often professional soldiers. 

Which branch is not present during ancient warfare?

modern Chinese army on parade. The soldiers belong to the infantry.

In the background are armoured vehicles.

Ancient warfare

• Soldiers are citizens with a regular job > only in times of war soldier 
• Difference modern > pay for their own equipment!

• All poleis had their own armies with soldiers > hoplites (hoplon).

• Not everyone could become hoplite. > Only citizens who had enough money to buy their own equipment. > which two groups could never be hoplites?

Who were the Persians?

The Persian Empire was the largest and most powerful empire in the world at the time of the Persian Wars. 

• Darius I ruled as king of Persia. 
• People later called him Darius the Great because he strengthened and expanded the Persian Empire. 

A few of his achievements:

• He put down many uprisings and fought several foreign wars. 
• He organized the empire and ordered many building projects. 

Darius I, king of Persia, is shown in a carving from Persepolis. Persepolis was a city in the ancient Persian Empire.

Why did the Persians attack Greece?

-The Ionian Revolt

• The Ionians were Greeks that lived along the west coast of Turkey (the Ionian Coast). 

• The Persians conquered the Greek colonies. 
• Around 500 BC the Ionians revolted against king Darius > they asked Athens and other Greek cities for help.
• Greek cities send help, but were defeated 
• King Darius wanted to take revenge on the Greek city states who had supported the Ionian Revolt.

With his enormous army, he planned an invasion of Greece > Persian wars! (fought over three battles)

The burning of Sardis during the Ionian Revolt of 498 BC. From the book: Hutchinson's History of the Nations, published 1915.

Which battles were fought?

1. The battle of Marathon (490 BC)

• Darius gathered a vast army of soldiers that outnumbered any army the Greeks could muster. 
• The Persian soldiers marched along the coastline towards Greece while the Persian fleet followed the army along the coast.
• The Persian fleet landed at the Bay of Marathon.

• The Persians underestimated the fighting capability of the Greeks. The army of Athens routed the Persian army killing around 6,000 Persians and only losing 192 Greeks.

Greeks 1, Persians 0

The burning of Sardis during the Ionian Revolt of 498 BC. From the book: Hutchinson's History of the Nations, published 1915.

Which battles were fought?

2. Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC)

Ten years later, King Xerxes, decided to get his revenge on the Greeks. He amassed a huge army > This was the second Persian invasion.

• Spartan King Leonidas and 300 Spartans. 
• They decided to meet the Persians at a narrow pass in the mountains called Thermopylae. 
• The Persians found a way around the mountains and got behind the Greeks. 
• Leonidas send away the Greek army and stayed with the Spartans.
• The Spartans fought to the death, killing as many Persians as they could.

Greeks 1, Persians 1

modern illustration of the Battle of Thermopylae

Which battles were fought?

3. Battle of Salamis (479 BC)

• The Persian army continued to march on Greece. 
• When they arrived at the city of Athens, they found it deserted. 
• The Athenian fleet, was waiting off the coast near the island of Salamis.

• The much larger Persian fleet attacked the small Athenian ships. The Athenian ships, called triremes, were fast and maneuverable. 
• They rammed into the sides of the large Persian ships and sunk them. 
• They soundly defeated the Persians causing Xerxes to retreat back to Persia.

Greeks 2, Persians 1

The Battle of Salamis, modern illustration

The effects of the Persian Wars

• As a result of the Persian wars, most of the Persian fleet was destroyed. > The Persian army retreated from Greece.

• Did this mean peace? Ofcourse not! 
• Greeks fought together when there is a common enemy (AKA Persians)
• Greek cities fought each other again (notably Sparta and Athens)

• In the meantime, a new power arose north of Greece. King Philip II of Macedon conquered the cities of Thebes and Athens, uniting most of Greece under his rule.

But it was his son, Alexander, who would lead the Greeks into a whole new adventure 

The Battle of Salamis, modern illustration

congratulations

You are finished with this lesson.

If you want to see more about the Persian Wars, you can watch this video....