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HistorySocial ScienceStandardsWH6.4 Studentsanalyze the
geographic,political, economic,religious, and socialstructures of
the earlycivilizations of AncientGreece.
Persia Attacks Greeksthe
Looking Back, Looking AheadSection 2 explained how Greeks
built strong but separate city-states.At the same time far to
the east, thePersians were building a powerfulempire. It was only a
matter of timebefore Persia would try to invadeGreece.
Focusing on the • The Persian Empire united a wide
area under a single government.(page 352)
• Both Sparta and Athens played rolesin defeating the Persians.
(page 354)
Locating PlacesPersia (PUHR•zhuh)Marathon
(MAR•uh•THAHN)Thermopylae
(thuhr•MAH•puh• lee)Salamis (SA• luh•muhs)Plataea
(pluh•TEE•uh)
Meeting PeopleCyrus the Great (SY•ruhs)Darius (duh•RY•uhs)Xerxes
(ZUHRK•SEEZ)Themistocles
(thuh•MIHS•tuh•KLEEZ)
Content Vocabularysatrapies (SAY•truh•peez)satrap
(SAY•TRAP)Zoroastrianism (ZOHR•uh•WAS•
tree•uh•NIH•zuhm)
Academic Vocabularyvision (VIH•zhuhn)internal
(ihn•TUHR•nuhl)
Reading StrategyOrganizing Information Create achart like the
one below to list theaccomplishments of Cyrus, Darius,and
Xerxes.
AccomplishmentsRuler
660 B.C.Zoroasterborn
650 B.C. 550 B.C. 450 B.C.650 B.C. 550 B.C. 450 B.C.559
B.C.Cyrus becomesruler of Persia
480 B.C.Xerxes invadesGreece
CHAPTER 7 • The Ancient Greeks 351(l)Mary Evans Picture Library,
(c)Bettmann/CORBIS, (r)Roger Wood/CORBIS
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500 kilometers0Lambert Azimuthal Equal-Area projection
500 miles0
N
S
W E
60°E40°E20°E
40°N
20°N
Nile
R.
Indu
sR
.
Tigris R.
A
mu Darya R.
EuphratesR
.
Arabian Sea
AralSea
Caspian
Sea
Red
Sea
Persian Gulf
Mediterranean Sea
Black Sea
MESOPOTAMIA
CreteCyprus
ASIAMINOR
PERSIAPHOENICIA
EGYPT
GREECE
CANAAN Persepolis
Sardis
Byblos
TyreJerusalem
Thebes
Nineveh
SusaBabylon
WH6.4.5 Outline the founding, expansion, and political
organization of the Persian Empire.
The Persian EmpireThe Persian Empire united a wide area
under a single government.Reading Connection Have you ever seen
soldiersmarching through city streets on the news? Imagine thesame
thing happening in Asia in the 500s B.C. Read tolearn what happened
as Persian armies marched west-ward from Asia.
The people of Persia (PUHR • zhuh) livedin what is today
southwestern Iran. EarlyPersians were warriors and nomads whoherded
cattle. For a time, they were domi-nated by others. Then one
remarkableleader, Cyrus the Great (SY • ruhs), managed
to unite the Persians into a powerful kingdom. Under Cyrus, who
ruled from559 B.C. to 530 B.C., Persia began buildingan empire
larger than any yet seen in theworld.
The Rise of the Persian Empire In 539 B.C.Cyrus’s armies swept
into Mesopotamiaand captured Babylon. Then they took overnorthern
Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, Syria,Canaan, and the Phoenician cities.
Cyrustreated all his new subjects well. As youread in Chapter 3, he
allowed the captiveJews in Babylon to return home. Cyrus’smerciful
rule helped hold his growingempire together.
1. Location About how long was theRoyal Road?
2. Movement Based on the map,why might the Persian Empirehave
been a threat to Greece?
Persian EmpireRoyal Road
KEY
352
Bronze model of Persian chariot
The Persian Empire 500 B.C.
SEF/Art Resource, NY
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The leaders who followed Cyrus con-tinued to add to Persian
territory. Theyconquered Egypt, western India, andThrace, a region
northeast of Greece. Fromone end to the other, the Persian
Empirewas about the size of the continentalUnited States today.
To connect their vast holdings, thePersians built miles of
roads. The RoyalRoad stretched from Asia Minor to Susa,the Persian
capital. Along the way, thePersians set up roadside stations to
supplyfood, shelter, and fresh horses to theking’s messengers.
