CHW 3M
 The Archaic Period of Greek history closed with the
Persian Wars
 Persia the mightiest state the world had ever seen,
capable of assembling army of over a million men
 The large city-states of Athens and Sparta might be
able to assemble 10 000 hoplites, but other states could
provide only a few hundred each
 Our main source for the Persian Wars is Herodotus,
the “Father of History”
 By 6th century BCE, Persians threatened Greek
homeland
 Compared to Persia, Greek city-states were tiny,
scattered units, weakened by fighting one another, illprepared to defend themselves
 A coalition of all Greek city-states would only equal a
fraction of Persian power
 559 BCE, Cyrus the Great King of Persia
 546 BCE, Cyrus the Great made Persians masters of
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the Greeks living in Asia Minor
Ionians revolted in 499 BCE
Ionians backed by Athens
Persians crushed the rebellion five years later
Persians did not forget the affront to their power
Made Persian resolve for conquering Greece mainland
stronger
 490 BCE, Darius king of Persia
 Sent a fleet of 20 000 soldiers to punish Athens for
helping Ionian revolt
 Persian fleet advanced across Aegean sea as far as the
Plains of Marathon, about 40 km northeast of Athens
 Athenians asked for help from Spartans, but for
religious reasons, they could not come until after full
moon
 Athenian army of 9000 went to Marathon to meet
Persians
 Since the Persians placed
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their best troops in centre of
their formation, Athenians
countered by strengthening
the wings of their force
Persians broke through
weakened Athenian centre,
but Greeks defeated them on
the wings
Athenian troops closed in on
Persian soldiers in centre
Greeks charged Persians as
they fled to their ships
Persian threat had been
beaten back, but empire far
from destroyed
Persian fled to ships looking to attack undefended Athens.
The Athenians ran 25 miles back to Athens in order to beat the
Persian (12-14h to sail). When the Persians saw the Athenian
army waiting for them inside the city walls they gave up and
sailed back home to Persia territory.
1. The victory gave the Greeks
incredible confidence in
themselves, their government
and their culture
2. Strengthened other Greek CityStates resolve (Sparta) to resist
Persian rule
Phidippides
Famous Athenian runner Phidippides
• Ran from Athen to Sparta to seek help, ran distance of 250 km in 2 days,
then ran back to Marathon
• According to legend, runner collapsed and died after gasping out message
• His amazing feat made marathon running a popular sporting event
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Ten Years Grace
Themistocles was the most prominent
politician in Athens after the first
Persian invasion. He continued to
advocate a strong Athenian navy, and
in 483 BC he persuaded the Athenians
to build a fleet of 200 triremes; these
would prove crucial in the
forthcoming conflict with Persia.
Battle of Thermopylae (2nd Persian Invasion 480 BC)
King Xerxes decided that he would invade Greece by land
• 180 000men, 1200 warships
• made Pontoon Bridge to cross Hellespont (narrow strait
between Greek mainland and Asia Minor)
• first encounter with Greeks at Thermopylae, narrow mountain
pass
 Athens and Sparta decided on strategy to defend a
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narrow pass in central Greece called Thermopylae (the
Hot Gates) through which the Persians had to pass
Small force of 4000 soldiers led by King Leonidas and
his bodyguard of 300 Spartans was sent to hold pass
until the full Greek army arrived
Local Greek betrayed them by showing Persians a
mountain path around Thermopylae
Seeing that his forces were being trapped, Leonidas
ordered most of army to leave
He and his Spartan force held the pass as long as
possible, fighting valiently, but all were killed
Not one Greek soldier survived the battle
Small Group of Greek including Athenians and Spartans set up
barricades At Thermopylae. Several days The Massive Persian
army could not get through barricade. After a few days, a Greek
traitor led the Persians through a mountain pass where a few
They secretly came around this back way and surrounded the
Greeks.
A group of three hundred Spartan soldiers, along with some
others, agreed to stay at Thermopylae and fight the Persians even
though they were surrounded. They would fight as long as they
could sacrificing themselves to give the others time to get away.
 Defeat at Thermopylae made Athens vulnerable
 City had to be evacuated and most people escaped to
Salamis, a large island off the coast of Athens
 Persian army poured into Athens and took revenge on
city for its defeat at Marathon
Battle of Salamis
Knowing they could now not defend their city the Athenians, under their general
Themistocles, deliberately left Athens undefended and lured the Persian fleet into a
narrow strip of water between the island of Salamis and the Greek main land.
The Persian would burn Athens but the Athenian
warships caught the Persian ships by surprise.
Trapped in the narrow water the Persian ships
were destroyed. Xerxes and army would then
retreat to Hellespont
 Boeotian plain near town of Platea
 United army of Greek city-states, led by Spartans, met
Persians in all-out battle
 Greeks were victorious
 It was a turning point in the history of Greece,
ushering in the Classical (or “Golden”) Age
 After Platea, Greek navy attacked the Persians again in
Asia Minor and freed the Ionian Greeks
The Invasion Ends(479 BC)
Greeks amass army of 40,000 and defeated 60,000 Persian at Mycale, off the coast of
Asia minor. The remaining Persian fleet was completely destroyed.