CHAPTER 5

Section 3 Notes

The Persian Wars

Herodotus---told the story of the Greek’s pride

By 500 B.C., Athens had emerged as the wealthiest city-state

Eventually the Persians conquered the Greek city-states of Ionia

Athens sent ships to help the city-states when they rebelled and the Persian ruler Darius resented the help that Athens provided

Persian Empire

Herodotus

Darius

The Persian Wars

Darius sent a huge force to attack Athens

The Athenians and the Persians fought at the Battle of Marathon in 490 B.C., a battle that the outnumbered Athenians won

After winning the battle, the Greeks sent Pheidippides, their fastest runner, to Athens to deliver the message of victory (Nike). He collapsed and died after running the 26.2 miles. This is where we get the modern marathon from.

Battle of Marathon

Nike

Some of my favorite Nikes

The Persian Wars

In 480 B.C., Darius’ son Xerxes sent a huge force to conquer Greece

Athens had persuaded Sparta and other city-states to join in the fight against Persia

The Persians landed again in northern Greece A small Spartan force guarded the narrow

mountain pass at Thermopylae Led by the great warrior-king Leonidas, the

Spartans held out heroically against the enormous Persian force until they were all wiped out

Xerxes

Thermopylae

Last Stand of the 300

Leonidas

The Persian Wars

After defeating the Spartans, the Persians marched south and burned Athens, even though the city was empty

The Greeks now put their faith in the fleet of ships that Themistocles had urged them to build

The Athenians lured the Persian navy into the narrow strait of Salamis where the Athenian warships defeated the Persians

The following year the Greeks defeated the Persians on land in Asia Minor and ended the Persian invasions

Themistocles

The Persian Wars

Victory in the Persian Wars increased the Greeks’ sense of their own uniqueness

Athens emerged as the most powerful city-state in Greece

It organized the Delian League, an alliance with other Greek city-states

Athens angered other members by moving the treasury and using its money to rebuild the city of Athens

Athens in the Age of Pericles The years after the Persian Wars were a

golden age for Athens Under the rule of Pericles, the economy

thrived and government became more democratic

The period from 460 B.C.-429 B.C. is called the Age of Pericles

Pericles

Athens in the Age of Pericles Periclean Athens had a direct

democracy---a large number of citizens take direct part in the day-to-day affairs of government

Today we use a representative democracy

At least 6,000 members had to be present in order to decide important issues

Pericles believed that all male citizens, regardless of wealth or social class should participate in government

Athens in the Age of Pericles Athens began to pay a stipend to men

who held public office---this enabled poor men to serve in government

Athenians also served on juries Athenian juries included hundreds or

even thousands of jurors---far different from our system today

Male citizens over 30 years of age were chosen by lot to serve on the jury for a year---jurors also received a stipend

Athens in the Age of Pericles Athenian citizens could also vote to

banish public figures who they saw as a threat to their democracy (ostracism)

To ostracize someone, a citizen wrote that person’s name on a piece of pottery. Depending on the number of votes cast, an ostracized individual would have to live outside the city, usually for a period of 10 years.

Athens in the Age of Pericles Thucydides, a historian who lived in the Age of

Pericles, recorded a speech given by Pericles at the funeral of Athenians slain in battle---the “Funeral Oration”

Pericles said that: power in Athenian government rested not in the hands of a minority but of the whole people and stressed the rights and duties of citizenship

Today the “Funeral Oration” is considered one of the earliest and greatest expressions of democratic ideals

Thucydides

Athens in the Age of Pericles Athens prospered during the Age of

Pericles The best architects and sculptors were

hired to rebuild the Acropolis and other building projects were undertaken

Pericles and Aspasia helped turn Athens into the cultural center of Greece (more on this in Section 4)

Aspasia

The Peloponnesian War

Many Greeks outside of Athens resented Athenian power and money

To counter the Delian League of Athens, Sparta and other enemies of Athens formed the Peloponnesian League

Sparta encouraged oligarchy, Athens supported democracy

In 431 B.C., war broke out between Athens and Sparta---it would engulf all of Greece and last 27 years

Delian League

Peloponnesian League

The Peloponnesian War

Even though they were rich and had a powerful navy, Athens faced a major geographic disadvantage---Sparta was located inland

When Sparta attacked Athens Pericles allowed people from the surrounding countryside to move within the city walls---this lead to overcrowding and the spread of a plague that killed 1/3 of the population including Pericles

The war drug on and atrocities were carried out by both sides

Peloponnesian War

The Peloponnesian War

Sparta eventually allied itself with Persia and in 404 B.C. , with the help of the Persian navy, Sparta captured Athens (but didn’t destroy the city)

This may have been due to Athens’ role in the Persian Wars

Aftermath

The Peloponnesian War ended Athenian domination of the Greek world

The Athenian economy revived and Athens remained the cultural center of Greece but its spirit and vitality declined

Democratic government suffered and corruption and self-interests replaced service to the city-state

Fighting tore apart the Greek world---Sparta was eventually defeated by Thebes and eventually Greece would be taken over by an ambitious ruler from Macedonia (more on this in Section 5)