Classical Greece Chapter 4 Section BCE – 338 BCE

Persia Poses a Challenge  Ionian Greek cities (In Asia Minor) had fallen to the Persian empire from the East. The Athenian Navy tried to help the Ionian Greeks revolt, but the challenge was unsuccessful.  Darius, the Persian ruler at the time vowed to seek revenge against the Athenians.  In 490 B.C.E. the Persians land near Athens  Although the Persians outnumbered the Athenians, the Athenians were victorious, marking the 1 st time a group of Greeks defeated the Persian Empire.

Persia Poses a Challenge  Mindful of a possible threat of more attacks by the Persians, Some (not all) of the Greek city-states formed a defensive pact led by the Spartans, the most skillful of all the Greek warriors.  The Athenian’s focused on building a Navy with over 200 ships.  In 480 B.C.E. the Persians return to Greece to control the Greeks  The Persians returned with over 180,000 troops and thousands of war ships.

Persia Poses a Challenge  The Greek city-states were outnumbered by the Persians, so they united against and defeated the Persians  The first major battle was in Thermopylae  300 Spartans battled against the larger Persian Army before falling

Battle of Thermopylae  BC - The battle of Thermopylae was the first of many between the Persians and Greeks during the Persian invasion of Greece.  Greeks were led in battle by King Leonidas of Sparta, and the Persian Empire of Xerxes I  Battle occurred over the course of three days, during the second Persian invasion of Greece

Persia Poses a Challenge  The Athenians, knowing that the Persians had defeated the Greeks in Thermopylae, abandoned Athens for the island of Salamis as the Persians approached  The Athenian Navy launched an attack from Salamis on the Persian fleet, defeating them even though they were outnumbered  Following the defeat of the Persian Navy, an Army of united Greeks defeated the Persian Army near Athens

The Rule of Pericles  Under Pericles, an Athenian political figure, the Athenian Empire flourished mainly due to a democratic government  Greece also expanded its territories abroad  Democracy (specifically direct democracy) was a major reason why the Athenians maintained control of the Greek world  The poorer class also engaged in politics, some were now interested in running for certain positions because these posts paid well

Athenian Empire  Following the defeat of the Persians, Athens became the most powerful Greek city-state, and controlled the entire Greek world  Still fearful of the Persian threat, the Greek city-states, led by Athens created the Delian League to defend against the Persians  The league was not only formed for defensive purposes  The league also initiated conflicts with the Persian until virtually all the Greek city- states were free from Persian rule

Peloponnesian War  Following the conflicts with the Persians, the Greeks split into two groups. - The Athenian Empire - Sparta & their Allies  The split was due to differences amongst their distinct society  The Athenians knowing they could not defeat the Spartans in battle, Stayed within Athens, whose great wall kept the Spartans from entering the city  The Athenians heavily weakened after spending much of their time behind the city walls, eventually fell to the Spartans when the Athenian Navy was destroyed  As a result of this war Athens and Sparta were both weakened vulnerable to attack from the growing Macedonian Empire to the North