By: Mr. Tsolomitis

 Athens and Sparta were not always enemies  Common foe: the Persians between 499 and 479 B.C.E.  Largest empire the world had ever seen

 Greek city-states banded together as allies (states that agree to help each other against a common enemy)  Greeks had fewer men and land than the Persians  However, the Greeks fought for a common purpose…

 Went from a small tribe in present-day Iraq to an empire that ruled over much of the known world.  King Darius divided his kingdom into 20 states called satraps.  One such satrap was made up of the wealthy Greek settlements of Ionia  Ionians were forced to pay tributes and serve in the Persian army. King Darius

 Ionians could not defeat Persians by themselves, so they asked for Athenian help.  Athens sent soldiers and a small fleet of ships.  Successful for a time, but then the Athenians went home without finishing the job.  Ionians were crushed in 493 B.C.E.  Razing of Miletus and slavery.

Score PersiansGreeks 10

 Darius was maaaaaaad  Sets out to conquer mainland Greece  Gives Greeks a chance to offer presents of earth and water as a sign of acceptance of Persian rule.  Not a good move  Darius sent an army of foot soldiers (infantry) and horse-riding soldiers (cavalry) in 490 B.C.E. across the Aegean Sea and assembled them on the Plain of Marathon.

 Athenians sent Pheidippides to Sparta for assistance… 140 miles in 2 days.  Spartans were in the middle of a religious festival called the Carneia and would be unable to assist until the next full moon  Troop numbers:  Persians:  50,000 infantry  1,750 cavalry  Greeks:  Between 10,000 and 11,000 Athenian infantrymen  Zero cavalry  But the Greeks had Miltiades!

Score PersiansGreeks 11

 Persians go home to lick their wounds  Darius I dies in 486 B.C.E.  His son, Xerxes I, takes control of the empire  Hungry to climb out of his father’s shadow  Best way to do this is to do what his father could not: conquer mainland Greece.  Marches across the Hellespont (the long, narrow body of water between Europe and Asia in modern-day Turkey).

 After the Persians crossed the Hellespont, they overwhelmed several Greek city-states.  Athens and Sparta joined forces, with the Spartans taking on the Persian army while the Athenians attacked the Persian navy.  Spartans chose Thermopylae as their battle ground.

 6,000-7,000 Greek soldiers vs. 180,000 Persians.  Limited room for fighting, made the Persian numbers useless.  Led by Leonidas, a Spartan king and brilliant tactician.  Held out for 3 days.

 Until a traitor betrayed the Greeks…  Used a secret path through the rocky hills to flank the 300 Spartans who weren’t ordered to retreat.  All 300 were killed quickly.

Score PersiansGreeks 12 Moral victory for the Greeks

 News of the Spartans “defeat” terrified Athenians, many of who fled for their lives.  Athens was burned to the ground.  However, the naval battle was not as hopeless.  Themistocles knew a way to defeat the Persian navy.  Set a trap similar to the way the Spartans had held out for so long…

 Greek ships rammed Persian boats in a narrow channel.  300 Persian ships were sunk, as opposed to the 40 Greek ships lost.

Score PersiansGreeks 13

 After the defeat at Salamis (and Thermopylae), Xerxes retreats home.  Attacks next spring, heads for Athens.  Greeks banded together once again and met on the plains outside Plataea.  80,000 Greeks (mostly Spartans) vs 300,000 Persians.

 After a resounding victory at Plataea, the Persian Empire fled and didn’t bother Greece again for a long time…  Benefits  Kept Persia from conquering all of Europe  Banded all Greeks together as “Greeks,” not members of city-states.  But…  Athens was in ruins  Thousands of Greeks died