What Was Persian Government Like? Asthe Persian Empire grew
bigger, it becamevery difficult to manage. When Darius(duh •RY
•uhs) came to the throne in 521 B.C.,he reorganized the government
to make itwork better.
Darius divided the empire into 20 statescalled satrapies (SAY •
truh • peez). Each wasruled by an official with the title of
satrap(SAY • TRAP), meaning “protector of the king-dom.” The satrap
acted as tax collector,judge, chief of police, and head recruiter
forthe Persian army. However, all the satrapsanswered to the
Persian king.
The king’s power depended upon histroops. By the time of Darius,
Persia had alarge army of professional soldiers. Unlikethe Greek
city-states, where the citizenstook up arms in times of war, in
Persia the government paid people to be full-timesoldiers. Among
them were 10,000 speciallytrained soldiers who guarded the
king.They were called the Immortals becausewhen a member died, he
was immediatelyreplaced.
The Persian Religion The Persian religionwas called
Zoroastrianism (ZOHR •uh •WAS •tree • uh • NIH • zuhm). Its
founder, Zoroaster,
was born in 660 B.C. He began preachingafter seeing visions as a
young man.
Like the Jews, Zoroaster believed inone god. He viewed this
supreme being asthe creator of all things and a force ofgoodness.
However, Zoroaster recognizedevil in the world, too. He taught
thathumans had the freedom to choosebetween right and wrong, and
that good-ness would triumph in the end. ThePersians practiced
Zoroastrianism for cen-turies, and it still has a small number
offollowers today.
Explain What did Darius doto make his government work
better?
CHAPTER 7 • The Ancient Greeks 353
Darius helped to organizethe Persian government.What methods did
he use?
King DariusKing Darius
The Art Archive/Dagli Orti
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WH6.4.6 Compare and contrast life in Athens and Sparta, with
emphasis on their roles in the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars.
The Persian WarsBoth Sparta and Athens played roles in
defeating the Persians.Reading Connection Have you and a rival
ever set asideyour differences to work for a common cause? This
hap-pened in ancient Greece when Sparta and Athens cametogether to
fight the Persians. Read about the outcome.
As the Greeks set up colonies in theMediterranean area, they
often clashedwith the Persians. By the mid-500s B.C.,Persia already
controlled the Greek cities inAsia Minor. In 499 B.C. the Athenian
armyhelped the Greeks in Asia Minor rebel
against their Persian rulers. The rebellionfailed, but King
Darius decided the main-land Greeks had to be stopped from
inter-fering in the Persian Empire.
The Battle of Marathon In 490 B.C. aPersian fleet landed 20,000
soldiers on theplain of Marathon (MAR • uh • THAHN), only ashort
distance from Athens. For severaldays, the Persians waited there
for theAthenians to advance. The Athenians, how-ever, did not take
the bait. They had only10,000 soldiers compared to the
Persians’20,000. They knew that attacking was toodangerous. Instead
they held back in thehills overlooking the plain.
N
S
W E
100 kilometers0Lambert Azimuthal Equal-Area projection
100 miles0
30°E
20°E
40°N
30°E
A e g e a nS e a
Sea ofMarmara
M e d i t e r r a n e a nS e a
Crete
Salamis
MarathonPlataea
Thermopylae Sardis
Miletus
SpartaAthens
1 Athenian army defeats Persian army.
2 Greek force, led by Spartans, falls to Persian army.
4 Greeks defeat Persians, ending the war.
3 Greek fleet defeats Persian navy.
Persian Wars 499–479 B.C.
354 CHAPTER 7 • The Ancient Greeks
Greek statesPersian Empire1st Persian invasion,490 B.C.2nd
Persian invasion,480 B.C.Major battle
KEY
1. Movement Which of the major battlesshown was a naval
battle?
2. Place Why might attacks on the Greekcity-states have been
difficult for thePersians?
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Tired of waiting, the Persian com-mander decided to sail south
and attackAthens directly. He ordered his troops backonto the
ships, and it was then that he madea big mistake. The first to
board, hedecided, would be the horsemen in the cav-alry, the
strongest part of the Persian army.
As soon as the cavalry was out of fight-ing range, the Greeks
charged down fromthe hills and onto the plain of Marathon.They
caught the Persian foot soldiers stand-ing in the water, waiting
their turn to boardthe ships. Unable to defend themselves,
thePersians were easily defeated.
