This is Sparta!!!!
How the Spartans Saved the World
Background
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City states like Athens had
colonized the Ionian region
(Western Turkey) before the rise of
the Persian Empire.
Persians took over the area and the
Greek cities had to pay homage.
After a few decades the cities asked
for help to rebel.
 Sparta declined to help
 Athens agreed to help
After 20 years, the Ionian Revolt
was suppressed. The Persians were
miffed at Athens and planned
revenge.
Darius invaded in 490 BCE but was
defeated by the Athenian led army
at Marathon.
In 480 BCE, Xerxes, the son of
Darius, planned to finish what his
father had started.
Opening Moves
 The Persians ruled a huge empire ruled through local
governors (Satraps). They were ordered to send
forces to Ionia to build an army.
 In a few years, Xerxes had at his command an army
some Greek historians claimed to be in the millions.
Most likely it numbered around 120,000 men and
upwards of 1,000 ships.
 This build up was not hidden. The Persian king
wanted to intimidate the Greeks into surrendering, or
at least offering to stay neutral.
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This worked as most of the smaller states secretly
pledged neutrality to Persia. Everyone wondered about
the two biggest states – Sparta and Athens.
Greek Preparations
 The Athenians had spent the previous decade
building a navy.
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Themistocles was the Athenian general who had led
the building of a navy.
He believed that the Persians would only be defeated if
their navy was destroyed.
 The Spartans tried to send envoys to the Persians to
tell them they were not interested in this fight.
However, Spartan diplomacy was, at best, rude and
so it went nowhere.
 As word spread of the Persian build up, Spartans
debated what they should do.
The Persians Advance
 Xerxes carried his forces across the
Hellespont and moved around the coast
towards Athens. He took his time hoping to
awe the Greeks into submission.
 He needed to stay close to the coast so that
the ships could keep his soldiers fed.
 This move spurred the Spartans to try to
block the Persians north of Athens.
Leonidas
 Not much is really known about the man
 Was supposed to be from a good family
 Was a “king” of Sparta.
When the Persians invaded, he volunteered to
slow the advance as long as possible.
 He selected a small number of warriors and
headed for Thermopylae.
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An easily defendable pass that was close to the
coastline – Persians would need to clear it.
Oh yeah… the rest of them
 Legend talks of the “300”.
They were the last stand group.
The Spartans were joined by several thousand allies.
 Sparta was involved in the Carneian Festival
 Some were getting ready for the Olympics
 Some were waiting to see what happened.
The Persians attacked in wave after wave until finally they located a
local who told them of a trail that led behind the Greeks.
When he heard that his defences had been compromised, Leonidas
evacuated his army except for the 300 who volunteered to fight on to
delay as much as possible.
Once totally surrounded, the Spartans and their allies were quickly
defeated.
Their sacrifice bought enough time for the festival to conclude and
some fence sitting states to join against the Persians.
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The Rest of the Story
 The Battle of Thermopylae was a set back to
Xerxes.
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It did represent a point for Greeks to rally.
 Within weeks of Thermopylae, Athens was
sacked and destroyed.
 Xerxes marched on Sparta but was defeated
decisively at the Battle of Salamis and at the
Battle of Plataea.
 With this Xerxes returned home.
Battle of Salamis
 As the Persians approached Athens, the government
headed Themistocles advice and ordered an
evacuation of the city.
 When the Persians arrived they found the city pretty
much empty.
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They killed all they found and burned the city to the
ground.
The Persians were angry because the Greeks refused
to accept the reality of their defeat.
 When Xerxes heard that the Athenians had sheltered
themselves in the Bay of Eleusis he pounced.
 The Persians concentrated their fleet on the Bay and
waited for the Greeks to make a run.
 The Athenians refused to come out so Xerxes sent
his forces into the narrow channels.
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This is exactly what the Athenians wanted.
In the narrows leading into the Bay they attacked the
Persians with around 350 ships.
Because of the size of the attacking force, the Persians
had no room to manoeuvre their 700 ships.
The Athenians used “Greek Fire” which caused panic
among the Persians who began to crash into one
another.
Within hours the Persians had lost just over 200 ships
to the Greeks’ 40.