Persia Attacks the Greeks
Chapter 7
Section 3
Did You Know?
After conquering Babylon in
539 B.C., Cyrus the Great
wrote the Charter of Human
Rights, which many historians
call the first declaration of
human rights.
The Persian Empire
 Persians were warriors and nomads who lived in Persia, the
southwestern area of what is today Iran.
 Cyrus the Great united the Persians.
Persians built a large empire:
 Conquering Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, Syria, Canaan, and Phoenician cities,
among other lands.
 Darius came to power in 521 B.C. and reorganized the government.
The empire under Darius was divided into satrapies, each with a ruler
known as a satrap.
 The satraps answered to the king.
The military of Persia consisted of full-time, paid soldiers known as
Immortals.
Zoroastrianism, the religion of Persia, was founded by Zoroaster, who
believed in one god, the freedom of humans, and the triumph of good.
Discussion Question?
How did Cyrus’s compassion
for his people help the Persian
Empire grow?
People are more likely to
follow a ruler who cares about
them. People often attempt to
overthrow cruel or unfair
rulers.
The Persian Wars
After a failed rebellion by the Greeks, King
Darius decided to stop the mainland Greeks
from interfering in the Persian Empire.
The Battle of Marathon:
Occurred in 490 B.C. on the plain of Marathon, a short
distance from Athens.
The Persians waited there for the Athenians. When they
did not come, the Persian commander ordered the troops
back on the boats.
When the horsemen were on the boats, the Greeks
charged the Persian foot soldiers and defeated them.
The Persian Wars
 After Darius’s death, his son Xerxes became king. He vowed a new invasion
of Greece.
 Battle of Thermopylae:
 Athens and Sparta joined forces to defend against Xerxes’s attack.
 Greeks fought Persians for 2 days.
 The Greeks lost the battle, but during the fighting 200 ships assembled in Athens.
 Battle of Salamis:
 The Greeks used their faster, smaller ships to defeat the Persian fleet.
 Afterward, the Persians entered Athens and burned the city.
 Battle of Plataea:
 The Greek army won. This was the turning point of the wars with Persia.
 The Persian army fell for several reasons:
 The Persians were weakened by war.
 Their rulers taxed the people and spent the money lavishly.
 The sons of kings had little power, so they killed rulers to get power.
Discussion Question
How did modern marathon races get their
name?
Legend tells that the Athenians sent a
messenger to Athens after their victory at
the Battle of Marathon.
The messenger ran nearly 25 miles to Athens.
There he collapsed.
His final word was “victory”.
Today’s marathons are about 26 miles long.