According to legend, the Athenians senta messenger named
Pheidippides (fy •DIHP •uh • DEEZ) home with the news. The
runnerraced nearly 25 miles (40.2 km) fromMarathon to Athens. He
collapsed fromexhaustion and, with his last breath,announced,
“Victory.” Then he died.Modern marathon races are named for
thisfamous run and are just over 26 miles long.
Another Persian Strike After Darius diedin 486 B.C., his son
Xerxes (ZUHRK • SEEZ)became the Persian king. Xerxes vowedrevenge
against the Athenians. In 480 B.C.he launched a new invasion of
Greece, thistime with about 180,000 troops and thou-sands of
warships and supply vessels.
To defend themselves, the Greeks joinedforces. Sparta sent the
most soldiers, andtheir king, Leonidas (lee • AH • nuh •
duhs),served as commander. Athens provided thenavy. An Athenian
general, Themistocles(thuh • MIHS • tuh • KLEEZ), created a plan
tofight the Persians.
The Greeks knew that as the hugePersian army marched south, it
dependedon shipments of food brought in by boat.Themistocles argued
that the Greeks’ beststrategy would be to attack the Persians’ships
and cut off food supplies to the army.
CHAPTER 7 • The Ancient Greeks 355
Herodotus’sHistory
The Greek historian Herodotus (hih•RAH•duh•tuhs) wrote History
of the Persian Wars.This is thought to be the first real history
inWestern civilization. Herodotus described theconflict between the
Greeks and Persians asone between freedom and dictatorship. Herehe
tells of Xerxes’ address to Persian nobles:“And truly I have
pondered upon this, until at lastI have found out a way whereby we
may at oncewin glory, and likewise get possession of a landwhich is
as large and as rich as our own . . . whileat the same time we
obtain satisfaction andrevenge . . . My intent is to . . . march an
armythrough Europe against Greece, that thereby Imay obtain
vengeance from the Athenians forthe wrongs committed by them
against thePersians and against my father.”
—Herodotus,The Persian Wars, Book VII
What reasons besides revenge does Xerxeshave for invading
Greece?
Herodotus reading to a crowd
Bettmann/CORBIS
-
To ready their fleet for battle, the Greeksneeded to stall the
Persian army before itreached Athens. The Greeks decided thebest
place to block the Persians was atThermopylae (thuhr • MAH • puh •
lee). Ther-mopylae was a narrow pass through themountains that was
easy to defend. About7,000 Greek soldiers held off the
Persiansthere for two days. The Spartans in theGreek army were
especially brave. As onestory has it, the Greeks heard that
Persianarrows would darken the sky. A Spartanwarrior responded,
“That is good news. Wewill fight in the shade!”
Unfortunately for the Greeks, a traitorexposed a mountain path
to the Persiansthat led them around the Greeks. As thePersians
mounted a rear attack, KingLeonidas sent most of his troops to
safety.He and several hundred others, however,
stayed behind and fought to the death. TheGreeks lost the battle
at Thermopylae, buttheir valiant stand gave Athens enoughtime to
assemble 200 ships.
The Greek fleet attacked the Persianfleet in the strait of
Salamis (SA • luh •muhs),not far from Athens. A strait is a narrow
stripof water between two pieces of land. TheGreeks expected to
have the upper hand inthe battle because their ships could
maneu-ver well in tight spaces. Greek ships weresmaller, faster,
and easier to steer than the bigPersian ships, which became easy
targets.
The Greek plan worked. After a ferociousbattle, the Greeks
destroyed almost the entirePersian fleet. Still, the Persian army
marchedon. When their troops reached Athens, theGreeks had already
fled.
The Persians burned the city. This onlystiffened the resolve of
the Greek city-states.
At the Battle of Salamis, smaller, faster Greek shipsdefeated
the Persian fleet. Near what Greek city-state was the strait of
Salamis located?
Battle of SalamisBattle of Salamis
Peter Connolly
-
Reading SummaryReview the • The Persian Empire united its
many lands under a single government.
• The Persian Empire attackedGreece several times. Despitetheir
rivalry, Athens and Spartajoined forces to defeat thePersians.
1. Why was Cyrus considered afair ruler?
2. What was the Royal Road?
Critical Thinking3. Summarize Draw a table like
the one below. Then summarizewhat happened at each battlein the
Persian Wars.
4. Imagine you arean adviser to Xerxes and arealarmed about his
plan forrevenge on Greece. Compose aletter to him listing
possibleoutcomes of the war.
5. DeterminingContext Reread the PrimarySource quote on page
355. Doesit matter that the quote comesfrom a Greek? Write an
essaydiscussing different ways thequote can be interpreted.
