WHI: SOL 5d, e Persian and Peloponnesian Wars Golden Age of Pericles
Jan 05, 2016
WHI: SOL 5d, e
Persian and Peloponnesian WarsGolden Age of Pericles
Importance of Persian Wars (499–449 B.C. [B.C.E.])
• Persian wars united Athens and Sparta against the Persian Empire.
• Athenian victories over the Persians at Marathon and Salamis left Greeks in control of the Aegean Sea.
• Athens preserved its independence and continued innovations in government and culture.
Battle of Marathon• Persians sought to crush Athens, Persian army
landed at Marathon in 490 b.c. • Athenians were outnumbered but attacked,
broke through the Persian line and engaged in hand to hand combat
• Overwhelmed by the fury of the Athenian attack, the Persians retreated
Battle of Marathon
• Themistocles the Athenian general warned that the Persians would return and urged the Athenians to build a fleet of warships
• Legend of the Modern Marathon:• A runner covered the distance between
Marathon and Athens to report the victory • Distance was 22-25 miles
Battle of Thermopylae
• Spartans guarded the mountain pass• Led by the warrior-king Leonidas, the
Spartans held out against the massive Persian force, but were defeated in the end
Battle of Salamis
• Athenians lured the Persian navy into the narrow strait of Salamis
• Athenian warships, powered by rowers, drove into the Persian boats with underwater battering rams
• Xerxes watched from shore as his fleet sank
Golden Age of Pericles (mostly occurring between the Persian and the Peloponnesian Wars)
• Pericles extended democracy; most adult males had an equal voice.
• Pericles had Athens rebuilt after destruction in the Persian Wars; the Parthenon is an example of this reconstruction.
• After the Persian Wars, Greece formed an alliance known as the Delian League, headed by Athens
• Known for the Funeral Oration to commemorate those who died fighting Sparta in the Peloponnesian War
Parthenon (Athens, Greece)
Importance of Peloponnesian War (431–404 B.C. [B.C.E.])
• Caused in part by competition for control of the Greek world: Athens and the Delian League versus Sparta and the Peloponnesian League
• Resulted in slowing of cultural advance and the weakening of political power