The Persian Wars - Ch 5

Greco Persian Wars - Ch. 5

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Lesson Objectives:

• Describe the Persian Wars and the battles of Sardis, Marathon, Thermopylae, and Salamis

• Understand the achievements of Sparta and Athens during the wars

Chapter 5 Vocab

• Pass - a place in the mountains that is lower than the surrounding peaks and that people use as a path through the mountains

• Evacuate: to leave a place in an organized way, in order to get away from danger

Chapter 5 Big Question

Why do you think the Spartans and the Athenians joined together to fight the Persians in the later battles of the Persian Wars?

Open Ended

Review: What was Athens' military strength? What was Sparta's?

(if you are struggling, think about where they are each located within Greece and how that influenced their militaries)

Herodotus

• Most of what we know about the Persian Wars comes from Greek historian Herodotus

• Wrote about the Persian Wars several decades after they ended

• He did make an effort to be unbiased in his writing

• Understood the causes of events

Multiple Choice

Who wrote History of the Persian Wars?

• A. Xerxes
• B. Herodotus
• C. Themistocles
• D. Cyrus

King Darius of Persia also known as Darius the Great

Causes

• There are a number of city-stats on the coast of Asia Minor (also called Anatolia)

• 546 BCE - came under the control of the Persians who put tyrants in place to rule each city state

• 499 BCE - Miletus rebelled against Persian rule and asked for the Greeks in other city-states for help overthrowing the Persians

Causes

• Athens agreed to help; Sparta refused

• 498 BCE - Athens sailed across the Aegean Sea and conquered Persian controlled city-state Sardis

• Inspired other city-states to revolt against Persians

• Persian King Darius put down the revolt and regained control of city-states in Asia Minor

Multiple Choice

What was a cause of the Persian Wars?

• Bad trading within the Persian Empire

• A revolt in a Persian-controlled Greek colony lead Persia to invade Greece

• Poor leadership in Persia caused the empire to fall apart

• Greece invaded the Persian capital of Persepolis

Persian Recation

• Darius was very angry at the Athenians

• 490 BCE - Sailed acroose the Aegean Sea to punish the Athenians

• Sent ~600 ships and ~26,000 soldiers

• Land near Marathon

Battle of Marathon - 490 BCE

• Athens was outnumbered (~10,000 hoplites)

• Athens asked for Sparta's help and Sparta agreed but could not get to Marathon in time (wanted to wait for the right time)

• Athens decided to attack first

Battle of Marathon - 490 BCE

• Greek charge was successful; Persians broke ranks and fled to their ships

• ~6,000+ Persians dead

• 192 Greeks dead

• Gave the Greeks confidence and made them feel very powerful

Pheidippides and the Marathon

• A messenger who ran from Athens to Sparta (150 miles) in two days to request aid and then ran back to Marathon (info from Herodotus)

• He was then sent from Marathon to Athens (26.2 miles) to report the Athenian victory over the Persians (Most likely a different messenger)

• Died from exhaustion

Multiple Choice

The Persians defeated the Greeks at Marathon.

• True
• False

King Xerxes

• Son of Darius the Great who took the throne after Darius's death

• Xerxes wanted to conquer all of Greece

• Persians still angry about the Greek involvement in the Ionian Revolts

• Set out for Greece with an army of over 100,000 men and 600-700 ships

Greece Since Marathon

• Athens and Sparta united against the Persians and were joined by a few other city-states

• Total Greek military = 200-300 ships and 10,000 men

• Greek army was led by King Leonidas of Sparta

• Realized that the longer a major battle with Persia could be delayed, the better their chances would be

Thermopylae - 480 BCE

• Greeks needed to delay Persia

• Decided to engage them in battle at Thermopylae - a narrow pass between cliffs and sea

• Hoped that Persia would be unable to use its entire army and that the Greeks could hold the pass

Battle of Thermopylae - 480 BCE

• Spoiler Alert: They could not

Battle of Thermopylae - 480 BCE

• Held the pass for 2 days

• Betrayed by Ephialtes (who lived in the area)

• Ephialtes showed the Persians how to use a mountain path to bypass the Greeks

• Leonidas ordered the majority of the Greek troops to retreat

• He and 300 Spartans stayed behind to hold back the Persian arm

• All 300 Spartans and King Leonidas died defending the Pass

Multiple Choice

At the battle between Greeks and Persians at Thermopylae, ______.

• A.the Spartans and Athenians defeated the Persians
• B.the Persians won, although the Athenians fought until the end
• C.Spartans fought until the end, but the Persians won
• D.the Persians won the battle easily

Open Ended

Why did the Greeks decide to attack the Persians at Thermopylae?

Buring of Athens

• Thermopylae slowed the Persians but did not stop them

• Xerxes marched south towards Athens and burned the city to the ground

• Most citizens in Athens had been warned of pending invasion and had evacuated

• (picture) Foundations of the Old Temple of Athena, destroyed by Xerxes' armies

Battle of Salamis - 480 BCE

• Xerxes set to conquer all of southern Greece

• Wanted to lead with his navy

• Persians and Greeks met near the island Salamis

• 
  

Battle of Salamis - 480 BCE

• Persians had bigger ships

• Greeks were more familiar with the waterways

• Athenian navy lured Persian fleet into shallow, narrow water

• Greek ships rammed and sank the Persian ships

• Athenian navy was able to defeat the huge Persian fleet

• Xerxes was stunned by the loss and immediately left Greece and sailed home

Open Ended

What advantage did the Persians have before Salamis? What advantage did the Greeks have? Why was the Greeks' advantage more valuable?

Battle of Plataea - 479 BCE

• Spartan general Pausanias led Greeks against Persians

• Greeks won the battle and drove the Persian army out of Greece forever

Multiple Choice

After the Greeks defeated the Persians at Plataea, the Persians stopped trying to conquer Greece.

• True
• False

Multiple Select

Who were TWO Persian kings during the Perisan Wars?

• King Leonidas

• King Darius I

• King Xerxes

• King Marathon

Multiple Choice

Which of the following statements is true concerning the Persian Wars?

• The Persians defeated the Greek city-states
• Athens started its decline after the end of the war
• Sparta and Athens were united against the Persians
• Persian ideas were adopted by the Athenians
  

Open Ended

Big Question:

What do you think the Spartans and Athenians joined together to fight the Persians in the later battles of the Persian Wars?

Poll

Rate yourself on your understanding of the Learning Objective:

Describe the Persian Wars and the Battles of Sardis, Marathon, Thermopylae, and Salamis

• 5

  I am very confident in my understand this concept and can list and explain at least two examples in detail

• 4

  I am confident of my understanding of this concept and can describe at least one example in detail

• 3

  I somewhat understand this concept and can give examples but I am not able to explain them

• 2

  I am somewhat confused on this concept and need a bit more instruction

• 1

  I do not understand this topic and need complete reteaching

Poll

Rate yourself on your understanding of the Learning Objective:

Understand the achievements of Sparta and Athens during the wars.

• 5

  I am very confident in my understand this concept and can list and explain at least two examples in detail

• 4

  I am confident of my understanding of this concept and can describe at least one example in detail

• 3

  I somewhat understand this concept and can give examples but I am not able to explain them

• 2

  I am somewhat confused on this concept and need a bit more instruction

• 1

  I do not understand this topic and need complete reteaching