CA HR5.
CA 6WS1.1; 6WA2.5
CA 6RC2.4
What Did You Learn?
CHAPTER 7 • The Ancient Greeks 357
In early 479 B.C., they came together toform the largest Greek
army ever assem-bled. With solid body armor, longer spears,and
better training, the Greek armycrushed the Persian army at Plataea
(pluh •TEE •uh), northwest of Athens.
The battle was a turning point for theGreeks, convincing the
Persians to retreat toAsia Minor. By working together, the
Greekcity-states had saved their homeland frominvasion.
What Caused the Persian Empire to Fall?When the Greeks defeated
the Persianarmy, they helped to weaken it. The empirewas already
affected by internal problems.As these problems worsened, the
empirewould gradually lose its strength.
Persia remained intact for almost 150more years. However, after
Darius andXerxes, other Persian rulers raised taxes togain more
wealth. They spent the gold andsilver that flowed into the
treasuries on lux-uries for the royal court.
The high taxes angered their subjectsand caused many rebellions.
At the sametime, the Persian royal family fought overwho was to be
king. Many of the laterPersian kings were killed by other
familymembers who wanted the throne.
Persian kings had many wives andchildren. The sons had little,
if any, powerso they were constantly plotting to takeover the
throne. As a result of such plots,six of the nine rulers after
Darius weremurdered.
All of these problems made Persia vulnerable to attack. By the
time a youngGreek conqueror named Alexander in-vaded the empire in
334 B.C., the Persianswere no match for his troops.
By 330 B.C., the last Persian king was deadand Alexander ruled
over all his lands. Youwill learn more about Alexander the Greatand
his many achievements in Chapter 8.
Cause and Effect What ledto the Persian Wars?
MarathonThermopylaeSalamisPlataea
Battle Action
Study Central Need help understanding Persia or the Persian
wars? Visit ca.hss.glencoe.com and click on Study Central.
http://ca.hss.glencoe.com
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Unit 1: Mesopotamia, Egypt, and IsraelChapter 1: The First
CivilizationsReading Skill: Previewing Section 1: Early
HumansSection 2: Mesopotamian CivilizationSection 3: New
EmpiresChapter 1 Assessment
Chapter 2: Ancient Egypt and KushReading Skill:
SummarizingSection 1: The Nile ValleySection 2: Egypt's Old
KingdomSection 3: The Egyptian EmpireSection 4: The Civilization of
KushChapter 2 Assessment
Chapter 3: The Ancient IsraelitesReading Skill: Making
ConnectionsSection 1: The First IsraelitesSection 2: The Kingdom of
IsraelSection 3: The Growth of JudaismChapter 3 Assessment
Unit 1 Review
Unit 2: India, China, and the AmericasChapter 4: Early
IndiaReading Skill: QuestioningSection 1: India's First
CivilizationsSection 2: Hinduism and BuddhismSection 3: India's
First EmpiresChapter 4 Assessment
Chapter 5: Early ChinaReading Skill: MonitoringSection 1:
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3: The Qin and Han DynastiesChapter 5 Assessment
Chapter 6: The Ancient AmericasReading Skill: Taking
NotesSection 1: The First AmericansSection 2: The Mayan
PeopleChapter 6 Assessment
Unit 2 Review
Unit 3: The Greeks and RomansChapter 7: The Ancient
GreeksReading Skill: Comparing and ContrastingSection 1: The Early
GreeksSection 2: Sparta and AthensSection 3: Persia Attacks the
GreeksSection 4: The Age of PericlesChapter 7 Assessment
Chapter 8: Greek CivilizationReading Skill: VisualizingSection
1: The Culture of Ancient GreeceSection 2: Greek Philosophy and
HistorySection 3: Alexander the GreatSection 4: The Spread of Greek
CultureChapter 8 Assessment
Chapter 9: The Rise of RomeReading Skill: Making
InferencesSection 1: Rome's BeginningsSection 2: The Roman
RepublicSection 3: The Fall of the RepublicSection 4: The Early
EmpireChapter 9 Assessment
Chapter 10: Roman CivilizationReading Skill: Making
PredictionsSection 1: Life in Ancient RomeSection 2: The Fall of
RomeSection 3: The Byzantine EmpireChapter 10 Assessment
Chapter 11: The Rise of Christianity Reading Skill: Identifying
Cause and EffectSection 1: The First ChristiansSection 2: The
Christian ChurchSection 3: The Spread of Christian IdeasChapter 11
Assessment
Unit 3 Review
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