1. Part 1: Greece Part 2: Alexander the Great
Lesson 20

2. Part 1: Greece Theme: The Decline of the City-states
Lesson 20

3. ID & SIG
Delian League, Marathon, Peloponnesian War, Persian Wars, Thermopylae

4. Persian Wars
Greek colonization brought the city states in conflict with the Persian Empire
Remember from Lesson 6
Result was the Persian Wars ( B.C.)

7. Ionian Rebellion Cyclades Islands
As Persian emperors Cyrus and Darius tightened their grip on Anatolia, the Greek cities on the Ionian coast became increasingly restless
In 500 B.C., they revolted and expelled the Achaemenid administrators
Athens sent a fleet in support of their fellow Greeks and commercial partners
In 493, Darius repressed the rebellion
Cyclades Islands

8. Persian Wars
To punish the Athenians and discourage future interference, Darius attacked Athens in 490
The Athenians repelled the invasion
Marathon

9. Battle of Marathon
The Persians landed at the Plains of Marathon on September 9, 490
For eight days, the two armies faced each other
On the ninth day, the Persians started to advance, forcing Miltiades, the commander in chief of the Athenian army, to deploy his army of 10,000 Athenians and 1,000 Plataeans for battle

10. Battle of Marathon
The Athenians surrounded the Persians in a double envelopment
Although the Athenians were outnumbered, their spears were superior to the Persians’ bows and short lances
The Persians fled to their ships
Persians lost 6,400 men and seven ships
Athenians lost 192

11. Battle of Marathon
However, Miltiades realized that the Persian fleet could sail and attack the undefended city of Athens
According to legend, he called upon Phidippides to run to Athens to tell them of the victory and warn them of the approaching Persian ships
Phidippides ran the 26 miles from Marathon to Athens in about three hours, successfully warning the Athenians who repelled the Persian invasion
Phidippides was exhausted from the fight at Marathon and the 26 mile run and died upon announcing the warning
Miltiades

12. Olympic Marathons The marathon was part of the 1896 Olympics
The course was from Marathon to Athens (24.85 miles or 40 km)
At the London Olympics in 1908, the Olympic marathon course was set at 26 miles, 385 yards ( km) to accommodate the Royal Family’s viewing
In 1921 the International Amateur Athletic Foundation made km the official distance of a marathon

13. Xerxes
Darius’s successor Xerxes tried to avenge the Persian losses by launching another attack in 480
Thermopylae

14. Thermopylae
The Greeks sent an allied army under the Spartan king Leonidas to Thermopylae, a narrow mountain pass in northeastern Greece 
The point was to stall the Persians long enough that the city states could prepare for later major battles after the Persians broke through
Persians attempting to force the pass at Thermopylae

15. Thermopylae Leonidas Twice the Greeks repelled the Persians
Then Ephialtes, a local farmer, traitorously led a force of Persian infantry through a mountain passage and the next morning they appeared behind the Greek lines
Leonidas ordered the rest of the army to withdraw and held the passage with just 300 Spartans
As true Spartans, they chose death over retreat
Remember Lesson 17
All died but they did hold off the Persians long enough to ensure the safe withdrawal of the rest of the Greek army.
Leonidas

16. Thermopylae
“Stranger, go tell the Spartans that we lie here in obedience to their laws.”
(Inscription carved on the tomb of Leonidas’s Three Hundred)
Leonidas at
Thermopylae by David

17. After Thermopylae
The Persians captured and burned Athens but were defeated by the Athenian navy at Salamis
In 479 the Persians were defeated at Plataea and forced back to Anatolia

18. Delian League
After the Persian threat subsided, the Greek poleis had conflicts among themselves
The poleis formed an alliance called the Delian League
Athens supplied most of the military force and the other poleis provided financial support
Sparta did not join the league
In the absence of the Persian threat, eventually the other poleis came to resent financing Athens’s bureaucracy and construction projects
The resulting tensions led to the Peloponnesian War ( ) in which the poleis divided up into two sides led by Athens and Sparta

19. The Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.)
The war went back and forth until 404 when the Spartans and their allies forced Athens to surrender
Conflicts continued however and the world of the poleis steadily lost power
Alexander the Great is going to step into this power vacuum (next lesson)

20. “Failure of the Nerve”
Xenophon lamented that up to this point, “the City-state, the Polis, had concentrated upon itself all the loyalty and the aspiration of the Greek mind. It gave security to life. It gave meaning to religion.”
Then, however, “it was not now ruled by the best citizens. The best had turned away from politics.”
Intellectual and imaginative life of 4th Century Greece gave way to an atmosphere of defeat
Gilbert Murray explains it as “a failure of nerve”

