Classical Greece
Do Now and Objective
Write the following Objective in your notebook:
Determine the causes of the Peloponnesian War,
the outcome of the war, and the effect it had on
Greek civilization
Read “Turning Point” on page 120 in your
textbooks and answer the two Document Based
Questions on the bottom of the page
The Challenge of Persia
 As Greek civilization spread throughout
Mediterranean, came into contact with
Persian empire to the east
 Ionian Greek cities in western Asia Minor
had fallen to Persia by mid-500s BC
 499 BC Athenian navy tried to help them
revolt from Persia
 Caused Persian king Darius to seek revenge
on Athens
 490 B.C. Persians landed on plain of
Marathon, 26 miles from Athens
Battle of Marathon
 490 B.C. Persians land on plain of Marathon, 26 miles
from Athens
 Athenian army attacked and defeated Persians
 According to legend, news of Persia’s defeat was
brought by an Athenian runner named Pheidippides,
who raced from Marathon to Athens
 With last breath, announced “Victory, we win” before
dropping dead
 Today’s marathon race based on this heroic story
 Battle of Marathon proved to the Athenians that
Persians could be defeated and gave them new
confidence in their city-state
Persia Plots Revenge
 Darius dies in 486 B.C., Xerxes becomes new
Persian monarch
 Xerxes vowed revenge and planned to invade
Greece
 To prepare for the attack, some of the Greek
states formed a defensive league under the
Spartans
 Athenians built a navy
 Xerxes led massive invasion force into Greece
 Despite differences, Athenians and Spartans united
by common goal of defeating Persian invaders
 Greeks able to defeat Persians and take control
of Aegean Sea
The Athenian Empire
 After defeat of Persians, Athens took over
leadership of entire Greek world
 478 B.C. Athenians formed defensive alliance
against Persians known as Delian League
 Under Athenian leadership, Delian League
liberated all Greek states in the Aegean from
Persian control
 Athens had created an empire
 Under Pericles: leader in Athens from 461 to
429 B.C. who helped create democracy
 Age of Pericles: height of Athenian power and
brilliance
Roots of the Peloponnesian War
 After defeat of Persians, Greek world divided into two sides
1. Athenian empire and the Delian League
2. Sparta and its supporters: The Peloponnesian League
 Athens and Sparta had very different societies and couldn’t tolerate the other’s systems
 Sparta feared the growing power of the Athenian empire
 Series of disputes led to outbreak of Great Peloponnesian War in 431 B.C.
The Peloponnesian War

Began in 431 B.C.

Strategies of each side:

Athens
 Planned to remain behind city’s protective walls and receive supplies from
their colonies and navy

Sparta
 Surrounded Athens, hoping Athenians would send their army to fight outside
the walls

Sparta had stronger army, Athens had stronger navy

Second year of war, plague broke out in overcrowded city of Athens


Killed more than one-third of the people, including Pericles

Athens continued to fight on for another 25 years
405 B.C.-Athens’ fleet is destroyed

Within the year, Athens surrendered
 Walls torn down, navy disbanded, Athenian empire destroyed
Outcome and Effect on Greek Society
 Weakened major Greek city-states
 Ruined any possibility of cooperation
 During next 67 years, Sparta, Athens, and Thebes (new Greek power) struggled to
dominate Greek affairs
 By continuing their wars, Greeks ignored the growing power of Macedonia to
the north
This would eventually cost them their freedom