The Persian Wars“If the Persians darken the sun, we’ll be able to fight in
the shade.”
Persian War Map http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/
commons/3/3a/Map_Greco-Persian_Wars-en.svg
Persia Empire Under Darius
Ionian Revolt The area of Ionia is now under the control of
the Persians 499 BCE – 493 BCE the Ionians revolt against
Persia Asks for assistance from other Greek cites Some responded –Athens Some did not help – Sparta
The revolt collapsed in 493 BCE
Ionian Revolts
Darius Invades Greece Darius saw the opportunity to invade Greece
and punish those who had assisted the Ionians
In 490 BCE he crossed the Aegean Sea to defeat Athens
The Persians landed at Marathon, 26 miles north of Athens
Battle of Marathon
Battle of Marathon Phase I: http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:
1stphaseofbattlemarathon.gif
Phase II: http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2ndphaseofbattlemarathon.gif
And the winner is… Greece! However, the Persians go back to their ships
and sail south to Athens The Greeks send a messenger to warn Athens Athens hears the news and prepares for battle The troops at Marathon beat the Persian ships
to Athens and defeat the Persians again
Darius Defeated The Persians return home
and Darius plans for a second invasion
Darius the Great dies in 486 and his son, Xerxes, takes over the invasion plan
Xerxes devotes four years to building an army and a navy to defeat Greece
Meanwhile back in Greece…
Enter Themistocles, an Athenian statesman
483 BCE he convinces the Athenians to build more warships for the navy
Athens also fortifies their harbor with walls
Greek Alliance In 480, under the fear of another Persian
invasion, 30+ Greek city-states form an alliance At the head of the league were powerhouses
Sparta and Athens
Second Persian Invasion
In 480 BCE Xerxes and his troops began their invasion to Greece
While the navy sails across the northern part of the Aegean Sea, the army crosses the Hellespont on a pontoon bridge
Battle at Thermopylae Greeks make at stand at Thermopylae, a very
narrow location where they could battle the large forces of Persia
300 Spartans and 5,000 other Greek men vs. the Persian army
Persia defeated the Greeks by using a small path to flank the Greek forces
Battle of Thermopylae
Meanwhile at sea… The Greek navy is defending the Straits of
Artemisium They battled for three days! On the third day, after heavy losses on both
sides, the Greeks heard of the fall at Thermopylae and drew back since they were no longer needed to protect the men at Thermopylae
Xerxes crosses Greece After the win at Thermopylae, Xerxes is quickly
conquering Greek land The biggest obstacle that is preventing the fall
of Greece is the Greek navy He decided to end the Greek resistance with a
major battle at sea… The Greeks too, knew that the fate of Greece
rested in the hands of the navy
The Battle at Salamis The Greeks lured the Persian fleet into the bay
at Salamis There the large Persian navy became trapped
and disorganized in the small bay The Greek navy quickly attacked and captured
over 200 Persian ships
Xerxes Defeated (kinda)
Xerxes tries to stay and build a causeway to the city of Salamis but abandons the task
Fearing the Greeks will sail to the Hellespont and destroy the pontoon bridges he returns home to Persia
The Persians Remain Some of the Persian army and fleet remain and
attempt to regain parts of Greece Battle occur at Plataea and Mycale leading to
further Persian defeat The battle of Plataea marked the end of the
Persian army and navy The Greeks were victorious and free…for now
Top Related