21. Part 2: Alexander the Great Theme: Advances in Warfare
Lesson 20

22. ID & SIG
Alexander the Great, Darius, Gaugamela (Arbela), phalanx, Philip, siege, Tyre

23. Philip II
Ruled Macedonia from B.C. and transformed it into a powerful military machine
Moved into northern Greece and met little resistance due to residual effects of Peloponnesian War
By 338 he had Greece under his control

24. Macedonia

25. Alexander the Great
Philip intended to use Greece as a launching pad to invade Persia, but he was assassinated before he could begin his plan
Instead the invasion of Persia would be left for Philip’s son Alexander who was just 20 when Philip was assassinated
“Alexander inherited from his father the most perfectly organized, trained, and equipped army of ancient times.”
J.F.C. Fuller, The Generalship of Alexander the Great

26. Conquests of Alexander
Ionia and Anatolia 333
Syria, Palestine, Egypt 332
Mesopotamia 331
Persepolis 331
King of Persia 330
India 327
Returns to Susa 324
Dies (age 33) 323

27. Warfare in the Age of Alexander
Phalanx: A formation of infantry carrying overlapping shields and long spears, developed by Philip II and used by Alexander the Great

28. Warfare in the Age of Alexander
Hoplite
The main melee warrior of the Macedonian army.
Worked mainly in the tight phalanx formation, creating impregnable lines that often left the enemy demoralized.

29. Hoplites in Action

30. Warfare in the Age of Alexander
Companions
Alexander’s elite cavalry, the offensive arm of his army, and his elite guard.
They would be used in conjunction with the phalanx. The phalanx would fix the enemy in place and then the companion cavalry would attack on the flank.
Alexander would lead the charge with his cavalry, normally in a wedge formation.
These troops would also protect the flanks of the Macedonian line during battle.

31. Warfare in the Age of Alexander
Sieges involved the surrounding and blockading of a town or fortress by an army trying to capture it.
A variety of weapons were built to hurl projectiles over city walls, scale or batter the walls, and transport soldiers over them.

33. Tyre
“… if Alexander deserves permanent commemoration as a general, then it is above all in his capacity as a besieger, and of all his sieges Tyre was his masterpiece.”
Paul Cartledge, Alexander the Great, 147

34. Tyre Old city on the mainland was abandoned
New city built on an island two miles long and separated from the coast by a half mile channel
Walls were 150 feet high
Had two harbors (Sidonian and Egyptian)
Alexander originally had no ships so he built a mole across the channel

36. Tyre
Mole was designed to be 200 feet wide and was built by driving piles into the bottom and filling in the space with stones, earth, and wood
Entire trees --- branches, leaves, and all -– were thrown beside the piles to serve as a breakwall
Stone was hauled in from the old city
“A city and a forest were exhausted to build this wonderful mole.”
Theodore Dodge, Alexander, 330.
Alexander’s original mole has grown over the centuries and is now a broad landbridge with roads and buildings on it.

37. Tyre Tyrians attacked the mole with missiles, ships, and divers
Alexander was forced to build two towers on the end of the mole to fend off attacks
Tyrians launched a fire ship carrying cauldrons of sulfur, naphtha, and chemical oils to destroy the towers
Fire ship burned down the towers and cracked the end of the mole so that it later was washed away by waves
The work of months was lost in an hour, but Alexander began building another, better mole

38. Tyrian Fire Ship Burns the Towers

39. Tyre
Alexander collected a fleet of over 200 ships and maneuvered them into moorings off the Sidonian and Egyptian harbors
Blockaded the Tyrian fleet in its harbors and now was at liberty to use his siege engines to reduce the city’s walls
No. of ships Origin
80 Sidon, Aradus, and Byblus
10 Rhodes
3 Soli and Mallus
10 Lycia
1 Macedon
120 Cyprus
Composition of Alexander’s Fleet

40. Tyre Finally the engines penetrated the wall on the side toward Egypt
The fleet had captured the north and south fronts of the city
Ladders were thrown up against the walls and the Macedonians burst in
5th Century Greek Battering Ram

41. Tyre After a seven month siege, Tyre fell
8,000 Tyrians were killed in the fighting
2,000 more were hung afterwards
400 Macedonians were killed in the siege and just 20 in the assault

42. Gaugamela (Arbela)
“Most agree that this was Alexander’s greatest set-piece battle.”
Paul Cartledge, Alexander the Great, 151.

43. Gaugamela (Arbela)
At Issus, Alexander captured Darius’s family and was holding them hostage but treating them well
“Darius appeared to have lost the character for strength which he was thought at one time to possess. An excellent ruler in peace, he was his own worst enemy in war.”
Theodore Dodge, Alexander the Great, 360.
Seal of King Darius

44. Darius III, King of Persia
Gaugamela (Arbela)
Darius had assembled a huge army from all the Persian nationalities
Estimates range from 200,000 to a million infantry and 45,000 to 100,000 cavalry
200 scythed chariots
15 elephants
Alexander had about 40,000 men
Darius III, King of Persia
B.C.

45. Gaugamela (Arbela)
Darius drew his army up on a large plain near Gaugamela
The ground was carefully leveled, obstacles removed, and brush cut down to allow free movement of his chariots and horses
Darius wanted to lure Alexander into a battlefield of his own choosing so Darius could employ his masses
Scythed chariot

46. Gaugamela (Arbela)
Alexander advanced and camped within sight of Darius’s army on Sept 30, 331 B.C.
Darius feared a night attack and kept his men alert all night
When Alexander did attack the next day, Darius’s men were tired
In the opening moves, the Persians tried to outflank Alexander
Larger force had given them this capability

47. Gaugamela (Arbela) Alexander was able to counter with his reserve
Two flying columns behind each wing which could wheel outward to meet any outflanking foe, to guard the rear, or to reinforce the phalanx in the center
First such use of a reserve in history
Oblique order

49. Gaugamela (Arbela)
Alexander attacked on the right to avoid Darius’s obstacles in the center
Darius countered with his chariots and cavalry, but Alexander checked them with his right flying column
Caltrops

50. Gaugamela (Arbela)
Alexander then advanced against the Persian left center, exploiting a gap that had been created when Darius shifted to meet the earlier threat to his right
Alexander formed his men into a wedge and struck the gap
A column of Persian cavalry exploited a gap of Alexander’s own and attacked to Alexander’s rear, but Alexander defeated them with his left flying column 3 8 36
Wedge Formation

52. Gaugamela (Arbela)
Darius now feared for his own safety and fled the field
The entire Persian center and left also fled
The Persian army was dispersed
Alexander pursued for 70 miles to Arbela (modern day Arbil) but couldn’t catch Darius
The Persians lost 40,000 to 90,000
The Macedonians only 500

53. Gaugamela (Arbela) The military genius of Alexander
“The Persians still relied on multitudes. Alexander was introducing new tactics.”
Theodore Dodge, Alexander the Great, 385.
Flying column reserves
The wedge to penetrate an opening
Striking not merely with mass but at the right place and time
All around security
Discipline of troops
Ability to determine the enemy weakness and seize opportunity rapidly

54. Alexander and the Principles of War
Maneuver
Mass
Surprise
Security
Objective
Economy of Force
Offensive
Unity of Command
Simplicity

55. Alexander and the Principles of War
Maneuver
Created a gap by causing Darius to shift forces to meet the initial attack on the right
Mass
Used the wedge formation at the gap in Darius’ line (decisive place and time)
Surprise
Kept Darius up all night expecting an attack and then attacked the next day when Darius was tired
Objective
Capture Darius in order to replace him as king

56. Alexander and the Principles of War
Economy of force
Accepted risk on his left in order to launch a strong attack on his right
Offensive
Attacked even though grossly outnumbered
Unity of command
Alexander personally led the Companion cavalry in the attack on the right
Simplicity
Much of what Alexander was able to do was based on the discipline his soldiers had gained from drill

57. After Gaugamela
Darius’s escape frustrated Alexander because it prevented him from full claim to being king of Persia
Eventually Darius’s followers assassinated him
As Alexander became king of Persia and continued to advance east, he took on an increasingly Eastern attitude

58. "The Marriage of Alexander the Great and Roxanna" by Ishmail Parbury
The End of the Empire
Alexander
Married Roxanna and had his men also intermarry
Adopted Eastern dress and habits
Publicly insisted upon his descent from the gods
Began giving key positions to Persians
The Macedonians were tired of campaigning and resented the changes in Alexander’s behavior and become mutinous
Alexander died in June 323, perhaps as a result of poisoning
"The Marriage of Alexander the Great and Roxanna" by Ishmail Parbury

60. After Alexander
After Alexander died, his generals jockeyed for power and by 275 they had divided up his kingdom into three large states
Antigonus took Greece and Macedon
Ptolemy took Egypt
Seleuces took the former Achaemenid empire
The period of Alexander and his successors is called the Hellenistic period to reflect the broad influence of Greek culture beyond Greece’s borders

61. Next
Aztecs and Mongols